Arthur proud as Derbyshire break their duck with deserved win against Northants

The South African was made to sweat on the final day as the Northants battling line-up, led by George Bartlett and Nathan McSweeney, dropped anchor in a bid to salvage a draw from a match they were outplayed in from start to finish.

But the home side, who were in control after making a whopping 604 for seven declared in their first innings, eventually claimed the final wicket of George Scrimshaw with 11 overs of the match remaining.

That saw Northants dismissed for 263 in their second innings secured a deserved innings-and-113-run win for Derbyshire, their first success of the summer.

"As I've said numerous times, to ice the cake in four day cricket is really hard whether it be with the bat or whether it be with the ball," said Arthur.

"It's hard work and I was really proud of how we went about it.

"But we never make it easy for ourselves, there's always a bit of drama so I'm just really happy to come out on the right side of it."

And he added: "We've been in every game this season and arguably should have won the first two and I know what we're doing.

"I know the way we prepare and the way we go about our business ultimately it's going to come because the guys are working extremely hard and they're very good players.

"But believing and learning how to win for us is key.

"We've got the skills, it's just getting over the line and I'm so happy we've got over the line in this one because it's a step further in our development as a team."

The win sees Derbyshire remain seventh bottom in the division two table, but they are now just 15 points behind second-placed Middlesex in the congested standings.