Notts Outlaws took a significant step towards qualification for the semi-finals of the Friends Provident Trophy with victory in a 13-over thrash against Derbyshire.

Notts Outlaws 170-6 (Hussey 56, Shafayat 34, Patel 33)
Derbyshire Phantoms 120-9 (Ealham 3-13, Swann 2-24, Shreck 2-37)

Notts Outlaws won by 50 runs

Scorecard

After waiting until 4.30pm to get underway after rain cleared, Notts' patience paid off in a one-sided match which saw them pick up two vital points in the race for the top two places in the Northern Conference.

It also saw them get some early practice in for the Twenty20 Cup with David Hussey again showing his six-hitting prowess as he hit Derbyshire seamer Greg Smith for 32 in one over, including five successive maximums.

Bilal Shafayat set the platform from which Hussey could attack with a breezy 34, while Samit Patel also struck some vital blows late on with a quick-fire 33.

Director of Cricket Mick Newell claimed the victory was vital with several other fixtures washed off over the weekend and said: "The chance to get the two points was worth the wait.

"Once the match was set up we talked about it setting it up like a Twenty20 match. Bilal got us off to the right start, Hussey hit the ball like a dream once again and let Samit fire at the end.

"Hussey is hitting the ball as sweet as a nut at the moment and his over of five sixes turned what would have been a good total into an exceptional one.

"Derbyshire would have had to have played out of their skins to catch us and once we got the early breakthroughs, that was never going to happen."

Charlie Shreck struck with the second ball of the innings and Mark Ealham then followed up with a double-wicket maiden to remove dangermen Simon Katich and Travis Birt.

Derbyshire captain Katich was sent on his way thanks to a brilliant diving catch at mid-on from Graeme Swann, who picked up two wickets of his own before the match was completed, with the visitors finishing 50 runs short of their target.

Newell added: "Swann took an exceptional catch to get out their best player in Katich and it showed the confidence that's in the team at the moment.

"We still haven't achieved anything but while there is this good feeling around the dressing room, I'm looking for the players to use it to their advantage.

"It was a great all-round performance that sets us up for the final three games. Matters are in our own hands and I don't really care if we finish first or second in the group - to get into the semi-finals would be fantastic in itself.

"We're not there yet and I still think there are four or five teams in the hunt. I'll be telling the team to make sure that while we're on a roll, let's keep it up."