Hucknall CC skipper says a mad half-hour was key to narrow defeat

​Chasing Attenborough’s 254 all out, Harry Franklin (49) and Dan Blatherwick (47) took Hucknall to 103 before Franklin was first to fall.

Blatherwick fell soon afterwards, but another strong stand of 99 between Sam Mycock (75) and skipper Sam Johnson (44) took the hosts to within 39 runs of victory with seven wickets still standing.

However, wickets then began to fall regularly, with no other player scoring double figures, and Hucknall ran out of balls to lose by three runs.

Johnson said: “The initial reflection is one of real disappointment.

"Credit to Attenborough, their three and four played really well and they got a score that is always competitive, but we felt it was slightly short of where they could have got to.

"We wanted 20/30 fewer runs really and some poor bowling and fielding cost us at times, but we knew if we batted well it was catchable.

"We then got a perfect start in reply and were in control until the 42nd over, but then we had a mad half-hour and threw it away.

"For a team that wants to be at the top end of the table, these really have to be learning experiences.

"They bowled well on what wasn’t a great wicket, took the pace off the ball and made it hard for us to score.

"But we played with a real naivety. The top four batted well and we all scored at least 40, but nobody more than 75, and in that kind of chase you need one or two making 100s.

"All of us making starts but not going on isn’t good enough and it was compounded by the fact nobody got double figures after that.

"We never felt behind the run rate so to fall just short was frustrating.”

Hucknall now prepare to host bottom-of-the-table Radcliffe on Saturday, who have scored just four points so far this season.

But Johnson is taking nothing for granted.

He said: “You pay the price if you disrespect the opponent in the game of cricket, and we’re wary of what any player can do on the day irrespective of a team’s position, so we’ll be focused on getting the eight points, doing what we do well and trusting the process.”