HIMLEY captain Greg Wright has bemoaned the loss of the toss as being the pivotal factor in his side’s defeat to Tamworth on Saturday.

Wright’s men were put into bat at their home ground and scored 202 off the 55 overs after losing the toss for the third match in a row.

The early fall of wickets of openers Bilaal Hussain (18) and Oliver Westbury (14) didn’t help the home side, but the captain was pleased with the spirit his players showed throughout as they battled to post a decent total.

But with the wicket drying out and favouring the Tamworth batsmen, Ben Maddox scored an impressive 54 not out to help the visitors to a four wicket victory.

The skipper said: “We’ve lost the toss three times in a row and that’s costing us. I couldn’t have faulted the lad’s effort.

“We could’ve beaten Bridgnorth, we should’ve beaten Wellington but got caught up in a storm – quite literally – and unfortunately this week the toss was crucial.

“Tamworth are a good side and we did really well to keep it going and make it as hard as we could.

“We’ve battled brilliantly and I think it’s just been one of those seasons where things aren’t falling our way.”

Wright has already turned his attention to Saturday’s trip to Shifnal (noon start) and admitted he will make a few changes to ‘freshen up’ his side.

The visitors are set to be boosted with the return of a key duo in Chris Boroughs and wicketkeeper Jack Whittaker.

“We head to Shifnal and hope the toss will go in our favour,” Wright said. “But we know that if we play to our potential, play some positive cricket then we can get the result we need.

“I’m planning to shuffle the pack this weekend. We’ll have Chris and Jack back, but we’re a young side and have to give our lads a chance to develop their game.”