Shropshire skipper Ed Foster has issued a rallying call to his side – insisting they can still rescue their Minor Counties Championship tie with Berkshire at Shrewsbury.

The home side need an unlikely 408 to win the match and lost skipper Foster off the last ball of the day at London Road to close on 16-1.

Earlier the visitors dismissed Ed Foster’s men for just 156 with only Jono Whitney offering any resistance with 32.

In reply the hosts had Berkshire in trouble at 76-4 but half centuries from Jono McLean (59) and wicket-keeper Bjorn Mordt (54) saw the visitors reach 243-6 declared.

And with Shropshire forced to bat just over four overs, the away side claimed a vital breakthrough when Stephen Wheeler bowled Foster with the final delivery of the day.

But the captain was refusing to rule out a surprise Shropshire success.

He said: “It was always going to be difficult for us but we did quite well and while it’s unlikely we’ll score 400, I think the pitch is good enough and our batting is good enough to do it.

“It’s just a case of taking it session by session. We’ll try and get through the morning without losing any wickets and see where we are.

“I think we will need someone to go on and make a century for us to win the game and we’ve got the players who can do that — they’ve proved that in the past.”

Shropshire made great strides in the opening two sessions yesterday with Dan Bowen and Jono Whitney taking two wickets apiece.

But McLean and Mordt pushed Berkshire into a healthy position, and an unbroken seventh wicket stand of 48 stretched the advantage.

And Foster’s dismissal left Shropshire facing an uphill battle to avoid defeat.

By ALEX JAMES