Fighting spirit pleases Billy in one-day defeat

Billy Godleman was pleased with the fighting spirit on show from his Derbyshire side despite a four-wicket loss to Nottinghamshire in the Royal London One Day Cup.
Billy Godleman hit 90 as Derbyshire posted 300 for the second consecutive one day match.Billy Godleman hit 90 as Derbyshire posted 300 for the second consecutive one day match.
Billy Godleman hit 90 as Derbyshire posted 300 for the second consecutive one day match.

Tuesday’s rain delayed fixture saw Billy Root hold his nerve for the visitors to Derby as it looked like the Outlaws were starting to unravel, chasing a revised 286 from 47 overs.

But Root - younger brother of England Test captain, Joe - made an unbeaten 23 from 25 balls to see his side home with just four balls remaining.

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Godleman said: “The fight, endeavour and resilience to come back after the rain break and nearly claw ourselves to victory was admirable. I’m really proud of how the guys stuck in together and fought really hard to the end.”

Derbyshire recorded their highest one-day score against Notts of 303-4; Godleman top scoring with 90 and Ben Slater and Wayne Madsen passing 50 but it was not enough.

The game was played on the same wicket that yielded over 600 runs on Sunday and there was little in it for the Notts attack as Godleman and Slater played positively from the start.

A mix up saw Slater ran out for 72 after he and Godleman added 148, Madsen made the most of a dropped catch by Michael Lumb when he was on 12 to score an unbeaten 66.

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It was the first time Derbyshire had scored 300 in consecutive one-day games and their hopes of defending it were raised when Madsen had Lumb caught at long off in the second over but Hales and Wessels turned the game with some thrilling strokes.

The Outlaws were well ahead of the game when Hales attempted a reverse swipe at Matt Critchley and lost his middle stump but Wessels maintained the tempo until he tried to drive Mendis for another six and was superbly caught by Alex Hughes diving forward at long off.

Patel found his fluency before rain stopped play for 20 minutes. A revised target of 49 from 10 overs should have been straightforward but Brendan Taylor miscued a drive before Madsen was brought back and had Patel caught at long off. Chris Read played on to Thakor but Root emerged from a nervous start to end a run of two North Group defeats for Notts.

Notts assistant coach Paul Franks said: “It’s by no means the perfect performance and it does need some polish but we’re delighted to get the win.

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“I’m not sure Duckworth/Lewis is doing us any favours, that’s twice in the space of a week where we feel the rain has come at the wrong time. I thought we were owning that run chase comfortably but then we had a 20 minute break and the momentum was back with Derbyshire.”