Ian Hawtin struggled to explain Oxfordshire’s heavy MCA Trophy defeat to Devon.

Having bowled relatively well to set up a victory chase of 278, Oxon came up well short.

Hawtin said: “I am bit bemused by it.

“They are all good players and showed that last week against Bedfordshire, but it was one of those days.

“I thought 278 was a chaseable total. We needed to get off to a good start, but we just lost wickets at regular intervals.

“The batsmen kept going for their shots. That is the sort of players we have – we don’t want to change the way they play.”

Hawtin added: “There are a lot of young guys in this side and they have a bright future ahead of themselves.”