Ottery St Mary are one of three C Division sides to have lost all three of their opening Francis Clark Devon League games this season, writes Stephen Birley.

Their latest reversal came last Sunday at Kingsbridge where they went down by a margin of 83 runs.

Skipper Jody Clements says: “We let ourselves down at Kingsbridge, particularly with the ball. I felt we failed to put the ball in the right areas far too often. A plus is the fact that we pulled the game back after they had raced away and, at 180 with plenty of overs remaining, we could have been chasing a lost cause. The frustrating thing is that we bowled well in the closing stages and, had we done that from the off, then we might well be talking about a very different outcome.”

Clements has also identified another missing ingredient this early season, something he explained saying: “I do feel we are lacking experience in certain areas and I am keen to put that right. We could do with one or two wise older heads to come in and give us a lift. We have not yet adjusted to losing key players at the end of last season.”

Tomorrow Ottery entertain an Ipplepen side that have also lost all three games.

Clements says: “It’s too early to be talking about must-win games, but neither side will want to be the loser at stumps and face being rock bottom with four defeats from four. We just need to get that first win and, with win or lose cricket now, you can climb the table very quickly with a string of victories. A win tomorrow would both kick-start our season and lift everybody.”