WILTSHIRE captain Ed Young has issued a rallying cry to his players ahead of their Knockout Trophy semi-final against Berkshire on Sunday.

Following a shock defeat to Wales in the Unicorns Championship last weekend, Young has asked every member of his team to ‘be the guy that gets us into the final’ when they take on the four-time champions of the Minor Counties one-day format away at Finchampstead.

If they are to reach the final, Wiltshire will have to bounce back quickly from a disappointing loss inside two days against Wales – a side that were winless before this week’s match – as they continue their quest to lift a first-ever Knockout Trophy.

Young admits his team’s batting was not up to scratch in home conditions at South Wilts in Salisbury and they did not adapt as quickly as their Welsh counterparts, falling to defeat by 139 runs.

He said: “It was a bit of a shame because we have been playing some really good cricket of late.

“This is just a bit of a blip in the season – at least that’s how we’re treating it.

“Wales played very well, and they just won the key moments in the game.

“We generally didn’t bat very well, we didn’t adapt quickly enough and there were a few soft dismissals.

“It was a mixture of not being able to adapt, some umpiring decisions that we felt pretty hard done by and some soft dismissals that probably lost us the game.

“We were putting the pressure on Berkshire and could have jumped ahead of them if they had lost.

“Now, that’s not looking as likely and our priority is to finish in the top five so we can be in the First Division next year.”

With their Unicorns Championship title hopes all but over for another year, Wiltshire have now turned their attention to lifting their first silverware of any kind since being crowned champions of the long-format in 1909.

Young revealed the mood in the camp is still buoyant after the Wales loss, and has asked his men to step up and ‘be a match winner’ in their do-or-die fixture.

He said: “Everyone is really up for it and really looking forward to the game.

“We’ve been playing some good cricket in the one-day format, and we took Tuesday to do some white-ball practice because the Wales game finished early.

“Everyone is raring to go and get into the heat of battle against Berkshire. We want to show what we’re about and hopefully we can get into the final and win some silverware.

“The mood in the camp is still great, even though we’ve just had this blip. We’re trying not to dwell on it, so that it affects our performance on Sunday.

“We need people to stand up in games like this – a big semi-final – and we’re asking the guys to enjoy the battle, to enjoy the big moments, and to be a match winner.

“Be the guy that gets us into the final.”