Lee looking for reaction from Purbrook

He is looking for a reaction after his team slipped to their first defeat of the season with a 16-run reverse at Alton II last weekend.

After restricting the home side to 191 for seven, Lee was disappointed to see his side bowled out narrowly short of their target.

‘We were all disappointed to lose but now it is all about how we react,’ said Lee.

‘Basically, we didn’t bat well enough and hopefully we can learn from that.

‘We bat right down the order so we have the potential to be scoring lots of runs.

‘So far this season we have all chipped in and made starts without going on to turn them into big scores.

‘If we are to beat St Cross then we will have to bat a lot more sensibly and dig in at times.

‘We just need one of our top seven to come off and a few others bat around them.

‘Our first loss has to be a bit of a wake-up call for all of us.’

At Alton, Lee was happy with his side’s bowling and fielding which kept their hosts’ score down.

However, they couldn’t find a way to dismiss the Alton star man who went on to record an unbeaten century.

Even at the half way stage, though, Lee felt confident his team would still win.

That confidence was rocked when James Holder and Brad Mengham were sent back to the pavilion with just three runs on the scoreboard.

Sean Figgins steadied the ship with 26 runs off 37 balls, but the loss of four wickets in the middle order for 10 runs put Purbrook firmly on the back foot.

Good batting by the lower order – Aaron Dean (37), James Gurney (33) and Sameen Mahboob (27 not out) – got Purbrook close, but too much damage had already been done.

Lee needs some of his top batsmen to perform if they are to overcome St Cross Symondians.

He is predicting the likes of overseas player Ben Michel, from New Zealand, and recently returned opener, Mengham, will come good sooner rather than later.

‘Ben has made a steady start for us and is starting to settle,’ said Lee.

‘He is not a big-hitter but more of a stroke player who likes to accumulate runs with some good running between the wickets.

‘By rotating the strike he puts the opposition bowlers under pressure.

‘Brad has come back to us after being at Waterlooville for a number of years.

‘He has been working hard on his batting and I am sure he is not that far away from a big score.

‘If we still want to aim for promotion it is important to get a winning mentality back.’

Purbrook: Martin Lee, Bradley Mengham, Josh Spiers,

John Moller, Sean Figgins, Ben Michel, Clark Harding, Aaron Dean, James Holder, James Gurney, Sameen Mahboob