The BSCC U14 team beat Exeter at home, scoring 201 off 25 overs, then bowling their opponents all out for 111. The batting performance was excellent, with Ollie Roper and Nate James retiring and Max Jasper and Joel MacDonald hitting solidly. The bowling was also superb, with opening seamers Fin Shipton and Ryan Harris-Cotton restricting Exeter’s runs significantly. Next came a flurry of wickets, with George Mills taking 2 wickets, Jack Waldron taking 3 wickets (including a wicket maiden) and George Stone taking 4 wickets (including a 3 wicket maiden). Ollie Batson was sharp behind the stumps, running a player out, and the team cruised to an 80 run victory.

The BSCC U13 team played their eighth match of the season in a league game at home to Exmouth. After winning the toss, they elected to field first, and restricted the opposition to 88 for 7 off of 20 overs. Budleigh bowled brilliantly, with George Mills taking 3 wickets for just 14 runs, and Luke Hoban taking a wicket for just 12 runs. Their batting proved to be of an equally high standard, as they knocked off the winning runs in only 15.3 overs, with Rory MacDonald scoring 29 not out, Max Jasper scoring 22 and Ted McCaffery scoring 13.

They then played their ninth match of the season in a cup semi-final game against Exeter. Budleigh won the toss and invited Exeter to bat first, where they scored 169 for 3 off 20 overs. During their innings, BSCC scored 85, after being bowled all out on the last ball of the match. Max Jasper was the top scorer with 28 runs, and Josie Larmour and Mawgan Sharp took a wicket each.

The women’s softball team played their second match of the season at home to Cullompton. After winning the toss and electing to field first, Budleigh limited their opponents score, with tight fielding and wickets from Jayne Robinson, Rebecca Levi, Becky Fagg, Kirsty Robinson and Kat Harris. The batting scores were also strong, with many players hitting boundaries, but the final score was very tight due to lots of wickets being conceded (taking a wicket adds 5 runs to your score). In the end, Budleigh took the victory by a single run.

The BSCC U10 hardball team also played at home to Exmouth in their first victory of the season, where they won by 28 runs. The group fielded well, with several players taking catches, the wicket keeper stumping a player, and Maisie Eade taking 5 wickets in 4 overs. The batting performance was also strong, with all partnerships communicating well, and high scores from Charlie Eade and Bobby Ralph, which led to a convincing win overall.

The BSCC U10 softball team played Exmouth in a close battle, with 3 players making their debut. Despite playing very well and displaying great sportsmanship, Budleigh fell slightly short and lost the match, but have had a very good season, winning 4 matches out of the 6 they played.

Thanks to our sponsors Exmouth Tyres, Devon Property Surveyors and Urban Earth, thanks to the coaches for coaching the players and umpiring the matches, and thanks as always to Ray Dawson for taking care of and maintaining the pitch.

By Kirsty Robinson