A late flurry of wickets for spinner Elliot Green on debut was not enough to stop Shropshire slumping to a disappointing defeat in their Minor Counties clash at Oxfordshire.

Shropshire had started started the third and final day of their western division clash in a strong position at Great & Little Tew.

Even after rather losing their way with the bat, they still reached 262 in their second innings to set the hosts an improbable 322 for victory.

Oxfordshire had to contend with a tricky 20 minutes before lunch, and the odds of an away win fell even further as Steve Taylor struck early – the St Georges quickie getting Damian Shirazi caught behind by wicketkeeper Matt Tilt for just eight runs.

Raise hopes

But all momentum was lost as Richard Kaufman and Craig Haupt put on 71 for the second wicket.

Kaufman eventually went on to make the only century of the match — 144 off just 175 balls — and added 157 for the third wicket with Rob Williams (59).

The dismissal of Williams, caught and bowled by Bridgnorth’s Jono Whitney, saw the game start to turn back in Shropshire’s favour for a while.

Skipper Ed Foster then turned to spin, bringing young Shrewsbury debutant Green into the attack.

The Shrewsbury teenager had been allowed just three overs in the first innings, but ripped through the Oxfordshire middle and lower order.

He removed David Smith and Jack Taylor before Whitney finally ended Kaufman’s long occupation of the crease to raise hopes that Shropshire could yet get the win they so craved.

Green struck three more times to end with fine figures of 5-78, and all results were still possible as Oxfordshire stood on 303-9.

But last wicket pairing Luke Ryan and Richard Gilbert proved up to the task, guiding their side over the winning line in the evening sunshine.

Shropshire skipper Ed Foster had hoped to have been setting a far bigger target — especially as his side had started the day resuming their second innings on 153-3.

Foster himself had been unbeaten on 89 but added just three more to that overnight score.

Whitney did hit 55 with some classy boundary shots on display, but he lacked support.

His partnership with debutant and club-mate Ryan Lockley saw momentum disappear — the teenager struggling to get the ball off the square as he crawled to 17 off 69 balls.

The tail failed to wag and Oxfordshire showed them how it could be done on a batsman-friendly pitch to take the spoils.

By CHRIS HUDSON