CORSHAM captain Ashur Morrison said there were no excuses following his side’s eight-wicket derby defeat to Potterne on Saturday.

Having seen their Premier One title ambitions ended the previous weekend following a loss at Bridgwater, Corsham were looking to bounce back against their Wiltshire rivals.

However, in the rain-affected match at Station Road on Saturday, Morrison admitted that Potterne were better in every aspect of the game.

“They outplayed us,” Morrison said. “They batted better than we did, they bowled better and fielded better.

“It is always disappointing to lose a game, but even more so when it is against your local rivals.”

Corsham got off to a shaky start after winning the toss and electing to bat first as Potterne’s Dylan Higgins removed both openers Steve Bullen and Gabriel Field with just nine runs on the board.

Morrison and Dwaine Fielding set about repairing the early damage before the rain came and reduced the game to a 36-over-a-side contest.

Chasing quick runs, the skipper hit 51 off 52 balls, on a tricky wicket Corsham struggled to give themselves a defendable total.

However, once Morrison fell, the hosts slumped from 84-2 to 141 all out with Higgins finishing the day with 3-12 from eight overs, while Joshua De Souza and Ed Young also claiming three wickets apiece.

In reply, Potterne took advantage of some loose Corsham bowling with opening Tom Cullen finishing unbeaten on 58, while Wiltshire skipper Young hit a run-a-ball 23 to see the visitors home in the 30th over.

Potterne skipper Neil Clark, who admitted Corsham's decision to bat first had surprised him, said: "At this stage of the season, where there is not much to play for, it was a very good result and it's nice to get the local bragging rights.

""It was a great win and the boys were absolutely chuffed with it.

With Corsham ending the campaign at Clevedon on Saturday, Morrison is determined to make sure that the finish on a high note.

“If you’d said that we would likely finish third, I think we need about five or six points, after the first three games (Corsham didn’t win at all in May), I’d taken your hand off,” Morrison said.

“While it was disappointing to lose last week and this week, we have had a cracking season.

“We have got Clevedon on Saturday and they still have a lot to play for in terms of relegation and we want to finish on a high.”

Potterne end their season against Bristol and Clark added: "We're happy with a top-four finish in our first season in this division but we could still get into the top three and we want to finish as high as we can.''