CAPTAIN Neil Smith believes his Ockbrook side is still in a position of strength as they get ready for the game which could decide the Derbyshire Premier League title.

Even though they could not completely cast off their late-season jitters at home to Alvaston and Boulton on Saturday, Smith says the destination of the title is still in Ockbrook's hands.

They take a 17-point lead into the final three matches of the season and have to go to Sandiacre, their closest challengers, next weekend.

With momentum on their side, there is no doubt Sandiacre will scent an opportunity but Smith says Ockbrook still find themselves in an enviable position.

"It's strange the way the psychology goes, because if we had just opened up a gap of 21 points by winning last week, everybody would have thought it was a really good lead but because the lead has been cut by half, the wheels are coming off," he said.

"Sandiacre have been playing well and they will be confident of beating us but if we play anything like we can, I'm confident we will be alright.

"I've definitely seen improvements in our performances in the past two weeks and I'd still rather be in our position, with a 17-point lead, with three games to go."

Smith was pleased by the response of his middle-order batting in the draw with A&B but disappointed that the bowlers could not make life more awkward for their opponents.

"Charlie Ault, in a lot of respects, played a perfect knock because if it was a good ball, he left it and anything slightly off line, he had a go at," Smith added.

"Chris Dunn has been in pretty good form and really did well, then Ian Darlington gave us that bit of momentum in the end.

"I thought 180 would have been a good score and the game would have been in the balance a bit more but to get to 236 was plenty. The way the ball was seaming and holding up in the pitch, I thought that was a really good effort.

"We've not been great at bowling sides out when we bat first. Other sides pick up 27 points for fun but we struggle and I don't know why, because we've got some decent bowlers.

"I've not bowled particularly well all season and I really rely on the ball swinging but I think if Trev had caught that one at slip, I would have really fancied my chances. It was a big drop for us."