Fresh off a 20 point win the previous week, Ottery St Mary 1st XI were on their travels again as they visited the County Ground to take on Exeter 2nds.

With a risk of rain and thunderstorms, Sam O’Nyons called correct and invited the hosts to bat first. 

Things started positively as Ben Major claimed the early wicket of Wilkinson (1), who was caught at second slip by Liyanage. 

However, this was as good as it got for a while as Khan and Barnes very much put Ottery to the sword. 

Any width was dispatched and anything too straight was whipped through the leg side by the former. 

A host of misfields and dropped catches aided both batters as they put on a mammoth 204 together. 

A small rain delay threatened to put proceedings to a halt but Exeter carried on their merry way as Khan reached a brutal century, and Barnes looked likely to follow by was undone by a slower ball by Rose to depart agonisingly short on 96. 

By this point, Exeter batters could come in with freedom and runs still flowed. 

Ottery kept plugging away to pick up three more wickets, Eul-Barker had Dube (11) caught behind, Rose pinned Tharaneetharan (1) on the toe to trap him leg before, and Harrison had centurion Khan (137) caught at mid-off by the captain. 

Exeter finished 270-5 off a rain reduced 41 overs. 

Having to get just shy of 7 runs per over, things started in solid fashion as Exeter gifted Ottery a number of extras which meant Flower and Clements didn’t have to do a great deal. 

When things were on target, strong lateral movement made scoring conditions tough. 

Flower was the first to go, adjudged strangled down the leg side off Dube. 

Rhys Norman joined Clements and together things kept ticking and the partnership almost reached 50 when Clements top edged a low full toss straight to deep backward square for 36. 

The scoreboard kept creeping away from the Otters, resulting in wickets falling. 

First, Norman went on the charge and was stumped for 31 before Jeacock edged behind for a duck as Lewis-Oliver bowled a tidy spell. 

Rose and Liyanage had a nice partnership of 62 which gave the innings some life as batters scored freely. 

However, when Rose departed for 32 picking out deep mid-wicket the game looked like it was over. 

Liyanage kept going and reached his second fifty in as many games, including a pair of 6s with a lofted drive down the ground and a flick over square leg. 

Eventually, the innings fizzled out and Ottery finished on 238-8.

A disappointing result, especially the account Ottery gave of themselves with the ball and in the field. 

Another game with multiple people contributing with the bat is a real positive, but upon reflection we probably gave them 50 runs through poor standards in the first half. 

Next week the 1s return to Strawberry Lane to take on Uplyme & Lyme Regis. 

A big thank you to Chris Startup and Gazza Jeacock for umpiring and scoring.

- 2nd X1 vs Whimple - Home. Abandoned due to waterlogged pitch 

- 3rd X1 vs Cullompton Away - CULLOMPTON CC WON BY 52 RUNS

Matt Thomas takes 5 but Otters still seeking first win of the season. 

Rain was centre stage in the latest Feniton/Ottery game - the home side, Cullompton was put into bat after the Otters won the toss. 

Early wickets were taken until Cully batsman Avery hit a quick 36 - but it could have been different if a catch at long on was taken when Avery was in single figures. 

A captain’s performance with the bat on an unbeaten 36 kept the Cully innings going. 

However wickets fell quickly after the second rain delay with Matt Thomas taken 3 quick wickets which ended the Cully innings. 

A target of 133 was set - early Otter wickets fell with the damp conditions not helping. 

Otters knew the game was lost early on in the 18th over but they battled on through to earn a second batting point reaching a total of 80 for 9 with solid defensive work by Sam Harlond and Tom Prismall. 

Next game is home to Exmouth 3s.