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Dav Whatmore was in no mood for excuses after his Lancashire team chucked away their National League game at Gloucestershire to complete a bad week.

Lancashire were on course to bounce back from their Championship defeat at Leicestershire with a second consecutive one-day win after Mark Chilton and Paddy McKeown guided them to 110-1 in reply to Gloucester's 199-9.

But then Chilton, immediately after being dropped at cover, ran himself out going for a risky single to mid-on to set off a disastrous collapse. Gloucester's unlikely hero was Kim Barnett, the veteran they picked up from Derbyshire during the winter, who ended with 4-29 in seven overs.

And despite a battling unbeaten 22 from Gary Yates, Lancashire were all out for 177 in the 43rd over to lose by 22 runs. Whatmore was equally unhappy with a sloppy bowling performance as Lancashire conceded 19 wides.

``We can't make any excuses about not having key players,'' he said, dismissing suggestions that Lancashire had missed their England World Cup trio.

``We gave far too much away and have just got to get on with the job.''

McKeown, who hit 48 from 48 balls before going lbw to off-spinner Martyn Ball, could be excused from the criticism, while Richard Green was Lancashire's most economical bowler with 1-29 from his nine overs, and Glen Chapple picked up three wickets.

Lancashire now have more than a week to pull themselves together before their next competitive game, in the Championship against Northants at Old Trafford starting next Friday, although before that they face Scotland and Wasim Akram's Pakistan in World Cup warm-up games.