SLOUGH captain Bobby Sher admits that his side took a ‘bit of a hammering’ after a 185-run defeat against Banbury on Saturday.

Banbury won the toss and chose to bat first at Upton Court Road with Aussie Timothy Paine (141) a key figure in their total of 290-8 from 64 overs.

Feroz Baig (3-37) was the pick of the Slough bowlers, with wickets also for Ali Akbar Raja (2-58), Sher (1-16) and Shahid Yousaf (1-87).

The hosts fancied their chances of chasing the total on a flat wicket but were instead skittled for just 105 after 26.1 overs.

Yousaf (34), Nabil Shah (30) and Shazad Rana (14) were the only batsman to reach double figures, whilst Ashley Blanchard recorded 5-48 for Banbury.

Sher,<em> pictured above</em>, praised classy Aussie Paine, but bemoaned Slough’s batting performance, even questioning what was going through his players’ minds.

He told <em>The Observer</em>: “To be honest, it was a very good wicket at Slough but we couldn’t get much of a breakthrough. We didn’t bowl enough balls in the right areas and consistently.

“We got into the match a bit more as it went on, but with Tim Paine at the crease runs still came regularly. He batted very well and showed his class.

“Tim didn’t hit a shot in the air at all. He played carpet cricket with a hunger to score big runs. He’s such a nice guy and showed a difference in class.” Sher continued: “When it was our turn to bat, it was a completely different story. It was like we batted on something completely different.

“We showed poor shot selection and played some very bad shots, and I don’t know whether or not our fasting started to get to the boys.

“To be bowled out for 105 on a flat wicket comes as a big surprise for us. We were quite happy to chase 290 but didn’t bat well enough.

“We thought that we would be in with a good chance but played some strange shots and I don’t know what was going through the players’ minds.” Slough host Harefield this Saturday and Sher has called for his team to work harder with bat and ball.

He said: “These things can happen in cricket and we’ve just got to pick ourselves up and start again.

“We’re starting the second round of fixtures now and we hope to perform better than in the first.

“Harefield is going to be a tough encounter because they’ve got some good players, so we’ve got to work really hard to get something positive.” SLOUGH captain Bobby Sher admits that his side took a ‘bit of a hammering’ after a 185-run defeat against Banbury on Saturday.

Banbury won the toss and chose to bat first at Upton Court Road with Aussie Timothy Paine (141) a key figure in their total of 290-8 from 64 overs.

Feroz Baig (3-37) was the pick of the Slough bowlers, with wickets also for Ali Akbar Raja (2-58), Sher (1-16) and Shahid Yousaf (1-87).

The hosts fancied their chances of chasing the total on a flat wicket but were instead skittled for just 105 after 26.1 overs.

Yousaf (34), Nabil Shah (30) and Shazad Rana (14) were the only batsman to reach double figures, whilst Ashley Blanchard recorded 5-48 for Banbury.

Sher,<em> pictured above</em>, praised classy Aussie Paine, but bemoaned Slough’s batting performance, even questioning what was going through his players’ minds.

He told <em>The Observer</em>: “To be honest, it was a very good wicket at Slough but we couldn’t get much of a breakthrough. We didn’t bowl enough balls in the right areas and consistently.

“We got into the match a bit more as it went on, but with Tim Paine at the crease runs still came regularly. He batted very well and showed his class.

“Tim didn’t hit a shot in the air at all. He played carpet cricket with a hunger to score big runs. He’s such a nice guy and showed a difference in class.” Sher continued: “When it was our turn to bat, it was a completely different story. It was like we batted on something completely different.

“We showed poor shot selection and played some very bad shots, and I don’t know whether or not our fasting started to get to the boys.

“To be bowled out for 105 on a flat wicket comes as a big surprise for us. We were quite happy to chase 290 but didn’t bat well enough.

“We thought that we would be in with a good chance but played some strange shots and I don’t know what was going through the players’ minds.” Slough host Harefield this Saturday and Sher has called for his team to work harder with bat and ball.

He said: “These things can happen in cricket and we’ve just got to pick ourselves up and start again.

“We’re starting the second round of fixtures now and we hope to perform better than in the first.

“Harefield is going to be a tough encounter because they’ve got some good players, so we’ve got to work really hard to get something positive.” PICK up a copy of<em> The Observer</em>, out now, for all the latest sports news and action including our complete cricket round-up.

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