Matchday four of the East Devon T20 Virtual Cricket League saw Sidmouth march on at top of the Division One table.

Sidmouth Herald: Clyst St George 1st team at home to Honiton 1sts. Ref exsp 24 19TI 6463. Picture: Terry IfeClyst St George 1st team at home to Honiton 1sts. Ref exsp 24 19TI 6463. Picture: Terry Ife (Image: Archant)

The Fortfield men racked up the highest score of the season as they batted first against Budleigh Salterton and closed their 20 overs with 216-5. They lost their first wicket to the third delivery of the match and were then 27-2 midway through the third over. However, they then had a 72-run partnership for the third wicket and after they lost their fifth wicket to the second ball of the 12th over with the score then 109-5, they did not lose another wicket, adding 101 for the unbroken sixth wicket, those runs coming from just 52 deliveries. Budleigh made a superb start top their reply and were ahead of the required run rate at the end of the 10th over on 104-1 (Sidmouth had been 110-3 at the same stage). The Budleigh second wicket partnership added 80 in just seven overs, but two wickets in the 11th over set them back. That was followed by the Sidmouth bowlers once again working their magic to restrict Budleigh to a close of 193-5 to seal Sidmouth victory by 23 runs.

Seaton are matching Sidmouth win for win as they also recorded a fourth successive win, scoring 199-3 and then bowling Whimple out for 130 in 16 overs and one ball. Batting first, Seaton were 53-1 after five over and an 86-run partnership for the second wicket saw them end the 14th over on 139-1. They continued to keep up the 10-runs-per-over run rate and closed on 199-3, with 50 runs coming for the unbroken fourth wicket from just 27 deliveries. Whimple lost two wickets in the second over and a third in the third. They recovered, but found run scoring difficult in the face of some accurate Seaton bowling. Whimple were 74-5 at the halfway stage and, from 115-6 at the end of the 13th over, they lost their last four wickets in 18 deliveries.

Exmouth remain third after they recorded a third win in four games. Their meeting with Clyst St George was a close encounter and went right down to the wire. Exmouth had batted first and scored 193-3 and, at the start of the final over, Clyst St George needed 10 to win, but a superb final over from the Maer men restricted Clyst St George to five singles and a two to close on 191-6 and so Exmouth sealed a two run win. Earlier, it was a 136-run partnership for the third wicket that under pinned the Exmouth total. Clyst lost a wicket to the very first ball of their reply and were 9-2 after 11 deliveries. However, they recovered well and a 118-run partnership for the third wicket set them up for a ‘so-close-but-not-quite-close-enough’ run chase.

Kilmington beat Ottery St Mary by seven wickets. The Otters bated first and had a 69-6un partnership for the second wicket as they closed on 170-5. Kilmington had 73 on the board before they lost their first wicket to the first delivery of the eighth over. That set them up well for a slickly-timed run chase that saw them seal a seven-wicket win with four balls of the 19th over remaining. Upottery claimed their first win of the season in a low-scoring meeting with Feniton who batted first and did not recover from losing a wicket to the very first delivery – they were 32-4 with one ball of the fourth over remaining. Wickets continued to fall at a regular rate to the close of 79 all out after 11.5 overs! On a wicket that clearly suited the bowlers, Upottery clearly had a mindset of putting bat to ball whenever possible and they had 35 on the board after three overs and ultimately sealed a seven-wicket win after just 7.5 overs.

In Division Two, the two teams who had won all three of their opening games – Topsham St James and Sidbury – met and, as expected, it was a seriously closely contested match.

Topsham batted first and recovered from losing their first wicket to the second delivery of the match to be 94-2 at the halfway point and they closed on 180-4 with the highest partnership being one of 58 runs for the third wicket. Sidbury kept up with the required run rate – reaching the halfway point on 91-4 but they were pegged back and, at the start of the final over, had batsmen eight and nine at the crease, needing 11 to force victory, but they won with one ball to spare thank to four overthrows! Needing three off the final two deliveries the batsmen scampered through for a single, but it was a close call and the throw missed the stumps by a whisker and then ran all the way to the boundary to bring up a narrow victory for Sidbury! Kentisbeare beat Uplyme & Lyme Regis by four wickets. Batting first, Uplyme were 86-2 after 10 overs and it was a 153 run partnership for the unbroken third wicket that saw them to a close of 169-2. Kentisbeare were 46-4 after five overs, but ahead of the run rate at the halfway stage on 99-4. They were 126-6 at the start of the 15th over, but picked up the pace to win by four wickets with five balls remaining.

