Oxfordshire captain Ian Hawtin pulled no punches as he reflected on their MCCA Trophy exit.

Sunday’s six-wicket defeat to Dorset at Weymouth left Oxon third in Group 3 and dashed their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.

Oxfordshire were all out for 115, although opener Damian Shirazi had to retire hurt, which was well below par as Dorset reached 118-4 with more than 23 overs to spare.

“We just batted poorly,” said Hawtin. “There is a not a lot more to say.

“We just let ourselves down with the bat.

“The pitch had a little bit in it, but our score wasn’t the fault of the pitch.

“It was disappointing to perform like that when we had the opportunity of going through.

“No one goes out to underperform, but it was just one of those days.”

Shirazi suffered a back injury as he sought to avoid a bouncer.

Hawtin said: “The injury to Damian came at a crucial time and didn’t help the situation at all.

“He is the kind of guy who can bat through an innings and we were looking to bat around him.”

The only positive Hawtin could find was the performance of debutant Chris Watling from Aston Rowant, who made 34.

“Chris was the one light point in a dark performance,” said Hawtin.

“He batted really well and in a mature way.

“When he and I were together, we were looking to stick around and get to 180, but it wasn’t to be.”

Oxon must now look ahead to their Minor Counties Championship Western Division season, which begins against Cheshire at Banbury on Sunday, June 6.

Hawtin said: “We have got to pull our socks up and get back to winning ways. We have got to have the maturity to bat for 90 overs.”