Aston Rowant slumped to a disappointing defeat at home to Reading in Division 2 West on Saturday.

Despite some decent performances by their bowlers, Rowant paid the price for five dropped catches and some woeful batting as they slipped to a 75-run defeat.

Skipper Wes Morrick was the chief Rowant wicket-taker, claiming 3-95 as Reading reached 227-5 off 59 overs, aided by some lacklustre efforts in the field.

In reply, Rowant got off to a nightmare start when opener Tim Morgan was out for a duck.

And when No 3 Mark Walker also fell without troubling the scorers, it looked like Rowant could crash to an embarrassing defeat.

However, Tim Miles (68) and Chris Watling gave them real hope when a solid third-wicket partnership saw Rowant progress to 91-2.

But then some poor decision-making, coupled with a fair amount of decent bowling, saw their final eight wickets fall for just 61 runs as they crashed to a heavy defeat.

Rowant are yet to win a game since winning promotion last season.