ALEC Butcher has urged Winnington Park’s batsmen to be more aggressive at the crease after a stuttering start to the season.

The Northwich side have lost three of their first five matches in the Cheshire League’s second tier, including a 43-run reverse at home to Stockport Trinity last weekend.

They have yet to post a high total, but the captain insists he isn’t worried.

He said: “We’ve underachieved with the bat; there is talent in the team, and the guys’ availability is better than in previous years.

“I’m a big believer in momentum driving performances in cricket, and we’re still trying to get out of first gear.

“It’s something we talked about after the game [against Stockport].

“As a group we’ve committed to playing with more character at the crease and applying the ability we have more assertively.

“We believe in each other, and as a close-knit team we’re lucky to have that support.”

Winnington sit ninth in the table ahead of a trip on Saturday to Irby, who occupy a position in the top-half despite being only seven points better off.

Before that they entertain Winsford in the T20 Cup first round – a first opportunity to put a new philosophy into practice.

Butcher said: “I’ll be looking for our batsmen to play with more freedom and really take advantage of a chance to get some runs on the board.

“As with all T20 games, it will also be a test of our bowlers’ discipline.

“After the disappointment of last weekend, it’s great to have a quick turnaround so we can apply ourselves again.”

Winnington were denied a draw from their meeting with Stockport at the Rec when Alex Birchenall was dismissed from the game’s final delivery.

That left them 125 all out.

Mike Dunning (24), Ben Coulbeck (21) and Sam Barnes (22) made starts, while Zohaib Khan took 5-51.

Stockport had posted 168-7 earlier in the day after winning the toss, with James Hendry (2-25) and Iain Connor (2-6) claiming a brace apiece.

Butcher said: “We were able to name a strong side, and were optimistic that if we played how we know we can then we’d get the result we wanted.

“I thought we put in a committed effort in the field and restricted Stockport to what we felt was a below-par score.

“Unfortunately we didn’t get going until the game had been taken away from us.”

“It was a missed opportunity.”