BARNT Green fell short in their batting as they suffered a five-wicket loss at the hands of title-chasing Berkswell in the Birmingham League Premier.

Green had been put into bat at their Cherry Hill Road and while recording a respectable 274 all out in 54 overs, they missed a chance to scored a much bigger total.

With opening batsman Luke Radford in good form, scoring 95 runs off 114 balls, Green had reached 235-4 but lost impetus when he was caught by Oliver Haley off the bowling of Daniel Worrall.

Green then lost William Baker (13) and Alastair Pollock (0) as they slipped to 237-7.

Tom Brown (21) and Darrel Williams (14) scored more runs but Green's felt they could have scored more.

But the game was decided by Berkswell opener Mark Best, who made 152 off 135 balls as the away side made 276-5 in 54 overs.

Captain Andy Sutton said: "We made a good score but it could have been more.

"Luke Radford batted very well but he'll be disappointed not to go and score 120-130 runs and we lost two or three wickets for very fews runs and it cost us.

"We could have scored over 300 runs and made it much harder for Berkswell and Mark Best was the big difference but in the end, they won with five wickets to spare."

Green now go into the last six games, beginning with Walmley away on Saturday (noon start), which are now played in in the ODI win and lose format, which Sutton feels suits his side more.

He said: "We've got some very tough matches coming up and it's not going to be easy.

"We're a young and aggressive team but sometimes we have to just build steady, let the performances come naturally, instead of constantly looking to score boundaries and bowl magic balls."