'We could never get on top' - Dropped catches cost Uddingston cricketers in defeat at Ferguslie

Batting first, Uddingston were all out for 160 in 39.5 overs with Muhammad Awais top scoring on 79 runs from 100 balls faced.

But a total of five Uddingston players were dismissed without scoring a run and Ferguslie were to make short work of reaching their target for victory.

In reply, the Paisley side made 164/3 in 32.5 overs to win comfortably.

Uddingston skipper/wicket keeper Bryan Clarke said: “We batted first and probably did two-thirds of the job with the bat.

"Awais has had a great start to the season. He’s done fantastically well last year as well and he is just getting better and better.

"I think the feeling was that we’d really let him down.

"There were a couple of good partnerships in there. Both Ross Lyons and Moneeb Iqbal had really good starts, but beyond that there was next to nothing.

"And you need more than that.

"We really let ourselves down at the back end of the innings and we felt probably, from the position we were in, the total was about 40 or 50 runs short.

"And that just meant we had lost momentum going into the second half. We had a reasonable start and then we were a bit sloppy in the field.

"We dropped some catches and we could just never get on top of them.

"And it’s a mirror image of the game last year when we did exactly the same to them. So that’s the beauty of this league, that you’re playing against teams that are very competitive every week and you can get turned over.

"From our perspective it was a wee bit disappointing. We had a real positive performance the week before and probably left a wee bit out there.

"We just need to get back up and at it.”

Seventh-placed Uddingston visit sixth-placed Dumfries in the league this Saturday.

Clarke added: “Dumfries beat Ferguslie at Dumfries just over a week ago and we’ve just lost to Ferguslie.

"So you should assume we’d go down there and get hammered. We’ve just got to pick ourselves up and prove to ourselves that we’re a wee bit better than that.

"We are four games in, one was rained out. We’re really disappointed to have lost two because that’s the standards we set ourselves.

"I think the team that wins the league this year will lose four or five games.

"It’s entirely different to the way it’s panned out in years before and the early fixtures and results will show you that.

"What’s important for us is getting on a run and pressing ourselves forward.

"There’s maybe been a bit of complacency from some of the boys that means they roll up thinking they are in a really good team and somebody else will do it for them.

"That’s not the case. We all have to be absolutely committed because we are playing in a really competitive standard and guys will overtake you if you stand still.”