A mixed Under 13s and 14s side from Budleigh Salterton Cricket Club played a friendly against Exeter, who didn’t quite manage to meet Budleigh’s 136 runs but scored a brilliant 113 and gave our team a challenging game.

With the victory came some top tier batting with Alex Roper and Marcus Robinson retiring, and some impressive bowling with wickets from Daniel Gracie, Ben Picton and Alex. It was an enjoyable afternoon for spectators as well as players, who spent the match feasting on picnics in the sun and watching our talented young players take a well-earned win.

The Holt then hosted Upottery Under 13s. Upottery brought with them two players who had only started this season, a first-time cricketer and three 11-year-olds, all of whom played with tremendous spirit.

Batting first, they were somewhat over-run by our bowling and managed to score just 31 runs off 11 overs, 12 of which came from extras. Alex, Daniel, and Oscar Simms took great catches in the field and Stella Westaway, Jude Extence, Milly Picton, Alfie Gray, and Isla Dixon all bowled fantastically and took some wickets for the team.

Henry Russell, Oscar, and Daniel knocked off the required 32 runs in six overs but both teams agreed to continue the match and so they played a ‘second half’ friendly.

Theo James and Oscar both nearly finished off hat-tricks (next time, boys!) and the team’s batting continued to dominate with both Alex and Oscar retiring at 30. Perhaps the highlight of the match was when, on the very last ball, after struggling to achieve runs against our attack, Upottery’s player, Alfie Lloyd, smacked the ball, which soared across the boundary for a six. What an achievement!

Budleigh’s sportsmanship impressed Upottery’s manager, Sam, who was highly complimentary towards the players for not ‘rubbing-their-noses’ in their loss. This game showed the spirit with which cricket should be approached.

There was a win from our Ladies Softball against Cullompton, where Budleigh achieved 127 runs off 16 overs and our Under 11s played a challenging hardball game but couldn’t quite beat Exmouth’s impressive 141 runs.

By Amelia Picton