Yorkshire set Derbyshire the daunting task of scoring 421 to avoid the follow-on in the Championship match at Headingley and their bottom-of-the-table opponents were struggling at the close on 247 for seven, still 174 runs away from safety.

Now Yorkshire are keeping their fingers crossed the rain which is forecast over the next couple of days does not stop them from completing their sixth win of the season and their third from consecutive matches.

Yorkshire, resuming on a commanding 419 for three in the morning, blasted their way to 570 before losing their final wicket.

It was their highest score in a home Championship match against Derbyshire, beating the 561 they made at Abbeydale Park, Sheffield, in 1996.

Phil Jaques, 217 overnight, played the second ball of the day from Graeme Welch for two but then tamely hit the next one high to Jon Moss at cover and departed after a tremendous innings which had lasted for 261 balls and contained 33 fours and a six.

The fourth-wicket pair had added 82 in 23 overs and Yorkshire were clearly not in the mood to hang about, Ian Harvey blazing his way to a half-century that contained 12 boundaries.

Two overs from Nick Walker cost 19 runs but when Moss briefly took over he was hammered for four fours in his solitary over by Harvey, three of them off his first three balls.

Harvey had dashed to 83 from 106 deliveries with 17 savagely struck fours when he wafted Hunter to mid-on.

But the rapid advance was maintained by Craig White, who struck Ant Botha's left-arm spin for two big sixes in one over with a mid-wicket pick-up and a clean straight drive.

Former Yorkshire off-spinner Andy Gray grabbed the last three wickets to leave White unbeaten on 67 from 80 balls with seven fours and two sixes.

Yorkshire tried hard to bowl out Derbyshire before the close but Gray and Botha safely negotiated the final ten overs of the day together.