Exmouth 2s may have finished fourth in Division Three for the second successive season, but the league position alone does not tell the story of a much-improved 2026 campaign.

After recording just one victory and 53 points in 2025, Exmouth doubled their points tally to 106 this time around and picked up four league wins from their 10 matches.

Their season began in positive fashion with a 59-run victory over Chagford, Exmouth posting 134 for nine before dismissing their opponents for 75.

There were also early signs of how competitive the side had become in a narrow three-wicket defeat against Ottery St Mary at the end of May before Exmouth turned the tables on the eventual runners-up later in the summer.

That July meeting produced one of their most dominant batting displays of the season. Exmouth reached 172 for five from their 30 overs, with Eloise Escott and Amelie Watson sharing a 125-run partnership, before restricting Ottery St Mary to 153 for eight to complete a 19-run victory.

September brought another memorable success against Holsworthy, but the game will also be remembered for a rare piece of bowling history.

Exmouth made 92 before dismissing Holsworthy for 52 to win by 40 runs, with Sarah Antonio producing an extraordinary spell of seven for 14.

Antonio’s figures included a hat-trick, but remarkably she was not the only bowler to achieve the feat in the game. Holsworthy’s Freya Godfrey had earlier taken a hat-trick of her own, meaning both sides produced a bowler who claimed the rare feat during the same match. Remarkable!

Exmouth then saved perhaps their most eye-catching result until the final weekend of the league season.

Champions Bovey Tracey arrived having dominated Division Three, but Exmouth became the only side to beat them in the league all year. Bovey made 142 for seven before Exmouth successfully chased the target, reaching 145 for six to complete a four-wicket victory and finish their campaign on a high.

Sarah Strode led Exmouth’s batting with 157 runs, a return that also placed her ninth in the overall Division Three run-scoring standings.

Her season included one half-century, which came against Bradninch & Kentisbeare.

Anna Higgins was close behind with 122 runs and a top score of 46, also against Bradninch & Kentisbeare, in the reverse fixture to the one in which Strode registered her fifty.

Amelie Watson finished third with 82 runs. Her best scores were two unbeaten innings of 32, coming against Ottery St Mary and Bradninch & Kentisbeare. In the August meeting with Bradninch & Kentisbeare she also shared a 69-run partnership with Higgins.

 

Antonio finished as Exmouth 2s’ leading Division Three wicket-taker with 13, with more than half of those coming in her remarkable seven-for-14 performance against Holsworthy.

Her impact was not restricted to the league either.

Antonio was again at the heart of things in the T20 Plate, where she finished with six wickets. Her best figures of four for five came against Clyst St George, giving her a second outstanding return during a season in which she had already taken seven for 14 and a hat-trick against Holsworthy.

Sharon Dawkins and Holly Strode both finished the Division Three campaign with 10 wickets apiece, giving Exmouth three bowlers in double figures.

Exmouth also enjoyed a competitive T20 Plate campaign, winning two of their four Group B matches. All three teams finished level on six points, with Exmouth narrowly missing out on the semi-finals on net run rate.

Higgins was also prominent with the bat in the shorter format, scoring 42 against Whimple in one of Exmouth’s victories.

The finishing position in Division Three may have remained unchanged from 2025, but the figures underneath it tell the real story. Four league victories rather than one, twice as many points and a competitive T20 campaign all pointed towards considerable progress.

Ending the year by defeating the Division Three champions only added to that sense of improvement and gives Exmouth 2s plenty to build on heading into 2027.