Budleigh Colts reach the Devon final

The Budleigh Salterton Cricket Colts U14 team have enjoyed multiple successes, the most significant of these being a victory away to Sidmouth, which takes them into the final of the U14 East Devon Youth Cricket League Cup.
Sidmouth batted first and, after a cautious start with tight bowling, their opening attack was limited to 32 off the first 10 overs. At the end of the 20 over innings, Sidmouth finished on 84 for 5.
Bowlers Ryan Harris-Cotton and Josie Larmour performed excellently, with Harris-Cotton taking 2 wickets for just 7 runs off 4 overs, and Larmour taking 2 wickets for 12 runs off 3 overs.
In reply, the Sidmouth bowlers claimed 2 early wickets, putting BSCC on the back foot at 8 for 2. However, solid batting from Max Jasper and Ollie Batson put Budleigh back on track, with Nate James coming in later to continue the chase.
Ryan Harris-Cotton partnered Batson to finish off the match, as BSCC beat Sidmouth’s total with three overs and six wickets to spare. Man of the match was Ollie Batson for his superb innings of 28 off 36 balls.
The U11 team are also through to their cup final after winning away against Exeter. Budleigh batted first and started slowly, getting just 5 runs off the first 5 overs. After the first change of batters, the score increased more quickly, and whilst they lost wickets, BSCC finished with a score of 97 after a six off the last ball and an incredible performance from Jasper Bubb.
Exeter began their innings much more quickly, hitting plenty of boundaries, and the chase looked tight but comfortable. However, the introduction of bowlers Daniel Gracie, Oscar Simms and Henry Russell changed the game, with wickets replacing runs. Eventually, Budleigh’s exceptional bowling turned the game around, and Exeter’s score was limited to 87 runs from 20 overs.
After having their cup semi-final postponed due to the wet weather, the U12 team had a convincing league win against an inexperienced Whimple team. Budleigh won by 125 runs in a fantastic team performance with Marcus Robinson taking four wickets in his two overs.
The U14 team also beat Topsham at home in a league game. Thanks to solid batting from Ollie Roper (27) and Ollie Batson (26), Budleigh scored a total of 121 runs off their 20 overs. In the second innings, excellent bowling from Fin Shipton, Nate James, Hattie Real, Josie Larmour and Kirsty Robinson restricted Topsham to 43 all out. Great captaining from Joel MacDonald means that Budleigh are now top of the U14 league after a very strong start to the cricket season.
Thanks to our sponsors Andrew Mills Surveyors, Aspect Windows and A Slice of Lyme, thanks to the coaches for coaching the players and umpiring the matches, and thanks as always to Ray Dawson for taking care of and maintaining the pitch.