Bad day at the office for Bashley

The hosts were leapfrogged in the league table by their opponents after being swept aside for 110 all-out, less than half of Totton’s target of 239 for eight.

And Morris, who lost wicketkeeper Dan Friedman to a broken finger, admitted his team have yet to hit the heights this season, but believes his young charges will come good when the timed games begin next week.

Morris told the Daily Echo: “We didn’t bat particularly well on a good pitch and lost a couple of early wickets. We never really sustained much of a partnership and didn’t gain enough momentum to look like catching them.

“We’re quite a top-heavy side with talented, attacking batsmen but they are also very young. They are still learning their craft and we will have bad days where we don’t play well and this was one of them. Results like this will happen but we will learn from the mistakes we make.

“To be honest, we haven’t played brilliantly all season but it will suit us to have a shift of focus to the all-day games, and with the Twenty20 game with New Milton to come next Sunday, we’re looking forward to a good weekend.”

James Taylor (86) and Western Australia’s Will Bosisto (63) hit a century in their third-wicket partnership to help the visitors towards a respectable, but not insurmountable, total with Ryan Higgins (2-19) and Simon Ridley (2-45) top of the wicket takers for Bashley.

However, the response from Morris’s men was meek and, despite the best efforts of Sean Terry (43), all nine wickets were gone after 32.5 overs with Friedman having to sit out the batting. Totton’s Bosisto (2-15), Darren Augustus (2-17) and James Haggaty (2-27) were among the wickets.

And Morris feels the result proves the need for his side to be on top form every week in an increasingly competitive Premier Division.

The Bashley skipper added: “When you look at some of the results nothing surprises you anymore. Anybody can beat anybody and that was proved this weekend by Hampshire Academy winning at Havant and Alton beating South Wilts. You could pick a winner from any one of eight teams this season.

“The influx of Australian cricketers has levelled the playing field and made the overall quality higher. It is a good thing for the league but on the other hand it makes it tougher for clubs like us who are trying to build our side up with younger players.”