Sidmouth III were beaten in their opening Tolchards Devon League 2nd XI B Division East match, going down by eight wickets to a strong Hatherleigh 2nd XI.

The opposition were playing their first game at the level having been relegated fro the 2nd XI A Division at the end of last season and were always going to provide tough opposition for an early season Sidmouth third eleven./

What made the task even tougher for the Fortfield men was that Hatherleigh 2nds fielded two South African youngsters who hail, from the renowned Newlands Academy.

The pair are on a season-long stay with the North Devon club and they simply had too much power for the Sidmouth batsmen as they bowled in tandem and it resulted in a regular fall of wickets.

The only resistance came from opener James Gingell, who scored 14 on his return to the Sid Valley for the weekend.

The Hatherleigh opener claimed the first nine wickets for a combined sum of 37 runs in just 16 overs between them!

The last pair for Sidmouth, John Goodwin and Luke Raistrick, did add 28 for the final wicket with the ever-green Goodwin ending with nine and Raistrick unbeaten on 15 as the final wicket fell with the core on 65.

Sidmouth took the field with a small score on the board, but they were positive with the new ball, it was taken by Matt Clark and James Gingell.

With no early break-through, skipper Munders shuffled his bowlers around and turned to the young spinners Luke Raistrick and Jordan Fowler.

Thanks must go to Clive for scoring, Ian for umpiring and also to Sonya and Cleo Adey for a super tea.

Match day two of the new league season takes Sidmouth III to Shobrooke Park this Saturday (May 13).