DEVIZES hopes of victory at Bredon on Saturday 6th July took a nosedive when skipper Andy Hodder ran over his foot while adjusting the position of a sightscreen.

Hodder, who starred with six wickets in the previous week's win over Malmesbury, suffered a badly bruised ankle following the accident and was forced to bat at number 11.

The headteacher of Kennet Valley School also needed to take a week off work and will miss Saturday's testing trip to Wiltshire rivals Swindon.

Hindered by the setback, Devizes lost the clash at Bredon by 118 runs although Hodder resisted the pain barrier to finish with two wickets as the hosts made 230 for seven.

The visitors were 112 all out in reply and collected three league points to Bredon's 22. Mark Collyer and Paul Stobbart joint top-scored with 28 runs apiece.

Hodder was frustrated after picking up the ankle injury in such an unusual fashion.

He said: "The sightscreen just ran over my foot and I've got a badly bruised ankle. But I still managed to get a couple of wickets and am thinking that perhaps I should injure myself more often.

"We were pretty poor on Saturday and will have to get it right sooner or later. Swindon on Saturday will be a difficult game for us as they came down last year.

"They beat us earlier in the season as well, so we need to learn from the experience and make the best of it."