THE season came to a wearied, anticlimactic end for Derbyshire with defeat in three days at Grace Road yesterday.

Leicestershire cruised to their victory target of 190 to win by eight wickets and bury all thoughts of a third-place finish for Derbyshire in Division Two of the LV County Championship.

It would have been their highest placing since they were relegated from Division One in 2000.

Derbyshire, bowled out for 203 in their second innings, were beaten with far greater ease than anyone who watched the way they were made to struggle with the bat would have believed possible.

The pitch showed its nasty side very early on when Paul Borrington got a ball that spat up at him from just short of a length in the 10th over of the day and it was all the young opener could do to loop a catch to second slip.

From that point, Derbyshire played as if they expected terrors at every turn and though there were a few balls that claimed unfortunate victims, it was also true that they did not cope with the conditions particularly well.

Steve Stubbings and Tom New, who both did as much as anyone to get their side to a decent total, fell to leg-side catches off two of Garnet Kruger's poorer deliveries of the day, though Dan Redfern could count himself unlucky to be run out by a direct hit at the striker's end from Sam Cliff at long on.

Stubbings and Borrington laid the ground well with an opening stand of 88 but Derbyshire were in trouble at 135-6 before they had their next significant stand.

That came from New and Ross Whiteley, who added 47 in 13 overs. New, showing no signs of split loyalty against his parent club, hit 36 off 57 balls with six fours and Whiteley 18, which included a swept six off spinner Claude Henderson.

For the first time since the previous evening, two batsmen appeared at ease with the demands of batting on a deteriorating pitch but the second new ball brought their efforts to an abrupt end.

The first three overs with the new ball brought three wickets and the end came swiftly.

It was a disappointment that Derbyshire could not get their lead over 200 but the feeling remained that 190 might take some getting, especially if Leicestershire lost early wickets.

They lost one. In the fourth over, Leicestershire's Greg Smith clipped the ball cleanly off his legs but straight to Borrington at midwicket to make it 11-1.

Bearing in mind that Leicestershire have not played at all well in the second half of the season and had not won a Championship match for almost four months, Derbyshire were in with a chance. A stand of 145 for the second wicket between Matthew Boyce and Boeta Dippenaar put paid to that. Boyce was dropped twice – one tough chance for Jake Needham at long leg when he was on 18 and an easier one for substitute fielder John Sadler on 37. By the time Boyce was out for 68 at 156-2, the game was up.

As if dropping catches was not enough, their depleted bowling attack became increasingly ragged and the season suddenly appeared to have been a very long one.

Leicestershire needed to claim the extra half-hour to complete their victory but needed only three of the available eight overs, with Dippenaar 84 not out.

It was a forgettable final day but it has still been a decent Championship season.