CHRIS Rogers put one season's landmark safely in the book and must have set his sights on another as Derbyshire began the long haul back to safety at Edgbaston.

Warwickshire trudged to 476-9 in their first innings to rest their chances squarely on the hope that Derbyshire have been ground into submission to such an extent that they will roll over and die.

It took the home side 145 overs to get their runs – they only just managed to secure their fifth batting point with nine balls to spare – and after being out in the field for so long, Derbyshire did particularly well to see out 22 overs and reach the close at 83-0.

There is no reason why Derbyshire should not overhaul the target of 327 they have been set to avoid the follow-on and set the seal on another Edgbaston draw.

There is more life in the Gobi Desert than there is in this moribund strip and the only threat to Derbyshire comes from their ability to keep their concentration.

Rogers and Paul Borrington did just that in the final session.

The captain completed 1,000 first-class runs for the season when he passed 20 and goes into the third day on 51 not out as the man his side will look to for the tone of their response.

Rogers needs to reach 144 to make it to 1,000 runs in the Championship this season and it is pleasing to imagine that such a score will not be beyond the Australian.

Borrington too looked very secure through a potentially difficult session for a young man who may not have had to bat after fielding for five sessions many times in the past. He was 25 not out overnight.

If Borrington needed an example of how to stick around for as long as it takes, he had it in the innings of Warwickshire's Jon Trott.

Trott's marathon knock of 181 was the mainstay of his team's large score and his unyielding approach helped them through a potentially tricky stage after Derbyshire made good progress with the second new ball.

Three wickets for eight runs in five overs turned a comfortable 232-3 into a less assured 240-6 in the morning, with Charl Langeveldt again the danger man.

He broke the stand of 94 between Trott and Jim Troughton and, after Tim Ambrose had been caught at midwicket off Graham Wagg, Langeveldt also had Ant Botha lbw for nought.

How Ian Salisbury did not become the South African's 50th Championship victim of the season, heaven only knows, but Langeveldt was left dangling on 49 at the end of a marvellous nine-over spell with the new ball, which brought him 2-9.

Trott and Salisbury resumed the previous day's normal service after the newness of the ball had been seen off and added 110 for the seventh wicket. Trott and young Chris Woakes then put on another 103 for the eighth.

Warwickshire finally decided it was time to declare when Trott top-edged a sweep at Nayan Doshi and was caught by Rogers, jogging a couple of yards from slip.

Doshi did a terrific job to get through 42 overs for 114 runs and was finally rewarded with the last two wickets of the innings.

Trott was left one run short of his 1,000 in the Championship this season but had spent seven and a half hours in the middle, facing 363 balls and hitting 18 fours.

It was not a knock that will live long in the memory but he did his job for his county and, in many ways, that is the standard Derbyshire have to match.