Shropshire cricket captain Richard Oliver targets final flourish

The Cats have already enjoyed an impressive campaign which saw them win 10 matches on the bounce in both the Trophy and Minor Counties Championship.

That run took them to the brink of the Western Division title, only to have their hopes dashed by defeat to tomorrow's opponents and then a draw at the eventual champions Cheshire.

And Oliver has suggested the season would be remembered with great regret if the team does not secure a trophy to show for their heroics.

He said: "People have said we have had a good season, but it is not finished yet.

"If we come out of this game without winning it, who's to say it has been a good season?

"We haven't won anything yet and in sport there is no room for sentiment. You don't always get what you deserve.

"Having missed out on the Western Division title it certainly makes you realise how much of an achievement it is to make a final and we probably took it for granted a bit when we were in the position to make two finals.

"Now we haven't made it to one we are starting to realise this is a really good achievement – but winning the final is what we are there to do."

Oliver added that the team is unlikely to be daunted by the occasion, as several of the current squad also played in the 2010 final victory over Lincolnshire.

But he does not believe that will provide any advantage at Sir Paul Getty's Ground tomorrow.

He said: "Our lads won't be overawed by the occasion, but Berkshire won the same competition the year after we did so I don't think that will be a defining factor."

Oliver insists the team will have no shortage of motivation for the match, and that a trophy would be just reward for the Cats' backroom staff which includes coach Kevin Sharp, manager Terry O'Connor, physio Mandeep Padhiar, chairman of selectors Brian Foxall and club chairmanToby Shaw.

He said: "It is a whole team effort and they deserve as much of the accolades as the rest of us."