Sidmouth skipper Will Murray did not mix his words after his sides disappointing derby defeat to Budleigh Salterton at Ottermouth.

Murray said: “It really was a case of us being collectively not good enough on the day. It’s hugely disappointing that we marked the halfway stage of the season with a third defeat and really we only have ourselves to blame for the loss.”

He continued: “It has to be said that, from the Budleigh end of things, James Burke did bowl very well, but we need to be better than this, some of the shot selection was very poor. It is so disappointing that in the aftermath of the big win over Bovey Tracey we throw all that good work away with a really limp effort against a side who went into the match on a run of eight straight defeats.”

In terms of the bigger picture and his side’s hopes of retaining the Francis Clark Devon League top honour this season, Murray says: “To lose three at half way is a blow for I have been saying for some time that three to four defeats is all a title winning side will have this season and we have now got precious little slack to play with. That said we are only half way through the campaign and we do still have to meet Bovey and Exmouth again and they will both have to go head-to-head once more. Factor in that this season there seems to be greater strength down through the top flight which means there’s no single game which can be described as ‘soft one’. I am also hanging onto the fact that last year we dragged back some 30-points that Bovey held over us at one stage. So to be sitting 24 shy of them now is not the end of the world. It’s just that we could have done without such a poor effort against Budleigh and it means we have to come back fighting and make sure we now go on a run of victories.”

After winning the toss Murray opted to bat on what looked a good batting surface. However, some poor shot selection meant that just 34 overs after the first delivery had been sent down by Matt Kidd the Sidmouth innings was all over and it would have been even worse had it not been for a 54-run last wicket stand between Charlie Miles and Dominic Bess that took the score from a calamitous 86-9 to a score that at least gave the bowlers something to bowl at, 140 all out.

Miles was unbeaten on 35 and that was comfortably the team’s best individual offering. Bess was the last man down for 22 , but thereafter just four players, Mat Cooke (15), Anthony Griffiths (15), Luke Be3ss (15) and Pete Randerson (19) made it into double figures.

There was early success for the Sidmouth bowlers with Scott Barlow sending back one of the openers and smart run out left Budleigh 26-2 before that man Burke and Seb Langridge added 65 for the third wicket to set up a home victory with three wickets and two overs to spare.