Sidmouth 1st XI suffered a humbling defeat when visiting Heathcoat departed from the Fortfield with a comfortable Tolchards Devon League Premier Division success under their belts.

When home skipper Luke Bess won the toss he had no doubt that batting first was the right decision on what looked another beautiful sun-kissed Fortfield surface.

However, he could not have imagined that, just four overs in, his side would be two wickets down for the princely sum of just four runs!

Opener Matt Cooke was first to go, caught off the penultimate delivery of the first over and then Josh Bess fell to a catch behind. Luke Bess had made 12 when he was the third wicket to fall with the score on 41 and, when Zach Bess was caught for five, Sidmouth were 49-4. It was soon 64-5 after the loss of Aviwe Mgijima, stumped for 33 and thereafter the wickets continued to tumble; Elliott Rice (9), Nick Gingell (6) Robbie Powell (0) and Will Murray (9) with the final one being that of Thomas Simmons, who did not trouble the scores and his wicket fell to the fifth delivery of the 32nd over to leave Sidmouth all out for a sorry 93!

Josh Bess bagged a brace of early wickets to leave the Heathcoat reply on 11-2, but former Middlesex player Jackson Thompson hit 25 to settle any visiting nerves before he became a third wicket for Bess, this one down to a Robbie Powell catch. That, though, was as good as it got for the home side and Heathcoat cantered home with no further loss of wickets, passing the winning line in the 21st over of a very short Devon League top flight game that ran for just 52 overs.

On Saturday, Sidmouth travel to Hatherleigh on match day four of the new season.