ILKESTON Rutland's search for an elusive first Beechwood Derbyshire Premier League win of the season goes on at home to Lullington Park tomorrow.

And yet the fixture, the first of the second half of the season, does not find them in an especially perilous position.

Ilkeston have batted first in seven of their 11 matches so far – and have clocked up four winning draws to sit above the relegation places.

Their 77 bonus points is far and away the largest number collected in the division.

And – despite a big setback at Elvaston last week, when they threw away a winning position – captain Dave Smit is still convince winning cricket is just around the corner.

“We thought we were on a bit of a roll and a win on Saturday would have seen us in mid-table,” said Smit.

“We made 190 and thought it was a good score on a difficult pitch, then had them at 49-5.

“Then I dislocated my finger and had to go off to hospital.

“I thought we'd win from there but, when I rang up, they told me we'd lost and I couldn't believe it.”

Ilkeston had been on the end of an assault from Elvaston's Andy Rhodes, who hit 40 not out from 27 balls to turn the game, putting on 60 with Dan Randle, who made 82.

Ilkeston might have had their first win in the first game of the season at Lullington, when they slipped up in pursuit of a modest target.

“It's been the story of our season,” said Smit.

“We were cruising in that game, suddenly lost a couple of wickets and then fell away.

“We've played some good cricket this year but we've got to stop having 10-over spells when we throw things away.”

Smit will play tomorrow despite his injured finger but expects to bat down the order – and then only if necessary.

The bonus for Ilkeston is that Lullington's Soth African star, Ahmed Amla, who had not arrived in time for that first match, has now left for a month to lead his country's under-25s on a tour of Australia.

Lullington will be aiming to bounce back from their first league defeat of the season last week against Dunstall.

“That was a setback, especially with teams around us coming off on the wrong side too,” said captain Jonny Shales, whose side still sit a healthy fourth in the table.

“We didn't get enough runs but, on the positive side, we turned it around from 14-3 to getting a defendable score and nearly pulling off a winning draw.

“Unfortunately, Ahmed is now away until the first week in August and, as he left us with 191 runs last weekend, needless to say, he'll be a big miss.

“We have a big month ahead and our target is to come out of it in a similar position to where we are now.

“If we can, we'll be in a great position when Ahmed comes back.

“We have the bonus of Tom Poynton joining us now his Repton School duties are finished and, fingers crossed, he'll be a permanent member of the side until the end of the season, so our batting and fielding is strengthened.”

Shales is surprised Ilkeston are still waiting for a win.

“They have a side with match-winners and the added bonus of Wayne White playing week in, week out,” he said.

“When we played them in the first game they looked set on chasing down our score.

“Our season could have turned out a lot different if the result in that first game had been the other way round.

“Ilkeston is another banana skin. Just as we had to lose at some point, they've got to win at some point, too.

“But we've worked hard to get where we are and the lads know we've got to raise the bar further to push on.”

● Dave Smit's injury has necessitated his withdrawal as captain of the Premier League side to meet the Liverpool & District Competition in the quarter-finals of the League Cricket Conference President's Trophy at Ormskirk on Sunday (1.30pm).

The side will instead be led by Dunstall's Jamie Benstead. Spondon's Ben Ashdown is another withdrawal, replaced by team-mate Darren Yeomans, but manager Roy Fox is still seeking one more player.

DERBYSHIRE PREMIER LEAGUE: Jamie Benstead (captain, Dunstall), James Ede (Quarndon), Alex Hibbert (Chesterfield), Craig Jennings (Dunstall), Rob Kettlewell (Elvaston), Kevin Leatherday (Ilkeston Rutland), Alex Mace (Alfreton), Chris Windmill, Dave Hartley, Darren Yeomans (Spondon), AN Other. 12th man: Tom Williams (Spondon).