Paul Franks believes Notts Outlaws are yet to play their best cricket in the Metro Bank One Day Cup after falling to their first defeat of the campaign.
The Outlaws lost by 127 runs against Derbyshire Falcons after the hosts set a total of 342.
Despite Ben Slater’s half-century, the Outlaws couldn’t form the partnerships needed, and Franks admits that the contest got away from his side with the ball.
He said: “I thought we did relatively well in the first 30 overs bowling. Whilst they probably had a few more runs on the board then we would’ve liked at the time, we had a semblance of control.
“From 40 overs onwards, we lost that control, and as the Whiteley and Chappell partnership played out we would’ve hoped to handle that situation better, so that’s where they got away from us.
“That being said at the interval, we thought if we got the right platform we could give ourselves a decent chance, but we never really established anything.”
There were more wickets for James Hayes and Rob Lord, and minutes at the crease for Sam Seecharan, as the trio were among those given the opportunity to test themselves at first-team level.
The 50-over head coach believes that the balance between the young and experienced players in the Notts squad is starting to pay off.
Franks said: “The challenge is that they’re not always going to have their best day. We’ve got to be patient with the younger lads and make sure you’ve given them the right feedback and quickly scrub them up to get them out there again.
“However they’ve shown signs of progress in particularly Hayes and Lord both taking wickets. Sam hasn’t had the runs he would’ve liked just yet but it’s valuable experience."
The defeat ended the first week of the Metro Bank One Day Cup which saw Notts win, lose and secure a tie.
Franks believes that there is still more to come from the squad for the rest of the competition.
He said: “I think we’ve been inconsistent, I don’t think we’ve played our best cricket yet.
“We have had flashes of our quality but also periods where we’ve really hurt ourselves and had to drag it back.
“I think we’ve got progress to make. We’re looking for more from each other and that’s certainly what I’ll be asking from them in the coming days because consistency is not an easy thing to find.”