COACH Alan Willows issued a rallying cry to his Dorset cricketers ahead of the Minor Counties Championship season following their dismal showing in the Knockout Trophy.

The Dean Park outfit won just one of four group matches, failing to qualify despite beating section winners Berkshire, who they face in their league opener next week.

With results elsewhere going against them, Dorset were heading out at the group stage, but with their cup quest ending in a 95-run defeat at Buckingham-shire yesterday, Willows has called on his charges to show more desire.

The Dorset chief told the Daily Echo: “We are very disappointed with the performance. We didn’t bowl quite as well as we wanted to but, with a par score being around 240-250, we didn’t feel we were far away.

“It wouldn’t have mattered anyway but we didn’t play anywhere near as well as we should have done and we were nowhere near the level we expect.

“We needed to show a little bit more determination and we have to come out fighting in the three- day championship starting next week. We know Berkshire will be tough opponents but we have already beaten them in the trophy, albeit in a different format.

“We are in the process of putting our side together and we will be looking to bounce back quickly by showing a bit more aggression in our forthcoming matches.”