Seaton skipper Ben Morgan pulled no punches when he spoke following his sides two wicket defeat at Kilmington – a second successive loss early in their Tolchards Devon League B Division campaign.

He said: "We batted woefully and some of shot selection was very poor - myself included. Indeed, hand on heart, and I have no complaints about the final result of our game at Kilmington, but the bottom-line is that they [Kilmington] did not have to work too hard with the ball to take our wickets!"

He added: "Having said that, I must say that Dan Fuzzard [one of the Kilmington bowlers], bowled as well as I have ever seen him bowl. But there is no escaping that our top six threw their wickets way - me included for I just chipped the ball up into the waiting hands of mid-off."

Seaton slipped to 45-6 before a superb knock from Joe Berry took them to their close of 147 all out after just 39 overs.

Morgan said: "We simply must all look to take responsibility with regard to our parts in the team. Back-to-back defeats is not something we have been used to - last year we got on a winning roll and stayed with it. Okay, you can argue that we have lost players from the team that served us so well last year, but this current team is a good one too and we are more than capable of doing well in this division.

"However, there's little doubt that with the next three games being against the top three sides and then we have a matchday off as its our turn to play Filleigh [who dropped out of the league before a ball was bowed this season], all ads up to the distinct possibility that we may arrive at matchday nine - the halfway point of the season with just two wins to our name and then be faced with a battle throughout the second half of the campaign to avoid slipping back a division."

All is most certainly not lost for I truly believe we have the talent in the squad, but the key is for players to take responsibility, knuckle down and ensure they do their jobs on a matchday!"

Back to the game at Kilmington and, after the home side got off to 'a flyer' in the run chase, Seaton suddenly found themselves right back in the contest.

Morgan said: "That track at Kilmington is like a proverbial road - heaven to bat on and so it's somewhat saw that 18 wickets were taken for so few runs scored - and by two good batting sides! Joe [Seward] changed the game for us claiming the two quick wickets at a stage when, with them 66-0 off eight and looking set to roll us over! Then Joe [Berry], normally a seam up bowler, turned to leg spin and we had them in a fix! When they got to 126-7 I really began to think we were looking set to achieve what would have been nothing short of a 'massive steal'. In truth though, we were well short in what we can produced and the closeness of the contest at stumps is a tad flattering for us!"

He added: "The thing is we do have a very genuine - and honest - dressing room and a huge positive for us to take from the defeat at Kilmington is that, from 40-6 we were able to come out of a losing game with seven points and that speaks volumes for the character we have in the team that we dug ourselves out of a whole and did come close to pulling off an unlikely success, given the mess we had got ourselves in in the first quarter of the contest."

And so to the next three with games against Thorverton (A) and Ipplepen (H) to come after Saturday's visit of Plympton.

Morgan says: "One of the joys of this division is that, on their day any one of the sides can beat another. I have already alluded to the possibility that we could conceivably lose the next three as it is the top three we meet, but then we could just as easily win all three and that would leave us sitting pretty heading into the halfway half way stage of the campaign."

As for selection this coming Saturday, Morgan says: "Availability seems to be an issue for a lot of clubs, and we have our share of woes in that department. We are certainly without Steve Pritchard for the Plymstock game, but as I have always said, one player's absence offers a real opportunity for someone else."