East Devon Virtual T20 Cricket League matchday two results and latest tables

Three teams have won their opening two matches in the East Devon Virtual Cricket League. Sidmouth, Seaton and Ottery St Mary lead the way after all three won their respective matchday two games.

Sidmouth were six wicket winners in a thrilling encounter on their visit to Kilmington - a match that went to the final delivery! Batting first, the home side posted a healthy score of 154-8. Key to their respectable total was a 69 run stand for the fifth wicket which came in nine overs. After 25 deliveries to go, Kilmington were 128-4, but they lost four wickets in the closing stages with just four runs scored in the 18th over and five in the 19th as they closed on 154-8. Sidmouth lost their first wicket to the second delivery of the third over, but from 13-2 after three overs, they got to 77-3 at the halfway stage and then, after losing their fourth wicket with their reply on 79, they then saw the fifth wicket pair time the run chase to perfection with the win confirmed with a two off the final ball!

Seaton’s second successive win came in their meeting with Upottery, a contest that they won by 15 runs. Batting first, Seaton were 86-2 at the mid point of their 20 overs and they kept up a decent run rate to close on 162-4, the third wicket seeing 55 runs added in six overs. Upottery lost their first wicket in the second over but recovered to be 67-3 after 10 overs. It was some tight bowling in overs 14 to 18 that saw just 24 runs scored from as many deliveries as the Upottery reply slowed to a close of 147-4.

Ottery St Mary are the third of the 100 per cent teams after they beat Budleigh Salterton in a thrilling contest. When Budleigh, batting second, reached their 10th and final over they needed 16 off the final six balls but could only muster seven after they lost a wicket to the second delivery, and Ottery were able to seal a seven run win. Earlier Ottery had closed on 166-6 with their best partnership being 37 for the sixth wicket, but key to the win was arguably the 14 runs they plundered from the final five deliveries. Budleigh got off to a fine start and were 59 without loss after seven overs, but then lost three wickets in four overs while adding just 17 runs and, from there, despite having wickets in hand, the Ottermouth men were unable to find the required runs.

Exmouth bounced back from their opening day defeat at Sidmouth by beating Feniton by 26 runs at the Maer ground. Exmouth batted first and were 84-3 at the halfway stage. Scoring 47 runs over the final six overs allowed the Maer men to set a healthy total of 169-7. Feniton made a good start, getting to the halfway stage still ‘in the game’ on 75-2, but it was some excellent bowling in the middle overs by the home side that restricted the visiting side to their close of 143-5.

The final Division One game saw Clyst St George defeat Whimple with the margin of victory being four wickets. Whimple batted first but lost wickets at regular intervals. They lost two wickets in the second over and were then 46-4 after eight overs. With five overs to go they were a troubled 92-8 and it was to their tail enders credit that they limped to a close of 127-8. Clyst St George were 40-1 after five overs of their reply and well ahead of the required rate with a score of 75-4 at the halfway stage. A comfortable four wicket win was sealed with three overs and four balls to spare.

Division One results

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.

Division One table

P W L Pts

Sidmouth 2 2 0 8

Ottery St Mary 2 2 0 8

Seaton 2 2 0 8

Exmouth 2 1 1 4

Clyst St George 2 1 1 4

Kilmington 2 1 1 4

Whimple 2 1 1 4

Feniton 2 0 2 0

Upottery 2 0 2 0

Budleigh 2 0 2 0

In Division Two there are also three teams sporting 100 per cent records to matches into the new campaign. Sidbury sailed confidently to a seven wicket win over Tipton St John. It was Tipton who batted first and they began well, reaching 55 when they lost their first wicket to the fourth ball of the seventh over. They then added 71 for the second wicket, but the wheels came off when they were 128-1 with just 19 balls remaining. There were only 15 runs scored off those last 19 balls being scored off the final three overs which also saw three wickets taken as they closed on 143-4. Sidbury lost a wicket to the sixth delivery of their reply, but then an 81 run partnership for the second wicket got the run chase in full flow and victory was sealed off the penultimate delivery of the 19th over with Sidbury closing on 144-3.

Kentisbeare made it two wins from two as they recorded a big 40 run win over Axminster. The Kents batted first and scored 63 off the first five overs. They continued the momentum and were 100-2 at the halfway stage. Indeed it was an 81 run stand for the unbroken third wicket that helped the Kents close on 176-2. Axminster’s reply got off to a bad start and half the Axe men were back in the pavilion with just 57 on the board after nine overs. Wickets in quick succession in the 15th and 16th overs meant there was no hope of a successful run chase and the Axminster reply closed with them on 136-9.

Topsham St James are the third of the 100 per cent teams sharing top spot in Division Two after a 26-run win over Uplyme & Lyme Regis. Batting first, the Tops’ had 51 on the board before losing their first wicket, but some excellent bowling in the middle overs from Uplyme pegged Topsham back. Just 43 runs came from overs 10 to 16 and wickets with successive deliveries at the end of the 18th over threatened to derail the Topsham effort. However they managed to close on 153-5 and that proved too much for Uplyme who replied with 127-3. Their openers proved a hard pair to dislodge, but, and crucially in terms of the final result, they were kept in check, reaching 93 without loss with one ball of the 14th over remaining. They lost their first wicket to the final delivery of the 14th and so needed 61 form the final 36 balls, but they did have wickets in hand. The Topsham bowlers stayed on top though and, when the Uplyme reply ended they were on 127-3 and 26 runs shy of the amount they needed.

Honiton were 13 run winners of their meeting with Woodbury & Newton St Cyres. The Mountbatten Park men batted first and did well to recover from being 45-4 after seven overs and then 69-5 after 11. Indeed, when they lost their ninth wicket to the second delivery of the 18th over an early finish seemed on the cards. However, the last pair for Honiton had other ideas and they 32 off the last 15 balls to see their side to a closing score of 146-9. Woodbury made a respectable start and had 35 on the board when the first wicket fell midway through the fifth over. They then lost wickets at regular intervals and were eventually bundled out for 133 with three balls of their 20 overs remaining.

The league saw its first tie of the season as Newton Poppleford and Chardstock both registered totals of 156-5! The Popples batted first and had a 71 run partnership for the second wicket after which they went on to close on 156-5.

Chardstock lost their first wicket with the score on 12 in the second over and reached halfway in their reply on 71-2 which left them a little behind ‘on the clock’. When they lost their fifth wicket to the first ball of the 18th over, they needed 26 runs from the last 17 deliveries to take the honours. At the start of the final over they needed 13 to win and, ahead of the final delivery they wanted three to win, but could only manage a two and so honours ended even.

Division Two results

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.

Division Two table

P W T L Pts

Kentisbeare 2 2 0 0 8

Topsham St James 2 2 0 0 8

Sidbury 2 2 0 1 8

Honiton 2 1 0 1 4

Axminster 2 1 0 1 4

Tipton St John 2 1 0 1 4

Newton Poppleford 2 0 1 1 2

Chardstock 2 0 1 1 2

Woodbury 2 0 0 2 0

Uplyme & Lyme R 2 0 0 2 0

THE EAST DEVON T20 VIRTUAL CRICKET LEAGUE RESULTS SO FAR.....

Division One scores

Matchday one

Sidmouth 142-9 bt Exmouth 141-6; 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.

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.

Round three of matches will be posted here from 7pm on Saturday (May 9)