Life in the A Division of the Tolchards Devon Cricket League began with a jolt for Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton, although both their defeats came after tight battles.
Exmouth travelled to Exeter CC and, after winning the toss, opted to bat first. All the anticipation that builds up over a long winter fell a little flat for openers James Horler and Matthew Kimber, as they were dismissed for scores of 8 and 4 respectively.
Dan Pyle came in at number three and settled the Exmouth innings with an inspired 85 from 87 balls. Finlay Marks (17) and Cameron Kidd (26) stayed with Pyle for a spell but Exmouth were always struggling to build a significant partnership.
The final total of 224 all out still looked competitive but Exeter succeeded where their visitors had struggled, building a strong opening stand of 73 between Ben Green and Harry Fisher. Ryan Schaufler eventually bowled Green for 48 but that brought Tom Lammonby to the crease, and he added a terrific unbeaten 75.
An attractive 37 from Billy Buckingham took Exeter over the line with five wickets to spare. Schaufler and George Greenway both took a brace of wickets for Exmouth.
Budleigh welcomed Kilmington for what turned out to be a fascinating encounter. After choosing to field first, Lloyd Murrin removed Kilmington opener Tom Gooding for a duck and the Budleigh bowlers managed to contain the visiting top order in the early stages.
At 102/5, Budleigh were in a decent position to topple over Kilmington for a small score but were rocked by an entertaining 44 from Harry Johnstone, as the visitors reached 205/8. Murrin and Joel Murphy took two wickets each for the hosts.
In reply, Budleigh lost Marc Troman without scoring but settled down with a decent partnership of 64 between Dylan Penberthy-Hutchings (49) and Samuel Whitehead (34). Unfortunately, the middle order failed to fire, apart from a 32 from Tom Oxland, and Budleigh eventually lost by just 11 runs.
Next week in the A Division, Budleigh travel to Throverton and Exmouth are at home to Torquay.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here