BROMSGROVE skipper Mark Evenson admitted his side never got themselves into a position to mount a challenge after losing by 81 runs to Shifnal in Birmingham League Division One.

Chasing a Shifnal total of 249 for four, Bromsgrove fell well short when bowled out for 168 in reply.

Evenson said: "We were never able to get a partnership going and until we can start doing that, we're not going to challenge at this level.

"We were given a lesson in batting by Shifnal opener Steve Leach who struck 82.

"He adopted the anchorman role and everyone else played around him.

"We dropped their Aussie Connor Dudley when he was on 30 and he went onto make 83.

"Then we also dropped Ross Aucott who went onto make 55 not out, which also proved costly.

"I was quite satisfied we'd kept their score to under 250 when we came off at the interval.

"But in reply, we were 30 for two and then 100 for six, which meant we were out of the game before we were even in it.

"We had a good chat about building batting partnerships after the game. Everytime we looked likely to build a partnership, we went and lost a wicket. We pressed our own self-destruct button and we must learn to chase down scores much better."

Only Worcestershire's Alexie Kervezee made any impression with the bat scoring 68 as Shifnal leg spinner Jack McIver ripped out Bromsgrove's middle order when taking four for 39 off 10 overs.

Bromsgrove have the chance to bounce back this Saturday when they entertain Walmley at St Godwolds Park, the Sutton Coldfield side having been relegated from the top flight last season and have since lost all their Division One games so far."