DAVID Smit was a relieved man after his Ilkeston Rutland side edged nervously over the line to record their first Beechwood Derbyshire Premier League win of the season.

“It was frustrating for George Moulds and I to get out near the end but, luckily, we'd just done enough,” said Smit.

“We've got to learn about getting over the line and winning comfortably without putting pressure on ourselves.

“But we've been playing good cricket against the top sides – Lullington are one of the top sides – and it's good to turn it into big points.”

The foundations for victory were laid by excellent opening bowling spells from Wayne White and Rob Green and the following Ilkeston bowlers did not release their stranglehold.

“There was a bit in the wicket and we bowled well,” said Smit.

“The opening bowlers put the ball in the right areas, because you'll still get hit if you don't do that, even on a helpful wicket.

“Maybe we let them get a few too many at the end. I thought we could have closed it out a bit quicker.

“But, overall, I was happy with what we were chasing.

“Usually, I like to bat first, because we've struggled chasing, especially when we get near a score.

“I was torn but, yes, it was a good toss to win and I thought we'd be better off bowling first because there would be more in the wicket early on.”

Smit, who usually opens, did not come in until number seven in the Ilkeston innings.

He dislocated a finger in last week's defeat against Elvaston, necessitating a trip to hospital, and fielded and batted with it strapped up, forging a match-winning 73-run partnership with Moulds.

“My finger didn't feel too bad at all,” he said.

“We were comfortable scoring at five or six an over without doing anything silly.

“In the last few innings, George has struggled a bit and has been saying he's out of form but he's always capable of batting like that.

“He almost saw it through, which was pleasing, because he can have a tendency to get a good 30 or 40 and throw it away.

“He kept his head well because we didn't need to do anything silly.”

With the first win out of the way, Smit (pictured right with his strapped-up fingers) now has his sights set higher up the Premier League table.

“With another couple of good results, we could be comfortably in mid-table,” he said.

“It's tight and I've thought all season that we're not far off being one of the top four sides. We're probably not quite up there to win it but I don't see any reason why we can't finish top three or four.

“We're playing well as a team, all the boys are chipping in and that makes it really pleasing.”