that lasted for nearly two days due to the third day's play being rained off. Derbyshire followed on after making a total of 350, and despite Deon Kruis snaring two early wickets in the follow on, Derbyshire survived 60 last-day overs to make 173 for 5 at the end of day four and secure a draw. (Cricinfo scorecard) August August was a contrasting month for Derbyshire – their three Championship matches all ended in losses, against Somerset (by five runs), Northamptonshire and Essex. Just like in the previous encounter with Essex, Derbyshire racked up a first-innings lead, but this time they lost. However, despite the poor Championship form, they won all four National League matches – against Somerset, league leaders Sussex Sharks, Scottish Saltires and finally Yorkshire Phoenix to be two points off the promotion spot at the end of August. National League: Derbyshire v Somerset (3 August) Derbyshire (4pts) beat Somerset (0pts) by 15 runs Derbyshire Phantoms jumped into fifth in the National League table thanks to their win over Somerset Sabres, who conceded more than 260 in 45 overs for the second time in that week. Michael di Venuto hit 11 fours on his way to 87, and despite two maiden overs from Andrew Caddick, Derbyshire made 277 for 5. Wicket-keeper Carl Gazzard and Malaysian Arul Suppiah added 125 for the second wicket for Somerset, but the off breaks of Jonathan Moss and Andy Gray yielded seven wickets. That, along with a run out, saw Somerset to 241 for 9 before William Durston made 24 not out off 18 balls to see Somerset to the end of 45 overs – still 16 runs short of victory. (Cricinfo scorecard) County Championship: Derbyshire v Somerset (4–7 August) Somerset (21pts) beat Derbyshire (7pts) by five runs Arul Suppiah, James Hildreth and Wesley Durston hit 49 boundaries as Somerset posted a first-innings total of 460 in a close match against Derbyshire. Suppiah passed fifty for the first time in his first-class career with a five-hour 123, while Durston was stranded on 146 not out – his only century of the season. Graeme Welch took four for 82 to get the best bowling figures for Derbyshire. However, Derbyshire's tactic of slow attrition worked well against Somerset's frontline bowlers Andy Caddick and Ian Blackwell. They made 438, in a total of 149 overs, before declaring with eight men down – four Derbyshire batsmen making