With limited availability and no training, there were some “summer holiday performances” on show, and some opponent no-shows (Wythenshawe conceded and the match against Woodford was postponed). In the four matches completed, we won one but lost three, although there was some good news on the trophy hunting front.
Wednesday 31st July 2024: Heaton Mersey Phoenix 266 (94/7 off 16) beat Cheadle 219 (59/10 off 16) by 47 runs – High Peak summer competition pairs (Scorecard)
Under blue skies and a warm July sun, it was a perfect evening for cricket. You couldn’t say that Heaton Mersey (Phoenix) put in a perfect cricketing display to match, but their performance was still easily good enough to beat a Cheadle CC side that boasted a regular Cheshire batter/wicket-keeper amongst their number.
Mersey lost the toss and were sent into the field. Billy insisted he didn’t want to bowl as he “wasn’t good enough”, but his cruel coach forced him to open the bowling anyway. It turned out that Billy was certainly good enough. He bamboozled the batters with his leg spin and picked up figures of 3-6 off his two overs. Just goes to show: coach always knows best.
All the boys bowled nicely with very few runs or extras conceded (only two wides and a single no ball in the whole innings). Aman, Stan, James and Isaac claimed a single wicket each, with two for Dylan. James and Isaac did particularly well, bowling against the final pair who were excellent batters, yet not going for more than five runs an over, as well as picking up a wicket each.
Cheadle ended on a net score of 219 (259 gross).
You always fancied Mersey to chase this down, and they did so with ease. Everyone chipped in, but Stan was the pick of the batters. His 24 off 17 included a couple of sumptuous cover drives that Tendulkar would have been proud of. There was a nice little cameo from James at the end too, with 16 off 10.
What was especially nice to see was that all the boys kept cool heads in what proved to be a tempestuous second innings. Cheadle clearly didn’t like losing, and so a sizeable number of toys were ejected from the perambulator, mainly by their own coach. But our boys didn’t care. Unfazed by all the shouting and protesting, they did exactly what they needed to do, ending up with a net 266 (294 gross), and winning by 47 runs.
Friday 2nd August 2024: Heaton Mersey Phoenix 229 (61/8 off 10.3) drew with 310 (126/4 off 16) – match abandoned – High Peak summer competition pairs (Scorecard)
The match against Bramhall was abandoned today after torrential rain cut short our chase, which was looking a little unlikely.
Friday 9th August 2024: Heaton Mersey Phoenix 271 (99/7 off 16) lost to Didsbury Leopards 272 (92/5 off 16) by 1 run – High Peak summer competition pairs (Scorecard)
For the first 20 minutes of this one, nothing happened. No wickets, no runs… in fact no cricket, as Didsbury went to Green Lane for a match taking place at HMV.
Eventually it was time to face the music.
Adam won the toss and decided we’d have a bat, presumably thinking that bowling second in the dark would be an advantage.
When three wickets fell in the first over, this decision looked to be backfiring, as the skiddy artificial track benefitted Didsbury’s opening bowler. However, the boys regained their composure and the innings was rebuilt. There were a number of classy boundaries, including one absolute rocket from Shazil that would have taken this square leg umpire out if he hadn’t been concentrating so intently on the game for his subsequent match reporting duties.
The final total of 99/7 could, and should, have been at least 10 runs higher if the boys had pushed harder to turn the singles into twos.
Didsbury’s response saw the scoreboard tick up, always at the required rate, but never getting too far ahead. However, wickets were proving tricky to come by - the first one didn’t fall until the 11th over! This meant the tension increased as the sun dropped. There were also a couple of injuries - the opposition umpire was forced off, and Dylan also stepped in as a sub keeper when Sam took a blow on a bone he broke earlier in the summer. Drama everywhere.
As the match entered the final 4 overs, Didsbury looked favourites after a solid performance from their third pair. However, the final result really couldn’t have been closer, as Didsbury won it, then lost it, then finally won it again! Dylan (now replaced as keeper by Tom… do keep up everyone), and especially Shazil, who bowled with unerring accuracy, claimed wickets that oh so nearly won the match. Sadly, in the end, it wasn’t quite enough, and, with the field all in, Didsbury blocked the final ball to claim victory.
Overall, Didsbury probably did enough to edge it, but with a bit of running practice, and some slightly tighter fielding, it could have been a different story.
Friday 9th August 2024: Lindow White 303 (119/4 off 16) beat Heaton Mersey Phoenix 273 (97/6 off 16) by 30 runs – High Peak summer competition pairs (Scorecard)
A 30 run defeat at Lindow effectively ends the summer cup for us. With Mersey bowling first, Lindow got on top with excellent early batting. The pitch was hard, the outfield fast and the fielding below our expected standard. Lindow had a much stronger line-up than expected and Stan with 1 for 5 and George with an economy of just 4 were the only 2 bowlers to restrict the flow of runs. Charlie got 2 great wickets in his second over too.
Dropped catches, overthrows and many misfields meant several boys had figures that didn't reflect their efforts with the ball, though. With an unrealistic 303 to chase, the batting was very impressive. 16 from Arjo and Stan, George with 9 and a stunning 26 off 14 with 5 fours for Zayaan got us a respectable score. Overall, it felt like a middle of summer holiday performance but was lovely being out in the sun at a beautiful venue.
Sunday 11th August: Bowdon 104/1 off 15.5 beat Lindow White 303 (119/4 off 16) beat Heaton Mersey Phoenix 98 all out off 17.2 by 9 wickets – South Manchester summer cup T20 (Scorecard)
We were well beaten by a much more experienced Bowdon side in the South Manchester Cup today. Batting first, we were quickly 1 for 2. Stan and Adam both retired on 25+ with excellent strokeplay and Dylan scored 16, before a flurry of late wickets saw us 98 all out with around 15 balls left.
Bowdon never looked in trouble with only one wicket falling to Stan, although there were good efforts behind the stumps from Jesse and Finlay. The weather was very hot bowling second and the boys all looked shattered. This is likely our final cup game so well done all.
Except that, by virtue of net run rate, having beaten Urmston more heavily than we lost to Bowdon, we ended up topping the group and making it to the T20 finals day, lining up against Didsbury. Here is the table:
We also received a trophy for winning the second division of the South Manchester T20 league, winning all 6 matches.
