Home comforts were the order of the weekend for Exmouth Cricket Club, as they stormed to a dominant 10-wicket win over North Devon in the Premier Division of the Tolchards Devon Cricket League.

The visitors won the toss, elected to bat and soon regretted their decision. Dan Bowser was run out by Alvin Pollard for just two and the Maer men proceeded to rip through the North Devon top order.

Jason Niemand took the catch from the bowling of Peter Turnbull to remove Ben Howe for two and George Greenway took the first of his three wickets by clean bowling opener Shantanu Mishra for nine.

Incredibly, the highest score managed by any North Devon batsman was a paltry 11 from James Tyson, who was also bowled by Greenway, as he finished with outstanding figures of 3/10. Pollard wasn’t far behind with 3/16, with North Devon skittled out for just 76.

Exmouth quickly proved the wicket was perfectly playable, cruising to their total in 13.1 overs. Jason Niemand (32 no) and James Horler (36 no) clicked off the runs with minimum fuss to secure a maximum 20 points staying at the Maer.

The good news continued for Budleigh Salterton, who are setting the early pace in the A Division after a composed 87-run victory at Torquay CC.

The home side opted to field in the first innings and Budleigh struggled through the early stages, slipping to 16/3 before a settling 96-run partnership between Max Mejzner (41) and Alex Cole (55). Handy knocks by Ed Doble (25) and James Doble (23 no) helped progress the score to 207/7.

Torquay made a steady start in reply and reached 33 runs without loss before Will Oxland bowled Ruan Terblanche for 11. His opening partner, Tim Western, would go on to make a battling half century but his lack of partners was a major problem for the hosts.

Three wickets for two runs took Torquay from 95/3 to 97/8 and the home tail barely moved, let alone a proper wag. Joel Murphy was the top Budleigh bowler with 4/28, as Torquay were all out for 120.

This weekend, Budleigh host Thorverton, who beat Tavistock by 5 wickets on Saturday, while Exmouth travel to Bradninch & Kentisbeare in the Premier Division.