Honiton defeated Tipton by 15 runs. Batting first, Honiton lost their third wicket to the second ball of the sixth over with the score then 42-3, but that was to be the final wicket they lost as the unbroken fourth wicket added an impressive 130 runs to see the team to a close of 172-3. Tipton had a 54-run start before losing their first wicket to the final delivery of the sixth over. However, they then slipped to 84-5 at the end of the 11th over. The fifth wicket added 55 runs, but two wickets fell in the 18th over to derail the run chase and it ran out of steam as the reply closed on 157-7. Axminster beat Chardstock by three wickets. Chardstock batted first and had a 49-run start, ending the seventh over on 58-1. They then had an 83-run partnership for the fourth wicket before ending their offering with the bat on 154-4. Axminster were 30-3 at the end of the third over, but a 61-run partnership for the fourth wicket in 34 balls swung the game their way and they sealed a three-wicket win with two deliveries of the 18th over to be bowled. Woodbury & Newton St Cyres defeated Newton Poppleford by eight runs in another close encounter. Woodbury bated first and lost their first wicket to the final ball of the eighth over with the score then on 63. They were then 109-2 at the end of the 12th over before the ‘wheels came off’ with the seven wickets falling for the addition of 44 runs in the last eight overs with their close being 153-9. Newton Poppleford made a steady start and were 75-1 after 11 overs, but some accurate bowling then pegged them back. A dozen runs off the penultimate over left them needing 17 off the final over, but they could only muster eight to close on 145-3 and succumb to an eight-run defeat.

Latest table after four.

Division One

Division One table

P W TD L Pts

Sidmouth 4 4 0 0 16

Seaton 4 4 0 0 16

Exmouth 4 3 0 1 12

Clyst St George 4 2 0 2 8

Kilmington 4 2 0 2 8

Ottery St Mary 4 2 0 2 8

Upottery 4 1 0 3 4

Feniton 4 0 0 4 0

Division Two table

P W Td L Pts

Sidbury 4 4 0 0 16

Topsham St James 4 3 0 1 12

Kentisbeare 4 3 0 1 12

Honiton 4 3 0 1 12

Axminster 4 2 0 2 8

Tipton St John 4 1 0 3 8

Uplyme & LR 4 1 0 3 4

Woodbury 4 1 0 3 4

Newton Poppleford 4 0 1 3 2

Chardstock 4 0 1 3 2

All the league scores/results to date.

Matchday one

Sidmouth 142-9 bt Exmouth 141-6 by one wicket; Seaton 137-1 bt Budleigh 135-6 by 9 wkts; Ottery St Mary 126-5 bt Clyst St George 125-8 by 5 wkts; Whimple 147-8 bt Upottery 146 by 2 wkts; Kilmington 134-2 bt Feniton 132-2 by 8 wkts.

Matchday two

Exmouth 169-7 bt Feniton 143-5 by 26 runs; Sidmouth 156-3 bt Kilmington 154-8 by 6 wkts; Clyst St George 130-6 bt Whimple 127-8 by 4 wkts; Seaton 162-4 bt Upottery 147-4 bt 15 runs and Ottery St Mary 166-6 bt Budleigh 159-4 by 7 runs.

Matchday three

Sidmouth 160-4 bt Feniton 120-8 by 6 wkts; Exmouth 146-7 bt Kilmington 147-9 by one run; Seaton 151-6 bt Ottery St Mary 142-6 by nine runs; Whimple 129-4 bt Budleigh Salterton 127-7 by six wkts; Clyst St George 146-6 bt Upottery 142-7 by four wkts.

Matchday four

Seaton 199-3 bt Whimple 130 by 69 runs; Upottery, 80-3, bt Feniton 79 by 7 wkts; Sidmouth 216-5 bt Budleigh 193-5; Kilmington 172-3 bt Ottery 170-5 by 7 wkts and Exmouth 193-3 bt Clyst St George 191-6 by two runs

Division Two scores

Matchday One

Axminster 136-5 bt Honiton 134-6 by 5 wkts; Tipton St John 143-4 bt Uplyme & Lyme Regis 142-7; Sidbury 184-6 bt Newton Poppleford 147-8 by 37 runs; Topsham 158-4 bt Chardstock 154-4 by 6 wkts; Kentisbeare 134-3 bt Woodbury & Newton St Cyres 132-2 by 7 wkts.

Matchday Two

Honiton 146-9 bt Woodbury & Newton St Cyres 133 all out by 13 runs; Kentisbeare 176-2 bt Axminster 136-9 by 40 runs; Sidbury 144-3 bt Tipton St John 143-4 by 7 wkts; Topsham St James 153-5 bt Uplyme & Lyme Regis 127-3 by 26 runs and Newton Poppleford 156-5 tied with Chardstock 156-5.

Matchday Three

Honiton 142-4 bt Chardstock 140-4 by 6 wkts; Topsham St James 150-4 bt Woodbury & Newton St Cyres 147-5 by 6 wkts; Sidbury 143-5 bt Kentisbeare 141-7 by 5 wkts; Axminster 135-2 bt Newton Poppleford 133-6 by 8 wkts; Uplyme & Lyme Regis 131-3 bt Tipton St John 127-2 by 7 wkts.

Matchday Four

Woodbury & Newton St Cyres 153-9 bt Newton Poppleford 145-3 by eight runs; Axminster 156-7 bt Chardstock 154-4 by 3 wkts; Kentisbeare 170-6 bt Uplyme & Lyme Regis 169-2 by 4 wkts; Honiton 172-3 bt Tipton St John 157-7 by 15 runs; Sidbury 184-7 bt Topsham St James 180-4 by 3 wkts

Matchday five results will be published here from 7pm on Saturday, May 16.

The league will run for the next 12 weeks. Four points are awarded to a team for a win and, in the event of a tied game, both teams get two points.