ANTHONY McGrath held Yorkshire's bowling together at Derby yesterday by recording career-best figures of 5-33 but he received little real support at the other end and Derbyshire were able to bat all day for 351-9.

The feebleness of Yorkshire's pace bowling was underlined by the fact that McGrath became the first seamer to take more than three wickets for them in a Championship match this season.

Derbyshire will feel reasonably happy with their performance on a good batting pitch and will hold out some hope of ending a sequence of 25 home matches without a win which stretches back to June 1, 2002.

McGrath had previously bowled only 22 overs for Yorkshire this season without claiming a wicket but they would have been in a sorry state yesterday without his contribution.

With Chris Silverwood out of action because of a heel injury, much was expected of Steve Kirby and Ian Harvey, but Kirby limped off for a while in the evening session with a mysterious knee problem before returning and the Australian never looked like taking a wicket.

McGrath's victims included the two most important dismissals of the day - those of Hassan Adnan, who made 86, and Chris Bassano who edged into his stumps two balls after completing a fine century off 171 balls with 12 fours and a six.

Derbyshire won the toss in the 200th first class match between the two sides but they soon lost Andrew Gait in a bizarre first over from John Blain whose first two balls were both legside wides which sped to the boundary for ten runs to be added to the total.

His first legitimate ball was bang on target, however, and Gait was bowled high up his stumps as he stretched forward.

Australian Jon Moss was lbw to Kirby two balls after surviving a shout for a catch behind the wicket which brought a loud verbal response from the bowler when the appeal was rejected.

New batsman Adnan would have gone for 14 if wicketkeeper Ismail Dawood had not dropped him off Blain and it proved to be an expensive miss because opener Steve Stubbings and Adnan went on to add 128 in 33 overs for the fourth wicket.

Adnan got away with some fortunate edges but he also drove fluently and he packed 11 boundaries into his half century while Stubbings moved more sedately to his 50 with seven fours before edging Kirby to Andy Gray at second slip.

McGrath was one of seven bowlers used by Yorkshire and the first of his wickets was that of Adnan who pushed well forward but was still given lbw after facing 133 balls and striking 15 boundaries.

England's one-day all-rounder then had James Bryant looping a catch to second slip and McGrath enjoyed more success after tea by pinning both Luke Sutton and Graeme Welch lbw.

But Bassano continued to pick up runs off a jaded attack, his 50 containing seven fours and a six, and he remained firm after losing Anthony Botha to a return catch by Blain.

Bassano's boundary off McGrath brought him his century but he had no sooner finished celebrating than he edged a drive and two of his stumps were flattened.

Kirby, who had hobbled off apparently in great pain after twice pulling up in the crease, recovered well enough to make a return to the field, but he did not bowl again during the day.

Physiotherapist Scott McAllister said: "Steve felt something click in his knee but he soon recovered and we should know later if he has done any damage."

Updated: 09:40 Thursday, July 29, 2004