SANDFORD Cricket Club’s 2026 season ended with no play possible, as rain overnight and on Saturday morning meant all four games were unfortunately cancelled.

However, there was good news as a result of this. The 1st XI were confirmed as Runners-Up in the Premier Division for the fourth time in the past seven years, during which time winning the Premier Division in 2023 can also be added.

To say this was an excellent season for the 1sts is somewhat of an understatement. For the vast majority of their games they were playing with understrength teams due to injuries and unavailabilities at certain times.

As a result of this it meant the 1sts ended up requiring players from the 2nds to step up and play their parts.

To be honest, for most of the season my concern was more on ensuring the 1sts weren’t going to be relegated in a year which saw the Premier Division so close to call until the final weeks.

Thankfully, a run of good results suddenly found the team in second spot. I think it’s fair to say that even the players themselves were shocked at how well they did, and certainly would have taken Runners-Up spot at the beginning of the season.

Only one home defeat all season helped the team to get into the position they finally did. Well played lads.

With a couple of North Devon League games still to be played this Sunday at home to Heathcoat, and the following Sunday away to Bridestowe and Belstone at Belstone, the Club is more than happy with the season it has just had.

The 2nds and 3rds consolidated their positions in C Division East and F Division Central by finishing 5th and 4th respectively this season.

These were excellent achievements considering the issues the 2nds had with availability and injuries, which mean that most games this season had been played with understrength teams.

The 2nds would have been hoping for a higher finish, especially after their third place finish in 2025.

However, whilst for most of the season they flirted with the relegation zone, as only one team was due to be relegated owing to the pre-season withdrawal of Uplyme and Lyme Regis, thankfully from Sandford’s point of view, Exmouth 2nds had a bad start, and this continued throughout their season.

As such, they soon became detached from the rest of the League, and this continued for the rest of the season.

The unavailable players in the 1st and 2nds, also had a knock-on effect with the 3rds.

Having gained promotions in 2024 and 2025, the 3rds were looking to consolidate in F Division Central. At the end of the day, they did with ease, and were certainly not out of their depths, as their final league position would suggest.

The newly formed 4ths playing their first season in H Division East, and would have been hoping to probably finish mid-table, as their team were looking to introduce a number of 14, 15 and 16 year olds into playing senior cricket on a regular basis for the first time.

To say they achieved this was an understatement, as not only did they consolidate, but they actually finished as Runners-Up, and as such gained promotion at their first attempt.

Congratulations to the 4ths for an excellent season.

Phil Matten