This summer, Surrey's record for holding their nerve when they get into a winning positions in one-day cricket has been dreadful. The opening day of the Whitgift Festival, saw the Derbyshire Phantoms get the better of them, just, in what proved to be a magnificent exhibition of run-making. After winning the toss and electing to bat, the Brown Caps racked up their highest total against Derbyshire in one-day cricket. But that was trumped by the Phantoms, who registered their highest total chasing successfully in the one-day league. When the visitors collapsed from 193-2 to 227-5 in the space of five overs, the hosts appeared to be heading for their first win in this season’s NatWest Pro40 League. But with John Sadler finishing the game with a six, the Phantoms won with four wickets and five balls to spare.

Surrey first started to look concerned when the Derbyshire openers began the visitors’ reply by collecting 70 off the first ten overs. But then Stewart Walters brought himself into the attack and had Chris Rogers caught at backward point one run short of his fifty. With Garry Park and Greg Smith putting on 98 in fourteen overs for the second wicket, however, the Phantoms were 141-1 at the halfway mark, with Park registering a run-a-ball half-century. Smith then deposited Matthew Spriegel over mid-wicket for six and in the next over brought up his own fifty, off 33 balls, when he launched Chris Schofield straight down the ground for another maximum.

In the 23rd over, Park lifted Spriegel over the square leg boundary, but two overs later Schofield got Surrey back into the match by bowling Park around his legs. Smith hit Schofield out of the ground for six, but with Wavell Hinds being caught low down at extra cover by Usman Afzaal in the 28th over, Smith holing out to long-off three overs later and Dan Redfern popping the ball up to Walters in the 33rd over, Derbyshire were left needing a testing 55 off the last seven. But a frenetic stand seventh wicket stand between John Sadler and Tom Poynton eventually won the day for the Phantoms.

Earlier, Surrey put together what appeared to be an unassailable total thanks to half-centuries from Michael Brown and Chris Schofield, not to mention an enterprising sixth wicket partnership between Whitgift old boys Laurie Evans and Matthew Spriegel, who took 72 runs off the last seven overs of the Brown Caps’ innings.

Chris Murtagh was caught at first slip at the second attempt in the fifth over, but not even that and Nantie Hayward conceding just eleven runs off his opening five overs could prevent Brown and Walters progressing the Surrey total to 60-1 after ten overs. The next over saw Brown cut and then pull Hayward for four, but immediately after bringing up his fifty the 29-year-old opener was bowled through the gate by Smith.

Afzaal announced himself by pulling Tom Linley for six, but after Walters departed, run out attempting a quick single to mid-on, Afzaal yielded to Schofield, who made 66 in 63 deliveries - his highest score in one-day cricket for two years. Afzaal and Schofield’s fourth wicket alliance, which was worth 93 in fifteen overs, ended when Afzaal miscued Park to extra cover.

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