Sonny Baker bowling for Devon against Berkshire

DEVON Under-14s were brought down to earth with a bump after their warm-up win over Gwent when they slid to a 44-run defeat against Berkshire.

It couldn’t have started much better for Devon as Berkshire slumped to 52 for six – Charlie Ward and Sonny Baker taking wickets each and keeper Eddie Rudolph pouching a couple of catches.

Stubborn, lower-order partnerships of 46 and 44 featuring Lall, Crerar and Khanna meant Devon did not press home their advantage.

Berkshire finished on 157 for nine from their 50 overs - a total that seemed well within the scope of the Devon batting line-up.

The loss of Tyson early should have been a wake-up call.

Ford and skipper Du'Gay both got in and out in the the 20s, and Kall and Khanna, who had haunted Devon with their batting, now tied up the middle order with their spin bowling.

Devon found themselves 63 for six. There was no Lazarus-like recovery, and they subsided to 113 all out with only Baker (22) showing any resistance.

The game was played at the Oratory School in Reading, where Steve Tomlinson is the director of sport.

Tomlinson played 12 times for Devon between 1999-2001, scoring a century against Wiltshire at Exmouth.