A combined innings of 101 runs from Devon's James Horler (49*) and Lawrence Walker (52*) saw Bucks Men's 1st XI fall to a six-wicket defeat in their NCCA One-Day Trophy opener on Sunday.

View the scorecard HERE

Put in to bat by their hosts, after a bright start from Cam Hemp (21) on a pitch that produced seam movement and bounce, Bucks were bowled out for 134 in 39.2 overs of their 50-over allocation.

Batting was not easy early on, but the combination of expansive stroke-play and a difficult pitch left Bucks struggling.

Ed Bragg, with a battling 31, halted the slide before being caught off a full toss.

Bucks left Devon with a target of 135 runs to win, with the lively Joe Heywood taking 3-34 for the visitors.

Seamers Bragg and Tom Weymes brought Bucks right back into the game, with Devon losing their first three wickets for four runs in their reply.

However, a steady unbeaten 49 by skipper James Horler held the innings together before a rapid 52 not out from 57 balls by Lawrence Walker eventually saw Devon to a six-wicket victory with 8.3 overs to spare, Bragg finishing with 3-32 from his 10-over spell.

Before the match, both teams lined up in front of the pavilion in a minute's silence for long-serving Bucks Cricket Secretary Kevin Beaumont, who sadly passed away earlier in the week.

Captain Alexei Kervezee shared this thoughts on the game - Cam Hemp got us off to a lovely start on a tricky surface.

However, Devon showed that when they got the ball in the right areas, the surface was a handful.

If you couple that with some average dismissals, you get yourself in tricky positions and you are constantly grappling for momentum with your back against the wall, and can’t get going. 

We got off to a brilliant start with the ball but you must give the two Devon left-handers credit.

The surface gradually got better but by no means easy, and they weathered the storm, got stuck in, and built a nice partnership and platform.

Ultimately, we didn’t get enough runs on the board, and that meant Devon needed a couple of decent partnerships and a couple of lads to grind it out, and they would always be there or thereabouts in terms of chasing the total.

I have got a huge amount of confidence in our bowling attack on any given surface.

They give me the feeling that we can take 10 wickets no matter the situation, and I always feel like we have a chance of winning a game.

We would like to thank Devon County Cricket Club for their respect shown for Kevin Beaumont, and the tremendous hospitality they offered us.

Bucks Men's 1st XI will face Cornwall at home in their next NCCA One-Day Trophy game at Tring Park CC on Sunday 4th May.