His was the first of three wickets to fall in successive balls that gave the visitors a glimmer of victory. However, Steven Rhodes and Stuart Lampitt put on 65 runs to ensure the spoils would be shared before Lampitt went for 28. Rhodes notched up an unbeaten half-century.Despite several good performances, Sales shined brightest. John Emburey, the Northamptonshire coach, hopes to persuade the powers that be that Sales would be better served playing Championship cricket than departing next week for a six-week spell with the England Under-19s. His dismissal on 169, when clean bowled by Paul Taylor, was a serious blow to his side's chances.Worse was to come. After a slow start, Tim Curtis - sharing in a 269 partnership with Moody - reached his century before being caught at deep square-leg off Taylor. He quickly hit the seven runs needed for his own landmark of a 1,000 runs for the season, but didn't stop there.

In a display of great stroke-making, he made the target a distinct possibility A massive straight six brought up his 149 A single the following ball and he had the 150. In a five-ball spell, David Capel sent back Phil Weston and Matthew Church and, at 12 for two, the home side were in trouble.Enter Tom Moody, a century maker in the first innings and a player not about to be eclipsed by a teenager. It left the youngster on 210 not out, including 28 fours and three sixes.The home side were set a target of 425 to win and on a benign pitch even such a daunting total was within their grasp. Yet if young Sales had shown the strip to be a batsman's paradise, the Worcestershire openers conspired to show it might not necessarily be so easy. Northants 328 and 446-3 dec Worcs 350-7 dec and 388-7 Match drawn David Sales took only five balls yesterday to guarantee himself a place in cricket history when, with a four to the mid-wicket boundary, he became the first English player to make a double hundred on a Championship debut.Sales, who already has the record for the youngest person to score 50 in the Sunday League when only 16, and Northamptonshire team-mate Kevin Curran batted for just four overs yesterday morning before the declaration.

His departure, again hurried into top-edging a Malcolm delivery, was quickly followed by Llong's downfall. He became Malcolm's 10th victim of the match when he prodded at a wide delivery to offer another fine low catch to Adams at slip.The Kent tail then frustrated Derbyshire's attack - further depleted when Phillip DeFreitas suffered a knee injury - until the skipper, Steve Marsh, batting at No 11 because of a broken index finger, completed Malcolm's six-wicket haul.. Hitting two fours from Matthew Vandrau's first two deliveries, he further stretched the bowling resources available to Dean Jones.Headley provided invaluable support, contributing a measured 38 of their 77 stand. All too often, however, his bouncers lacked direction and, therefore, menace. Carl Hooper readily accepted the first invitation to hook but was deceived by the pace, the ball striking high on the bat to loop a catch to square-leg. Ed Smith was also a victim of Malcolm's speed.When McCague was the sixth man out at 100, Kent's lead was at its most vulnerable. Nigel Llong, however, one of the three centurions on Thursday, accepted the responsibility of anchor man and played the short ball with studious application.Llong also cleverly carried the attack to Derbyshire when spin made an initial and brief one-over appearance after lunch.