Elliot Hamilton – straight back into Devon's side for the game against Berkshire<br>credit: Conrad Sutcliffe - no re-use without copyright owner's consent

DEVON have some catching-up to do in the National Counties Trophy when they face Oxfordshire at Sidmouth on Sunday (11am).

Devon went down by two wickets to holders Berkshire first time out in qualifying Group Three, which left them bottom of the five-team pool.

Oxfordshire defeated Buckinghamshire on the chase at Wormsley in their pool opener to take pole position going into round two.

The top two teams qualify for the last-eight knockout stages and for Devon to be one of them they have to start winning, which means stepping-up the performance that wasn’t quite enough to beat Berkshire.

Dave Tall, the Devon CCC team manager, said the team needs to become more situation-aware during matches.

“The good thing is we get into positions where we can go on to win matches; if we weren’t I would be worried,” said Tall.

“What we are not so good at yet is taking advantage of the positions we get into, or remembering what we are aiming to do.

“Against Berkshire, on a challenging wicket, I was happy to forget about the power-plays and just bat. Forty for one off 12 overs was a good position to be in.

“Careless batting and loose shots meant we were 54 for five off 20 – not so good – and in danger of not batting our overs, which is a must for me.

“Fin Hill and Calum Haggett got us to 196 for eight, which I would have taken on that pitch at the start.

“Having recovered well we let ourselves down with some shocking fielding and two or three dropped catches. We took some great catches too, but in close games you need more than that.

“Some things you cannot control – such as umpiring decisions that don’t go your way – and that happened against Berkshire. But they become less meaningful if you are putting the pressure on.”

Devon will be without one-day captain James Horler as he is away attending a family wedding. Elliot Hamilton, missing against Berkshire, comes in as a straight swap. Three-day captain Jamie Stephens will lead the side.

Sandford’s in-form batter Lawrence Walker is recalled in place of Exeter all-rounder Hill, who is required by Somerset for an under-18 game.

Devon (from): J A Stephens, M W Thompson, C J Haggett, C M Sharland, E H Hamilton, B A Beaumont, L S Walker, S O Read, B H Privett, W R Christophers, M B Shepherd, K B Szymanski.