Seaton skipper Ben Morgan missed his side’s trip to Barnstaple and Pilton so he could be close to home ready for the impending arrival of a new baby!

Without their skipper, and all-rounder Robbie Prior – in his case at a wedding – the side were comprehensively beaten, going down by 63-runs.

Barum batted first and were restricted to 182-7 thanks to some tight Seaton bowling. Chris Aplin (2-14), Phil Collins (2-23) and Mike Wheeler (2-34) did most of the damage. Mind you, given that the home side were wobbling on 44-4, they’d have been delighted to head into tea with the score they had!

Joel Seward and Kev Moran got the run chase off to a good start, adding 40 for the first wicket, but that was to prove to be one-third of the entire innings as wickets fell at a regular rate once Moran (24) and Seward (31) had been returned to the pavilion.

The final Seaton wicket fell with the score on 119.

Meanwhile, back at Seaton, the second eleven were boosted by the inclusion of club skipper Morgan who claimed three wickets without conceding a run as Chudleigh were dismissed for just 81. Daniel Thomas (3-15). Ian Hunt (1-4), Kersley Sutton (1-15) and George Harwood (1-20) were the other wicket takers. Seaton lost six wickets in the run chase, and a call to Morgan meant the club skipper had to make a dash top the hospital to continue his father-in-waiting work which left the hosts with ten players. However, a fine 36 from George Harwood saw them over the finishing line.

Ben Morgan said of the two games: “Apparently we were not at our best up at Barum and that happens. Then important thing is for us to bounce back quickly. There’s little doubt that this section looks to be one of the closest we have been involved in for some time and I am sure there’s going to be five or six teams in the mix for promotion right through into the final weekend of the campaign.”

On his appearance for the 2nd XI, Morgan said: “We thought the baby would appear on Saturday and so I did not want to be too far away. It suited me to play with the seconds. I enjoyed it, but my part was cut short by the phone call that the baby might well be on the way. So off I went.”

On Saturday Seaton, who sit third in the table, travel to meet second placed Alphington who will begin the day just one point better off than them.