Daniel Salpietro insists Rishton can hold their heads high despite bowing out of the Worsley Cup last weekend.
Rishton had booked a second round place with a thrilling win over Accrington, inflicting their first defeat since last August.
With Church and Enfield also bowing out in the first round, Rishton were the only local side in the last eight but their hopes of a first semi-final since 2005 were dashed with a 111-run defeat to holders Lowerhouse at Blackburn Road.
“It was disappointing to go out the way we did,” said professional Salpietro. “But it was against quality opposition so we can’t take it away from Lowerhouse, they completely outplayed us in all aspects.
“We’re a side that has to compete for the full 100 overs to be in with a chance of winning against a side like that and, on the day, we probably played only 30 overs of good cricket.
“I still think this year’s Worsley Cup was a good effort and something good for the club. If we’d have won at the weekend I think we’d have been expected to win the competition, after knocking out the top two sides.”
Salpietro bowled 10 overs without taking a wicket but helped restrict Lowerhouse’s scoring during the first 20 overs.
After that, Salpietro feels the game got away from Rishton, with Lowerhouse finishing on 229-7.
“At the halfway mark we’d set the score up to be around the 150 mark, maybe 160, 170. Then you’d back yourself to chase it down,” said the 25-year-old.
“But Joe Hawke played a good innings with Charlie Cottam (both scoring 44), which really set them up to win the match.”
Salpietro was then out for a duck before Rishton were bowled out for 118.
“All things had to go our way with the batting and it didn’t happen,” he said.
“I chopped one on. It came off the face of the bat and trickled onto the stumps, but that’s the way things go sometimes. One chance and you’re gone.
“It sends a shock through the side if your professional’s out in the first over but we’ve got players who are capable of scoring good runs. It just has to be their day and on Saturday it wasn’t.”
Despite that, Salpietro is pleased with how Rishton are progressing this year, targeting a top-six spot. They head into Sunday’s league match at Ramsbottom in eighth, one point behind Nelson.
“We’d like to be a couple of positions higher and if we can finish somewhere around sixth I think it’d be a good achievement for the club,” he said. “I’m not saying we couldn’t finish any higher but we have to be realistic. We’ve just got to keep getting the best out of every player and hopefully we can keep scraping enough wins together.”
