Last Saturday's sunny weather saw Exmouth 3rd XI emerge victorious over Honiton 2nd XI by 107 runs at Mountbatten Park.

Exmouth, vying for promotion, showed their competitive appetite against their lower-chart rivals.

Winning the toss, Honiton chose to field while Exmouth started sluggishly but picked up the pace gradually.

Exmouth built a steady start due to tight bowling from Honiton’s Harry Haysom and Will Smith, the openers reached 29 runs in 10 overs.

The game took a turn when Harry Court trapped Exmouth's J Purchase in the leg before wicket, giving Honiton the upper hand.

Despite Rich Hill's consistent bowling, Exmouth increased the tempo with their No.3 batter E. Maynard being bowled out at 109 by Dan Hooper.

Nevertheless, they continued to surge, hitting more boundaries and accelerating the run rate.

The match saw some sharp fielding skills as Andy Empson made two noteworthy catches at the long-on boundary, claiming the fourth and fifth wicket for Honiton.

Exmouth continued to pile on with R Mascarenhas getting clean bowled by Hooper, fetching Honiton three valuable points.

However, despite the players' efforts, Exmouth placed a challenging total of 207 for 6.

In retaliation, Honiton faced an unpredictable spin attack from Exmouth.

The initial troubles accumulated as the top two openers failed to make substantial contributions.

Coming in next, Hooper and Harry Haysom held their ground amidst tight fielding, but Honiton lost their fourth wicket at a meagre score of 19.

The remaining batters struggled to add much to the total, apart from Harvey Haysom, who managed to hammer a boundary with a splendid cover drive.

However, the team required a more stable performance.

The score stood at 54 when the eighth wicket fell.

Following this, Hill and R Empson came to the crease but the latter couldn't stay for long.

What ensued next was a noteworthy 32-run partnership between Hill and Court, marking the third-highest tenth wicket standoff for Honiton's 2nd X1.

Hill emerged as the top-scorer with 23, while Court matched his personal best of 16 not out.

However, the spirited stand came too late as Honiton were bowled out at 100 when Hill was bowled by R McCann.

Despite the 107-run defeat, Honiton secured five crucial points, maintaining their optimism for a comeback in the forthcoming matches.

The match was umpired by Jim Tucker.