Devon Cricket Board - Exmouth bat Budleigh out of game

Exmouth bat Budleigh out of game

BUDLEIGH Salterton badly need a win against visiting Plymouth this Saturday following a 41-run defeat by Exmouth in the derby clash on the Maer.
Not even a grafting century from former Devon captain Bob Dawson could save Budleigh from a fourth successive defeat, which leaves them winless and rock bottom of the Premier Division.
Exmouth amassed 302 all out in the 48^th of their 50 overs with David Lye showing no ill effects of a ball in the face at Torquay seven days earlier with a top score of 90.
Lye was laid out by a rising delivery from Torquay captain Ben Passenger and had to be stitched up in hospital.
Lye’s 90 came off 84 balls and contained 13 fours.
Sandy Allen and Seb Benton both made 61 while skipper Richard Baggs hit 30.
Budleigh’s Matt Kidd picked up wickets in his second spell when the slog was on to finish with four for 60.
Joel Murphy had three for 44, breaking a stand of 124 between Allen and Lye when he trapped Allen lbw.
Richard Arnold didn’t have a happy return to the Maer as his six overs cost 47 runs.
Dawson’s 135 off 133 balls – 16 fours and six – underpinned the Budleigh reply, but one man can’t do it all on his own.
George Greenway ripped through Budleigh’s middle order, taking four in a row as Budleigh dipped to 62 for five.
Dawson found willing partners in Kidd (38) and young Harry Parkin (23) to chisel away at the deficit in stands of 64 and 110 respectively.
Budleigh were never that far behind the asking rate, but the problem was wickets in hand.
Four overs out Dawson was bowled by the returning Mark Orchard and only then could Exmouth relax as last pair Lloyd Murrin and Murphy were not going to make 55 to win in the time left.
Murrin was last man out to George Greenway (5-50) with the score on 261.
Skipper Murphy insists Budleigh aren’t a bottom-of-the-table side and remains confident they will soon be on the up.
“Batting second in our last two games we have scored 261 and 271 – and in both our other games we have scored 200,” said Murphy.
“Batting isn’t a huge problem, but when you are 62 for five as we were against Exmouth you could be excused for thinking otherwise.
“Thanks to Matt Kidd and Harry Parkin – a youngster we pitched in at the deep end – we were able to claw it back.
“The real problem is our bowling discipline. We didn’t bowl a maiden in the game, not one, but did bowl too many wides and no-balls and inevitably sent down at least one four-ball an over.”
Exmouth skipper Baggs said Dawson’s 100 was the best he had ever seen by the former Gloucestershire player, who has been a team-mate at Budleigh and Exmouth in the past.
He added: “For a while Budleigh were in eight an over territory with Bob going well and it needed the lid putting on, which Gary Chappell and Mark Orchard did,” said Baggs.
“Had we scored another 25-30 we could have declared early and gone for the two extra points for the win.
“It might sound daft, but Sidmouth show no signs of losing and to catch them after we lost to Bradninch we need to pick up as many extra points as we can.”

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