WILTSHIRE’S ambitions in this year’s Unicorns Knockout Trophy came to an end in the second round when they were beaten by 56 runs away at Devon at the weekend.

The county began their campaign with victory over Wales in late April, but their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals were curtailed on the south coast at Sidmouth.

Devon won the toss and opted to bat, with number three Alex Barrow scoring a superb 107 to help his side post 281-6 off their 50 overs.

Finlay Trenouth also added an unbeaten 64, while skipper Ed Young and Luke Evans took two wickets each with the ball for Wiltshire.

When it came to their turn to bat, Wiltshire were left to rue the failure of any batsman to make a really sizeable score as they were bowled out for 225 in the 45th over of the reply.

Young, Ashur Morrison, (both 36), Uzi Qureshi (35) and coach Tom Morton (34) all got themselves in before falling, and if one of them had gone on to a half-century or better, things could have been so much different for the visitors.

Gary Chappell (4-43) and George Benton (4-50) both shone with the ball for Devon.

Skipper Young said: "A score of 280 is always going to be a big chase, and the difference was that one of their batsmen got a hundred and we had four get 35.

"It is a shame because we were always up with the chase. We were playing good cricket, but we just kept losing wickets at regular intervals. We needed someone to go on and get a big total.

"Alex Barrow batted nicely for them, but it was an innings that never really damaged us. He didn't score quickly, but he anchored the innings, which allowed others to come in and be aggressive.

"It was a quick scoring ground, but I felt they maybe got 20 to 30 runs too many. We gave the run chase a really good crack, but we weren't quite good enough, unfortunately."

The two sides renew acquaintances this weekend, with Wiltshire hosting two matches in Group Four of the Unicorns T20 at South Wilts on Sunday.

After losing their two opening games in the competition against Dorset, Young is eager for Wiltshire to get back on track.

"Last Sunday's performance was better than the performance we put in against Dorset in the T20, and it is good to have an idea of what Devon have got and how they play," said Young.

"We have got some young guys in the team and we are trying to give them experience.

"It's about finding that balance with the older guys, and it might not all click this season, but it is definitely invaluable experience for those younger guys.

"I think it's great and the competition in white-ball cricket is so much better now. It is going to start attracting more people to come and play."