County Championship: Rob Keogh earns Northants draw at Derby

Rob Keogh shared an 83-run partnership with Josh Cobb on day four against Derbyshire

LV= County Championship Division Two, 3aaa County Ground
Derbyshire 343 & 407-5 dec: Hughes 104, Slater 94; Willey 3-70
Northants 324 & 390-9: Keogh 163no, Cobb 43; Footitt 4-94
Match drawn
Derbyshire 11 pts, Northants 11 pts
Match scorecard

Rob Keogh's superb unbeaten 163 saved Northants from defeat as they played out an exciting draw at Derbyshire.

They needed an unlikely 427 to win, but Keogh shared stands of 72 and 83 with Rob Newton (35) and Josh Cobb (43).

Mark Footitt (4-46) and Scott Elstone (3-68) bowled well for the home side and Northants struggled to 182-7.

But Rory Kleinveldt (35) helped add 75 after Cobb departed and Alex Wakely (36 not out) kept Keogh company as they held out to reach 390-9 at the close.

Skipper Wakely came out at number 11, after not batting in the first innings because of a bruised hand, but although Northants had a fleeting glimpse of victory, they eventually had to settle for the draw.

Derbyshire had nine players around the bat in the closing overs, but could not dislodge 23-year-old Keogh, who batted for 350 minutes and faced 266 balls, hitting 19 fours.

The home side have now only beaten Northants once in 19 Championship meetings and the result meant both sides dropped below Gloucestershire in the table, with Northants third and Derbyshire fourth.

Northants batsman Rob Keogh:

"That's probably my best innings with the result we got at the end.

"We've had a few injuries and illness hit us over the last couple of days and Cobby was fantastic, he really stuck in there and batted very well.

"And then for Wakers to come in with a damaged hand and play the way he did was exceptional."

Derbyshire elite performance director Graeme Welch:

"The lads are bitterly disappointed and it's a bit of a cliche but catches win matches and we dropped six of them so we made it hard for ourselves.

"Probably in the end we got what we deserved and although it's not a loss, it feels like one."