LUKE Ryan said Oxfordshire’s batsmen had not prized their wickets highly enough as they slipped to a 35-run defeat against Wales at Abergavenny.
Oxon’s captain was left frustrated as his side failed to chase down the 226 they needed for victory in the Western Division clash.
Wales collected their fourth win from four matches, despite having been 123-8 in their second innings the previous day.
Ryan said: “We didn’t put a high enough price on enough of our wickets.
“The target was definitely within range and in the end we were so close to making it.
“When you are chasing a score like that, you need a batsmen to go through to the end, as Jonny Cater did against Cornwall.
“We needed someone to be the backbone of the run-chase.
“It is the main area of our game that has let us down throughout the three-day campaign. We have not got in excess of 300 at any stage.
“We have bowled sides out and always managed to exert some pressure, but we have not had that scoreboard pressure with big totals.
“We have got the batsmen to do it, but have not pulled it off.”
Oxon recovered from losing Damian Shirazi early on for just a single to reach 87-1, but then Richard Kaufman departed quickly after he had battled his way to 36 from 73 balls.
Jamie Perkin soon followed for a duck and top-scorer Lloyd Sabin (pictured left) top-edged a bouncer to square leg for 49.
There was still some hope as Cater, who made 43 from 54 balls, and Richard West took the side to 137-4, but Oxon lost their last six wickets for 53 runs to be all out for 190.
Seamers Aneurin Norman and Jonathon Denning, plus spinner Nicholas Davies, claimed three wickets apiece, while Jack Murphy and Rhodri Evans copped some punishment.
Oxfordshire had battled hard, scoring their 190 runs off 71.5 overs, but this was another game that got away for Ryan’s men.
He added: “The pitch did start to break up and a little bit of water got under the covers at night.
“There was a little area where balls were misbehaving.”