LUKE Ryan is remaining positive despite a nightmare start to the season, writes BRADLEY ROSE.

Oxfordshire had hoped for an upturn in fortunes in the three-day format after losing all four of their Unicorns Counties Trophy games.

But Ryan’s side went on to lose their Unicorns Counties Championship opener to Cornwall earlier this month and fell to a 56-run defeat at home to Shropshire on Tuesday.

Having managed to win five games from six to win the Western Division last season, before losing to Cumberland in the final, Ryan is staying upbeat.

The Oxon captain said: “We haven’t become a bad side overnight, if you look at our record in this competition last year you can see we are good enough.”

Ryan also feels his side can take some positives from their loss to Shropshire.

He said: “Obviously I am disappointed with the result.

“But I was pleased with how we bowled in the first innings, it was just our batting that let us down.”

Oxon chairman, Chris Clements, echoed Ryan’s comments.

He said: “We haven’t batted very well this year and our batsmen need to start adapting to three-day cricket.”

Oxon travel to Usk to face Wales next week for their third match, which begins on July 3.