THE end of the season may be closer than we think.

A spiteful, unreliable wicket at Grace Road appears unlikely to allow Derbyshire's final LV County Championship match of the campaign to get as far as the fourth day on the evidence of yesterday.

It was certainly too much for a weakened and inexperienced Derbyshire side to handle after Graham Wagg, named as captain for the match following Chris Rogers' early return to Australia, won the toss and decided that batting was only going to become more dicey as the game went on.

The Leicestershire seamers made the most of a surface that offered them plenty of help, with big South African Garnet Kruger, who has had a pretty ordinary season for the county, leading the way with 5-51.

Kruger lured Dom Telo into chasing a full ball that was caught at first slip to leave Derbyshire 6-2 in the third over, after Steve Stubbings had left the first ball of the second over from Sam Cliff only for it to jag back and hit his off stump.

Paul Borrington was bowled by a beauty from Lee Daggett, looking to impress following his release by Warwickshire, and Greg Smith gave James Allenby at first slip more catching practice to put the away side in trouble at 90-4 before lunch.

But Dan Redfern was providing hope of salvation as he progressed, occasionally caressing the ball through the covers on the way, to 47 at the interval.

In a team lacking Rogers, Charl Langeveldt, Wavell Hinds, Jamie Pipe, Tom Lungley, Dan Birch, Jon Clare and Ian Hunter, Redfern was still the baby of the side at 18 but the generation gap has closed with an average age of 22.

At lunch, he was the side's best chance of putting a half-decent total of 250-plus on the scoreboard – and that would have been quite acceptable – but Redfern became Kruger's third victim three balls after the resumption.

Tom New, back on familiar territory in his extended loan spell, made a useful 24, Jake Needham added 23 and Ross Whiteley, the academy product brought in for his first-class debut, scored 27.

The 20-year-old had his first taste of senior action in the Pro40 League match at Cardiff two weeks earlier and showed enough to prove he could handle a bat then too, even though he is predominantly a left-arm seamer.

This was more evidence of his batting ability, in an innings which included a glorious straight six off spinner Claude Henderson.

He was kept waiting for the chance to bowl yesterday as bad light cut play short only 12 overs into the Leicestershire reply, and sent down only two overs against Glamorgan. If he can prove he can take a wicket or two as well, Whiteley will be a useful prospect.

Unfortunately, Mark Lawson will not be able to show what he can do after the former Yorkshire leg spinner took a rising ball from Kruger on the gloves and was not only caught at short leg, he had his right index finger broken too.

Lawson must feel it is a very cruel game right now.

Derbyshire were bowled out for 194 and Leicestershire also found the going tough on their way to 31-1, with Wayne White claiming the wicket with a ball that many better batsmen that Matthew Boyce would have struggled with.

There will be other opportunities for batsmen to get themselves out and Derbyshire have to make sure the present them with as many as possible.