Tony Palladino became the first Derbyshire bowler to take a hat-trick for 12 years and Tim Groenewald returned his first five-wicket haul of the season as the second division leaders lost no time in establishing their superiority over a struggling Leicestershire before rain set in soon after tea.
Leicestershire had chosen to bat on a pitch tinged with green but, not for the first time this season, their limitations were exposed once Palladino, the 28-year-old fast-medium bowler, who took his only previous hat-trick when he was 14, struck spectacularly in his third over.
A straight one was enough to pin Michael Thornely leg-before, a lifter did for Ned Eckersley, who could not get his bat out of the way and edged to the wicketkeeper, and a superb ball that swung in and then nipped back to take out Ramnaresh Sarwan’s off stump as he aimed towards mid-wicket provided the perfect coup de grâce.
Matthew Boyce and Josh Cobb did stage a recovery of sorts by putting on 59 for the fifth wicket but Jon Clare nipped in to have Cobb caught behind off another one that bounced, before Groenewald took his first wicket with a full toss that Boyce did not seem to pick up in the gathering gloom.
Boyce, who had battled hard for his 50 off 118 balls with six fours, could only scoop it gently to mid-on and all Leicestershire had left after that was a defiant eighth-wicket stand of 57 between Kadeer Ali and Nathan Buck.
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Kadeer, the former Worcestershire and Gloucestershire opener who plays for Leicestershire on a non-contract basis, went in at No 8 and was only two runs away from his fifty when Groenewald swept him and the tail away with three wickets for one run in 12 balls to finish with five for 29.
Leicester (first day of four; Leicestershire won toss): Derbyshire, with all first-innings wickets in hand, are 172 runs behind Leicestershire.
Leicestershire: First Innings
M A G Boyce c Madsen b Groenewald 50
M A Thornely lbw b Palladino 6
†E J H Eckersley c Poynton b Palladino 0
R R Sarwan b Palladino 0
J J Cobb c Poynton b Clare 30
G P Smith c Durston b Groenewald 9
W A White c Whiteley b Clare 5
K Ali c Poynton b Groenewald 48
N L Buck c Durston b Groenewald 13
M N Malik c Durston b Groenewald 6
*M J Hoggard not out 0
Extras (b 5, lb 2, w 1, nb 2) 10
Total (70.4 overs) 177
Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-7, 3-7, 4-66, 5-95, 6-96, 7-111, 8-169, 9-170.
Bowling: Palladino 16-3-58-3; Groenewald 17.4-5-29-5; Whiteley 3-0-27-0; Clare 12-5-18-2; Wainwright 22-10-38-0.
Derbyshire: First Innings
M S Lineker not out 0 C
C F Hughes not out 4
Extras (lb 1) 1
Total (no wkt, 3 overs) 5
*W L Madsen, W J Durston, D J Redfern, R A Whiteley, D J Wainwright, J L Clare, †T Poynton, T D Groenewald and A P Palladino to bat.
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Bowling: Hoggard 2-1-4-0; Buck 1-1-0-0.
Umpires: R A Kettleborough and N J Llong.