The captain of Oswestry Cricket Club’s first team has described his side’s recent defeat as one of the most disappointing during his time at the club.

Dean Suter featured in his team’s narrow defeat at the hands of Malvern’s Barnards Green on Saturday afternoon.

Oswestry set a target of 228-6 from their 50 overs, which they presumed would be enough to overcome their Birmingham League opposition.

However, a good time at the crease for Barnards Green saw them storm ahead and eventually win the fixture by just one wicket.

Suter believes his side were at times careless during the game: and this allowed their hosts to claw their way back into the game.“It was one of the most disappointing losses for me as an Oswestry player,” he said.

“We were really lackadaisical, and I think that showed at times.

“We did play some good cricket throughout the afternoon, but equally we played some bad cricket when it mattered and that’s what cost us.

“It was a fixture which we would expect to win 99 times out of 100.

“Fair play to the opposition though, they did well and capitalised on the mistakes we made. It was just their day really.”

The strong top-order partnership of Joe Carrasco and Warrick Fynn gave Oswestry a great start, with the pair racking up 100 runs between them before one of them was caught out.

Despite coming away with a loss, Suter remains positive his side can iron out the errors that caused them to suffer defeat.

He added: “There were definitely some positives from the afternoon, and I think it’s a game we will come out of a definitely learn from.

“You can learn a lot more from a narrow loss than a victory most of the time – it’s a good opportunity to look at the mistakes we made and make changes accordingly.

“It was especially disappointing to lose considering how well prepared we were. We really should have taken the chances we had to win.”

Reflecting on the start of the season, the skipper thinks his side are well-placed in the early stages of the season, as they remain third in the table.

“It has absolutely been a positive start to the season overall,” he said.

“I think if someone had told us we would be third after five games we would’ve snatched their hand off for it.

“Going forward we have a few lads coming back into the squad including Roman Walker, Conner Davies and Sam Davies – all very talented players.

“The lads who have been playing in their places have done great, so it just shows the quality and depth of our squad which I think will start to show as the season goes on.”