ONE man's pain is another man's gain. Jake Needham made up for the absence of Mark Lawson by sending Leicestershire spinning in their first innings.

A career-best 6-49 restricted the home side to a lead of 14 on the second day of Derbyshire's LV County Championship match at Grace Road.

It was a particularly useful contribution, denying Leicestershire the chance to build the much bigger advantage they had appeared set for.

It was also a very timely one, reminding all concerned that while the search for an additional spin option goes on, it should not be forgotten that there is a decent up-and-coming young off-spinner already at the club.

Leicestershire were bowled out for 208 and Derbyshire more than wiped out their deficit when openers Steve Stubbings and Paul Borrington saw them to 85-0 at the close.

The wicket is getting lower and slower – less accommodating for the seamers but taking spin – and while that only adds to Lawson's frustration as he sits in the pavilion with his broken finger, Needham showed he is quite capable of doing the job.

Derbyshire also have their spin part-timers, Graham Wagg, Greg Smith and Dan Redfern, if needed – and the indications are that they certainly will be if they are to have a chance of winning.

That will depend on their ability to bat better in their second innings and the opening pair gave Derbyshire just the start they needed as they nudged and grafted to a lead of 71.

Their current position is better than they may have expected as Leicestershire's Greg Smith and Paul Nixon carried their side from 84-4 to the relative strength of 152-4.

Derbyshire had started the day on top when Wagg took two wickets in three balls to remove Boeta Dippenaar and HD Ackerman, then Josh Cobb became Needham's first victim when he bottom-edged a catch to wicketkeeper Tom New.

Smith and Nixon turned the match back Leicestershire's way but the stand was broken in the third over after lunch when Smith tried to sweep Needham and instead played the ball on to his leg stump to fall for 54.

Six overs later, Nixon top-edged a sweep at Needham and skied a catch to square leg when he had moved on to 46 and was beginning to look capable of many more.

From being 175-5 before Nixon was out, Leicestershire stumbled badly. Wayne White had James Allenby lbw and Needham took care of the rest.

When the ninth wicket fell at 182, Derbyshire were even thinking in terms of a small first-innings lead but they will have been perfectly happy with the way things turned out all the same.

The last five Leicestershire wickets had fallen for only 33.

Needham took six of the last seven. His spell of 21.2 overs was interrupted only by the lunch interval and he took his last five wickets for 13 runs in 58 balls.

In short, he gave them everything they could have wanted from their specialist spinner on a surface that suited him and Derbyshire have not had that all season.

Just because Needham did well yesterday and no matter what he does in the second innings, it does not mean Derbyshire have no need to look to add another spinner to the squad for next season and maybe the luckless Lawson, a leg spinner, will still be the man.

But Needham did his cause no harm yesterday and if he can repeat the trick second time around, it will be better still.