OJ Pitcher, the St George’s captain, said his team’s poor shot selection was the reason behind their collective failure to set Somerset a challenging total in Cup Match at Wellington Oval.

Pitcher, who was leading the East Enders for the first time, said it was disappointing that several of the team’s batsmen — himself included — were unable to build big scores after getting in.

St George’s were skittled out for just 113 runs in the first innings, and 133 in the second, to set Somerset a paltry total of 93 for victory, which Pitcher believes was at least 80 runs short of a testing total.

“I thought our bowlers did extremely well, but our batting let us down in both innings,” said Pitcher, who scored 20 and 13.

“We played too many loose shots and didn’t play the right shots given the fields that [Somerset] had set.

“We tried to force things a bit too much rather than just working the gaps. But, it’s a learning process, and hopefully we can come back stronger from this.

“I felt we needed to set Somerset at least 180 runs for victory, as 92 was never going to be enough of a challenging total.”

Somerset’s eight-wicket victory over St George’s was the defending champions’ first win at Wellington Oval since 1981.

It was a tough loss to take for Pitcher, who also captains St David’s in the Logic Premier Division, although he is desperate to remain as St George’s captain and wrestle the trophy back at Somerset Cricket Club next year.

“Whether it’s in your own backyard or not, it’s a hard loss period,” Pitcher said. “It’s never pleasing to lose Cup Match, but it’s now up to us to put the wrongs right next year.

“We didn’t show enough consistency over the two days and that’s something we need to work on.

“For me, it’s been a huge honour to captain St George’s in Cup Match. I’m a bit of an outsider [as a St David’s player], but I’d like to thank the players, coaches and fans for showing me respect.

“I’ve been involved in Cup Match for about 13 years and I’ve always shown commitment to St George’s and being given the captaincy was my reward for that.

“I’m committed to St George’s as captain and would love to stay on as captain.

“Obviously that’s a decision for the club to make, but I really feel we can win the trophy back in the not-to-distant future.”

Pitcher congratulated Somerset on their convincing win and conceded that their opponents had built a formidable-looking squad of players.

“Somerset have a good crop of players at the moment,” Pitcher said. “Now we have to find that right balance and the right formula because we definitely have the talent.”