HEATHCOAT and Shobrooke Park are two of the three teams level on points at the to top of the C Division East after the latest round of fixtures.
Shobrooke, who were second, went down by 72 runs away at Ottery St Mary.
Heathcoat, who went into round four two points clear of Shobrooke at the top, were five-wicket losers at Sidmouth in a low-scoring affair.
And it is Sidmouth who have joined Heathcoat and Shobrooke on 52 points in the log-jam at the top of the table.
Ed Philpott was the man of the moment with the bat for Ottery as he made 93 not out towards their tally of 232 for five. His stand of 110 for the fifth wicket with Tom Jeacock (43) was pivotal.
Seven Shobrooke bowlers were deployed by skipper Chris Ford. Only Rob Ewing (3-33) made much headway.
Shobrooke started positively through openers Henry Field (31) and Chris Simpson, only to run into turbulence against Sam O’Nyons (5-21) and David Kingham (4-24).
Lucas Richards was ninth out for a patient 30 as Shobrooke were bowled out for 160 with more than four overs to go.
HEATHCOAT’S batting was torn to shreds at Sidmouth by Aussie seamer Cameron Neame, who took seven wickets for 33 runs.
The big damage was done during a slump from 57 for four to 59 for eight. Top-scorer Charlie Sheppard (14) was among the casualties.
When Neame ran out of overs, Liam Dalton (2-23) needed four balls to wrap-up the innings.
Sidmouth’s run chase was not without a few hitches along the way. Matt Knight (1-19) and Matt Hodson (2-16) both bowled tidy nine-over spells.
Sidmouth had time on their side though, which Oliver Smart (27) and super-veteran Anthony Griffiths (14no) used wisely to conclude the chase.
SANDFORD 2nd XI gave Upottery a real run for their money before going down by one wicket.
Only 11 balls remained in the match when Upottery’s Ryan Botley scored the winning runs.
Opener Ben Chaloner top scored for Sandford with 85 not out in a respectable total of 240 for six. Along the way there were stands of 90 with Pete Steer (36) and 64 with Archie Osborne (41).
Ben Kidson (4-64) was Upottery’s most successful nine-over bowler. Rob Machin (0-32) gave little away.
Connor McCoy, a batter from the hard school of Lancashire league cricket, went in at 35 for two and came out at 222 for eight with 134 to his name. Five sixes and 16 fours from 94 balls were entered alongside his name.
While McCoy was scoring runs at one end, the Handleys (2-46) – Ben and Joe (3-35) – were taking wickets at the other.
Ninth-wicket pair Botley (20no) and Adam Pulman got the target down to two to win. Then Olllie Knight (2-35) removed the latter caught and bowled.
Last man Machin survived the final ball of the over, which left Botley to dispatch Steer for the winning boundary.
TODD Ballman hit an unbeaten century for Teignmouth & Shaldon that set them in course for a two-wicket C East win over Exeter 2nd XI on the County Ground.
Consistent batting all the way through the top five helped Exeter reach 232 for eight in a 45-over game.
An opening stand of 107 between Calum Gundry (60) and Max Cockram (28) was enhanced by Aashay Dube (21) and Sean Langford (43) after drinks.
Oscar McCallum (2-34) jostled with Tyler Blackburn (2-32) for T&S’s bowling pat on the back.
Ballman went in wen T&S were 50 for three, which soon became 66 for four following the loss of Seamus McKenna (26).
At 88 for five with Carl Woolnough just out to Seb Looker, T&S had some work to do.
A stand of 60 between Ballman and McCallum (20) put T&S in a position where they could win. Liam Gardner (16no) and Ballman added 47 unbroken to ensure they did.
