Exmouth 1st and 2nd XIs won their respective Tolchards Devon League matches on match day seven of the season. The 1st XI edged a thriller at home to Sandford while the 2nd XI were emphatic winners on their visit to Sandford 2nds.

1st XI

Exmouth ended a run of back-to-back Tolchards Devon League top flight defeats when they defeated basement side Sandford, but the margin of victory was a narrow one with the final Sandford wicket claimed with just five runs between the teams.

Exmouth skipper Richard Baggs won the toss and opted to bat first, but the Maer men were a man down with just 10 runs on the board with Baggs caught behind off the second ball he received.

Dan Pyle joined Sandy Allen and the pair took the total to 83 when Allen had his stumps knocked over having scored 42 from 51 deliveries with five fours.

Miles Lenygon was next man in – and was immediately out, clean bowled by the first delivery he received. From 83-3 the score went to 122 before Pyle was bowled having hit a 59-ball, five boundary 45.

Bob Dawson and David Lye added 38 before Lye became the fifth wicket, caught for 16. No runs were added as Dawson became the sixth wicket, the fourth of the top five batsmen to be clean bowled, in his case for a 52-ball 25.

Andrew Buzza (21) and Peter Turnbull (30) both helped push the score beyond 200 and, as the tail continued to wag, Alvin Pollard hit an unbeaten 15 from the number 10 berth as the Maer men closed on 255-9 from their 50 overs.

Peter Turnbull and Ollie Dawe were given the new ball duties by skipper Baggs and Turbull immediately sent back Sandford skipper Richard Foan, caught behind by Sandy Allen for one with the reply on seven. That became 50-1 before Matt Theedom became the second Sandford wicket, caught by Bob Dawson off Billy Rudolph. It was soon 77-3 with a David Lye caught and bowled dismissal accounting for the end of Faial Iqbal and, when Lye struck again, aided by a Miles Lenygon catch, the Mid Devon men were 109-4. The fifth wicket pairing added 76 to give Sandford real hope, but that was ended by a Richard Baggs catch off the bowling of Billy Rudolph and it was six down with 211 on the board after another Dawson catch, this time to give Andrew Buzza a wicket.

With the score board on 226-6, Sandford looked favourites, but Ollie Dawe struck twice, first after a Peter Turnbull catch and then clean bowling number three bat Neil Bettis when he was eight runs shy of a century. An Alvin Pollard run out left Sandford nine down with 228 on the board, still needing another 28 and now Exmouth were on the front foot. However, the last two continued to edge their side towards a precious win, but Exmouth stood firm and Ollie Dawe held his nerve to get the Sandford last man to nick the bal behind into the gloves of Sandy Allen and Sandford were all out for 250 leaving Exmouth five run winners!

On Saturday (June 23), the Maer men host second bottom Bradninch.

2nd XI

Exmouth 2nds thrashed hosts Sandford 2nds, beating the Mid Devon men by 200 runs.

There were two key innings for the Maer men and both came from players that had appeared in the 1st XI seven days before.

After James Horler (39) and Harrison Folland (8) had been returned to the Creedy Park pavilion, Callum French struck 73 and Lawrence Greenway hit 88, with the Exmouth score 162-3 when French was third man out.

Luke Davies joined Greenway and the pair added 120 for the fourth wicket before Greenway fell just a dozen runs shy of a century.

Davies saw Sean Day (8). Sam Goodier (10) and Ryan Schaufler (0), all come and go before he ended the innings unbeaten on 34 with Greg Mark, not out one, at the other end and Exmouth closed on 306-7 after their 45 overs.

The new ball for the Maer men went to Sean Day and claimed two early wickets, hitting the stumps and then landing a leg before decision to send back both openers.

Alex Craib then claimed a quick-fire double and suddenly, Sandford were four wickets down with just 48 runs on the board. That was soon 73-5 as Callum French got a leg before decision in his favour. From thereon there was precious little resistance as the home team lost wickets at regular intervals, finishing on 106 all out.

Lawrence Greenway and Callum French, with his second wicket, had success before Sean Day returned to wipe out the tail. James Horler secured a couple of stumpings and took a catch to complete a fine shift behind the stumps, but post tea, it was Day who took the plaudits with his ‘fivefer’ return seeing him with figures of 5-17 from 8.4 overs. Callum French (2-25) and Alex Craib (2-27) both bagged a couple of wickets and the Lawrence Greenway wicket came at a cost of one run in a two over spell.

The win, a sixth in seven D Division East games for Exmouth 2nds, leaves the Maer men in second place, just a point behind leaders Heathcoat. On Saturday (June 26), Exmouth 2nds travel to fifth placed Upottery 1st XI.