"We are bitterly disappointed to lose," he admitted. "But it was an outstanding game of cricket and this tournament has been a brilliant, wonderful adventure for us.

"Let's hope we can go a bit further next year."
Rhodes freely admitted that the rain, and the subsequent shortening of the tie, helped Papplewick.

But he was proud that his side had coped so well against quality opposition, even though they were without two of their best players,
Notts CCC starlet Luke Fletcher, who was on England Under-19s duty, and
Sri Lankan import Kosela Kulasekara, who fell foul of the rule that bans overseas players in the competition.

"The rain-rule gave us a great opportunity – especially after Matt Cassar and Ben McGonigal had established such a decent start for Ockbrook," said Rhodes.

"When we batted, we didn't make an ideal start, although they bowled very well.

"But in the end, it was a brilliant effort by us. If we can compete against one of the best teams in the country, without Luke and Kosela and when Phil DeFreitas doesn't score runs, then we must be doing something right.

"It was disappointing that we didn't quite get there but it was a tough, outstanding match played in a great spirit and Ockbrook certainly realised they had been in a game.

"It shows our progress and, hopefully, we can now win the Notts Premier League."