ANDREW Gale refused to be too downbeat in defeat against Nottinghamshire, but admitted Yorkshire failed to nail the key moments in their Vitality T20 Blast clash at Trent Bridge yesterday.

Notts chased down 191 to win by six wickets with four balls to spare, recovering from 16-2 in the second over thanks mainly to Ben Duckett’s brilliant 86 not out.

But Yorkshire, now with a No Result, a win and a defeat from three North Group matches, were hurt badly by slipping from 168-3 in the 18th over of their innings to fall to 190 all out.

That was a loss of seven wickets for 22 runs in only 16 balls, with experienced seamer Luke Fletcher claiming 5-43 - three of them in the last over.

For the second time in two days, England Test captain Joe Root was Yorkshire's top scorer, hitting a silky 65 off 43 balls. Adam Lyth also followed up his 61 against Derbyshire with a quickfire 53 here.

But it was a failure to build on those early fireworks which cost Yorkshire dearly.

Coach Gale said after the match: “Up to the last two overs of our batting, I thought we were excellent.

“We probably should have scraped to 200 and lost a bit of momentum at the end. I felt we were just above par, but we could have got 200 and been well above par.

“If you look at the wickets they got, they were going for yorkers and bowled them right in the slot. We just didn’t get hold of them. I thought we tried to overhit.

“Then, from a bowling point off view, a couple of big overs cost us. Our plans were good, we just didn’t execute the plans we talked about.

“We got two early wickets, but we needed to keep taking wickets through that middle period.

“You have to give Notts credit. They have a heck of a lot of experience in that line-up, but I thought we showed our inexperience.

“We always knew today would be as tough game.

“Against Derbyshire we were outstanding. But this would be a tougher test because Notts are a good team and have based their last few seasons around white ball cricket. It’s a tough place to come.

“I thought we did a lot right today, but in the key moments we got it wrong.

“We can still hold our heads high and take a lot of positives.

“All is not lost yet. We’re disappointed, but we have Leicester at home on Wednesday and then play against an inexperienced Durham side on Friday.

“If we can get two wins from two, suddenly we’re back up near the top of the league.”

As Gale mentioned above, Yorkshire host Leicestershire at Emerald Headingley tomorrow (6.30pm), when David Willey will return from England duty to captain the side.

He has been left out of England’s squads for two limited overs series against Australia, while Joe Root is only in the one-day squad, meaning he is available for the next two North Group games.

Gale confirmed: “Dave will definitely come back in, and it will be great to have him. In games like this, we need experience like his. That’s a real plus for us from Wednesday.”