Junior cricketers at Budleigh Salterton cricket club showed of some impressive cricketing enterprise in some engaging games this week.

Sunday June 4th saw the Budleigh U11 girls team participate enthusiastically in a well-attended softball team hosted by Clyst St George.

Teams travelled from far and wide to do battle amongst the Oak trees in the fierce sunshine. This happy team of youngsters have continued to improve in all areas since the start of the season and were once again well captained by Katy Gracie. Their first match saw a close game with Culmstock followed by a loss to Heathcote. The final game saw some impressive batting: a decent number of fours and a narrow loss to Filleigh by only four runs. The teams' enthusiasm, energy and positive support for each other makes them a joy to watch. Each match showed an improvement in all aspects of the game making them a team to watch out for in the future.

On Monday evening the U13s visited Exeter for an ECB cup match against a strong Exeter side containing a number of county players.

Exeter batted first and there was drama from the off when opening batsman Kaleem retired injured having faced eight balls. This was followed by an excellent spell of bowling by Henry, unfortunately curtailed whilst taking the wicket of Exeter's devon player Alex Tipper for just eight runs, with Henry tweaking a muscle in his back which ended his involvement in the game. Exeter then powered on to reach a score of 150 off their allotted twenty overs with just one further wicket falling to Oscar from a catch by Ben.

Budleigh came in to bat as the sun began to sink behind the university's Reed Hall and valiantly tried to get the run rate up. Alex top scored with 15 followed by Daniel on eight. Against a very strong attack and in a fading light the team all did their bit to stay in for the twenty overs despite being two players down by this point and falling short of the required target.

A tough game with no one player letting the side down and all players showed excellent resilience and determination in the process.

Sunday also saw the U10s hardball team play Whimple at home on the hottest day of the year so far. This was not only the first hardball game for several of players but also a debut for a couple of players. Whimple won the toss and elected to bowl first. Budleigh was able to set a target of 119 for 6. Whimple then went onto bat and it was a nail biting finish with players and parents keeping a close watch on the scoreboard. Whimple scored 138 for 8, winning by 9 runs after wickets were accounted for (89 vs 98). an incredibly close and suspenseful game. an unlucky loss for Budleigh however every player showed some excellent batting and bowling. a performance all players should be very proud of.

On the 5th of June, Ottery St Mary travelled to the hilt for a cup match against our under 12s. A beautiful warm evening set the scene for this cup fixture at The Holt. Budleigh were to bat first with Theo James and Cody Rowson taking a solid start and creating a partnership. Jacob Wall managed to deceive Rowson(8)and took a well-earned wicket that interrupted the pairing. James continued with some hard hitting and strong play to retire on 30. Josh Down(23) was able to bring the middle order performance to life with some classical well timed stroke play before being bowled by William Smart. Billy Ralph (9 not out)tickled and caressed the ball to ensure Theo James could enhance his total with (36 not out)

Budleigh scored 114

Ottery then started their innings with Riley Prettejohn (5) caught behind by Bobby Ralph to the spin bowling of Josh Down and Jack Hammet(10) who fell to a Ted Neill inswinger on the stumps. Theo James bowled fast and accurately to hit the stumps of William Smart(12). Ottery then were able to create some great shots through Otto Greifenburg(22) and Brendan Cole's (26 Not out) before a Reuben Bond, carefully constructed over of accuracy, taking the bails off twice that improved the Budleighs team and supporters energy.

It was not enough as Ottery hit the runs target of 115 in the 17th over but still an exciting and well-played game by all.

Marley spins Budleigh to victory! 

Budleigh 1sts welcomed Plymouth to the holt this weekend. In winning the toss, Plymouth elected to field first. Budleigh's batting innings included performances from Tom Oxland scoring 75 runs and Sam Whitehead scoring 25, all of which accumulated a total of 189 all out. Plymouth got off to a solid start reaching a hundred with the fall of only two wickets. Spin bowler Joseph Marley bowled exceptionally and in the process took a game changing 6/13, causing Plymouth to fall 12 runs short and Budleigh to come out victorious.  

Another win for Budleigh this weekend as Budleigh's seconds got ready to take on Whimple. The team showed off their impressive batting side, setting a high total of 222 runs (all out) with a near century from Lee Russell (88) and an impressive 38 from Bil Roper. Going in to a tense second half, Budleigh knew they would have to bowl well, and that they did. Together, the bowlers achieved nine wicket, most notably Sean Buttler took 4 wickets and Kamalakar Posapilli took 3 more. Their impressive bowling innings took them straight to a win by 36 runs. 

Next week promises some entertaining cricket as Budleigh's firsts take on Tavistock, the second's play Upottery and the third's host Devon Medics and Cranbrook at the Holt. All teams will be hoping to secure the win so will definitely be showcasing some excellent cricket!