Derbyshire's Twenty20 bid is in the balance

CHARL Langeveldt says Derbyshire have little room for error if they are to stay alive in the Twenty20 Cup.

Yesterday's defeat by Yorkshire at Chesterfield was Derbyshire's third out of four matches and, as they head to Trent Bridge to face Nottinghamshire tonight (5.30pm), South African bowler Langeveldt knows they cannot afford to lose many more.

“This is a tough group, so we have to win six to be safe and that means winning five out of the six we have left,” he said.

“We are going to be under pressure but that is the nature of the game. In Twenty20 cricket, either you can't take the pressure or you can and it is the team that stays the most calm that wins the game.

“In Twenty20, you can play out of your socks and have a good day and you can have a bad day. We have had two bad days now.

“It's going to be hard from here on because we have to win most of our games. You can't rely on others to win games for you but I think we have to stay positive.

“We have to play positive cricket because we've got nothing to lose.”

The most frustrating moment of the defeat yesterday came when Greg Smith was run out for 68 when he seemed set to hurt Yorkshire for a second time.

“I was seeing it quite nicely, so I was a bit disappointed to get out,” he said.

“It was my call but Wavell felt he had hit the ball a bit too quickly to backward point. The fielder was on the edge of the circle and I could have made it but he turned me down and I didn't manage to get back in time.

“I was starting to strike a few boundaries and we only lost by 11 runs so if I could have stayed out there another two or three overs, you never know.

“It might have made it a little easier for the other guys coming in but it wasn't to be.”