OXFORDSHIRE 345 & 270-4dec beat DORSET 224 & 231 by 160 runs

COUNTY captain Chris Park has questioned the mentality of his side’s batsmen after Dorset’s dismal summer continued with defeat against Oxfordshire.

Even though Mark Wolstenholme made 72 batting at number seven for the visitors, Dorset conceded a 121-run deficit after the first innings at Aston Rowant.

Oxfordshire declared their second innings on 270-4 early on the final day, with Richard Kaufman hitting an unbeaten 103 to set Dorset a mammoth 392 to win.

While Jake Lintott attempted to counter for the Dean Park outfit with a run-a-ball 58, Dorset were bowled out for 231 second time around, 160 runs short.

Former Middlesex man Chad Keegan claimed three wickets in the second innings to scoop seven in the game for the home side. Lintott was the only man in the Dorset top five to reach 50.

“We keep shooting ourselves in the foot time and time again,” said Park, who scored 42 and 36.

“As a batting unit we are just not firing. To give away more than 100 runs in the first innings means we are behind the eight-ball straight away and playing catch up.

“The outfield was fast and the weather was good and, for me, the batsmen are just not keeping us in the game.”

Asked what he can do to get his top order firing, Park said: “That is the million dollar question for me really.

“Yes, it’s a case that the young batsmen are still learning the game and are inexperienced, but it’s a question of how many mistakes can they continue to make.

“Are we going to ruin a young lad’s confidence by taking him out of the firing line? Are we doing more harm than good keeping a young lad in the situation at the top of the order where the pressure is obviously big?

“It’s just down to their mental state really and maybe they have dug themselves a bit of a hole which they can’t get out of at the moment.”