Hampshire Hawks 240-8 (Greg Smith 3-49)
Notts Outlaws 244-9 (Fleming 102*)
Notts Outlaws won by one wicket
Fleming?s fifth hundred in all competitions dragged us over the finish line against Hampshire and Director of Cricket Mick Newell claimed the victory could prove crucial.
He said: ?We needed to close the gap on Hampshire and drag others into the relegation battle. We were never going to win if Fleming hadn?t batted through to the finish.
?It?s never easy to keep up with the run-rate when wickets are falling at the other end. He showed his qualities at the end and that win will be key in our battle to stay up.?
Newell was pleased with our performance in the field as we restricted the visitors to 240 in their 45 overs, with Greg Smith claiming three wickets.
But only Will Smith and Mark Ealham stuck around to help Fleming out, and the New Zealander?s two sixes late on kept us up with the target.
In the end, Hampshire?s slow bowling rate gave us the win, as the umpires awarded six penalty runs for not completing their overs in the allotted time.
Added Newell: ?We had some good periods with the ball and really held them up in the middle of their innings. There?s still plenty of areas to work on but we now have a base on which to build against Northants next weekend.?
We had more reason to celebrate at the break between innings when Chris Read received the totesport League Division One Player of the Month trophy for June.
Read collected the award for his matchwinning 68 not out against Lancashire Lightning, as well as hitting 45 against Middlesex Crusaders.
He maintained his form through the Twenty20 Cup and then completed his first hundred of the season in the Championship win over Glamorgan.