East Molesey CC skipper Kieran Burge wants his charges to forget the pressure and break their winless duck in the Premier Division.
The Graburn Way side are rock bottom of the table, 24 points adrift of safety, and while Burge admitted remaining positive is difficult, he is adamant the side can get that first win at home to Guildford this weekend.
East Molesey’s ninth consecutive game without a win came on Saturday at home to top of the table Sunbury by 23 runs – a narrow margin Burge believes should have been overcome.
After electing to bowl, Andrew Westphal and Ross Paxton took a brace of wickets each as Sunbury ended on 284-6 declared – thanks in no small part to a knock of 124 from Middlesex batsman Adam London.
In reply, Sam Burge (51) and Paul Lawford (50) top scored as East Molesey came close to the target before being skittled for 261 in the 60th over.
Keiran Burge said: “It is hard to be positive right now, but if we play against the teams in and around us, in the same way we play the top teams, then I know that win will come.
“We played our best cricket against Sunbury and Wimbledon, but we don’t reproduce it against the teams around us because we put too much pressure on ourselves.
“On Saturday, our pre-match team talk was all about enjoying the game, this is why we are in the Premier Division, we’re not expected to do much – and then we find ourselves in a position where we should be winning the game.”
He added: “We were 70-1 with 45 overs to go and suddenly we’re thinking about winning, and the pressure piles up and we buckle.
“We had a couple of players reach 50 and there is no reason for them not to go on to big scores. “In the afternoon the Molesey pitch gets flat, and we should have chased the target down – so in the end we were disappointed.”
Next up for Burge are Guildford, who sit just above the drop zone, on Saturday, and then Malden Wanderers, who are fourth from bottom, the weekend after.
The skipper said: “There is nothing in either of those teams to suggest we could not beat them, but we have to, we just need to address our mental approach.”
Not quite: Tim Handel hit 44 before caught off the bowling of Adam Stainer SP77701
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