Rain may have had a negative impact on Norfolk's season so far but it is not dampening their spirits, says captain Chris Brown.

The rare frustration of a bowl-out defeat brought an end to Norfolk's Unicorns Knockout Trophy hopes at the quarter-final stage for the fourth consecutive season on Sunday.

That rain-affected loss at Staffordshire was particularly tough to take for Brown, as he felt his side were in a good position to win.

'I've been involved with one before, in a European Championship game against Ireland for an ECB XI back in 2003, so it was quite a while ago,' Brown said.

'But it was a very competitive score we posted because the pitch was taking indentations and we were stopped by the weather at 134 for four, so we would have got around 160, maybe a bit more, and that would have taken a lot of chasing.'

The 4-3 sudden-death defeat in the bowl-out brought an end to any hopes of Norfolk lifting the Knockout Trophy for the first time since 2009 but after winning three of their four group matches to progress, Brown is feeling positive.

'We played some really good cricket in the one-day competition and the lads can hold their heads up high, particularly with that score in the rain-affected game at Longton, because I think we were in the box seat,' the spin bowler continued.

'That would have taken some chasing down but unfortunately we were thwarted by the weather and we've now got to focus on the (Minor Counties) Championship.'

Jordan Taylor topped the batting averages with 57.33 after 172 runs in four completed matches, scoring an unbeaten 84 in a four-wicket win at Northumberland. Lewis Denmark scored one more run overall and finished with an average of 43.25.

Ben France topped the bowling statistics with an average of 12.77, taking nine wickets for 115 runs in 36.4 overs, seven of which were maidens.

Next up for Norfolk is the East Anglian T20 competition at Bury St Edmunds on Sunday, June 26, followed by a return to Staffs on Sunday, July 3, as Norfolk look to build on a rain-affected draw in their first three-day game at Cambridgeshire.

Brown added: 'The group is very tight. We said that we wanted to stick with the same group, so the players who played well in our first Championship game at Wisbech – when we unfortunately got done by the rain again – will be involved again. So hopefully we can perform well again at Staffordshire.'