CAPTAIN Mark Evenson says getting the basics right will be key to Bromsgrove bouncing back from their 81-run defeat at Shifnal.
The Boars suffered their first Birmingham League Division One defeat of the season in Shropshire on Saturday as they were hustled out for 168 in their chase of 249.
But the Bromsgrove skipper feels the result could have gone a different way if Connor Dudley and Ross Aucott, who went on to score 83 and 55 not out respectively, had not been dropped.
Only Alexei Kervezee offered some resistance with a stylish 68 as the visitors were back in the pavilion in the 38th over.
“I was quite happy with Shifnal’s score as we bowled and fielded quite well,” Evenson said.
“But there was a few crucial dropped catches which cost around 60 to 80 runs.
“If we had held those it could have been a different story but on the other hand we never got ourselves into a position to challenge with the bat.
“We lost Jayden (Levitt) and Ashley (Newfield) cheaply which made it an uphill struggle but like in seasons gone by we are losing too many wickets in the middle.
“We have got to be able to find a way to be building partnerships at that stage.”
Bromsgrove will hope to return to winning ways on Saturday when they welcome winless Walmley to St Godwald’s Park.
Tom Green is to replace Yogesh Malhotra in a bid to solidify the middle order and Evenson says he will not be taking their second-from-bottom visitors lightly.
“Walmley have come down from the Premier Division and have lost a few players but we have to earn the right to win a game of cricket,” he added.
“We like playing at home as we know the conditions and Walmley have lost all their games so we have a good opportunity to bounce back.
“But we have got to get the basics right where we are building partnerships with the bat and with the ball as well as taking all our catches.
“If we can get a good result we will be in the top four or five which is not bad going at this stage of the season.”
