THIS is already a memorable episode in the fledgling career of Jon Clare but it may take something extraordinary from him, or one of his Derbyshire team-mates, to wrestle a victory from this match.

At the end of the third day of their LV County Championship match against Northamptonshire, the draw is squarely the most likely outcome for this contest.

The home side is still 40 runs short of avoiding the follow-on and, only if Derbyshire manage to take the remaining three wickets they need before Northants make it to the safety of 338, is it possible to imagine them winning the game.

The rain and bad light has nibbled chunks out of the match from the start and so Derbyshire have been able to bowl only 83 overs since they declared on 485-7 just after lunch the previous day.

Northants were limited to 296-7 in their reply and that was largely down to the heroics of Clare with the new ball.

He struck with the second ball of the day to take the first of three wickets in his first spell and rounded off his day with two wickets in three balls, to put the 22-year-old rookie in very select company.

Graeme Welch was the last man to score a hundred and take five wickets in an innings when he did it against Essex at Chelmsford in 2005 but, before that, it hadn't been done by a Derbyshire player in a Championship match since George Pope in 1937.

A player could go a whole career without managing such a feat but Clare has done it in his 10th first-class appearance. You certainly would not bet against him doing it a few more times – maybe even on a bigger stage – before his career highlights turn from an on-going tale to a story to tell the grandkids.

After the early strike against Stephen Peters, Clare removed the dangerous Rob White and David Sales, before they had the chance to settle to leave Northants 93-3.

Charl Langeveldt bowled Nicky Boje to make that 120-4 and Niall O'Brien, who Derbyshire were convinced had nicked a catch to Jamie Pipe off Nayan Doshi just after he reached his half-century, finally pulled a catch to Doshi at deep backward square leg off Graham Wagg for 80.

That was 171-5 but Derbyshire's one blot on their day came 12 overs later, when Andrew Hall, on 16, lobbed a simple chance to mid on but Dan Birch inexplicably dropped him.

Hall and Lance Klusener went on to a sixth-wicket partnership of 119 in 35 overs before that man Clare was brought back into the attack.

In the second over with the new ball, he found the leading edge of Hall's bat and substitute fielder Wayne White took this chance safely at mid off. The South African all-rounder had scored 54.

Two balls later, Clare sent another big-hitting South African Test player back to the pavilion, as he knocked over Klusener's off stump for 73.

The day's play reached a premature end one over later and, with Wagg troubled by sore shins, it will fall on Clare and Langeveldt to finish off the Northants first innings, if they can, while the new ball is still causing problems.

It may already be too late.