The Heaton Mersey Phoenix team in the High Peak league were thwarted by the weather in week 5, with matches at Macclesfield and the Stockport Georgians postponed, but four matches were possible in the third fortnight.
Sunday 2nd June 2024: Heaton Mersey 115/2 (20.0) beat Brooklands 91/6 (20.0) by 24 runs – South Manchester league T20 (Scorecard)
An excellent victory for Mersey in the game held at the Harwood Road ground. James captained and won the toss, electing to bat first on a sunny, clear morning. Although Arjo was out in the 2nd over, Mersey scored at a steady rate of runs until George was run out for 13 in the 9th over. Zayaan then retired on 25 not out (off 26 balls) for the third successive match, hitting three fours and a glorious six.
Stan then joined Sam in the middle and, despite a few run-out near-misses and Sam getting dropped early, the pair put on a superb partnership of 47 runs, with Sam hitting a couple of sixes before retiring next on 27 (off 25 balls). Stan then played with increasing fluency and style, completing his first ever 25* with a glorious straight drive, which was his fourth four of his innings. Younas and James then batted out the remining balls with ease with Mersey reaching 115 for the loss of only two wickets.
Shazil opened the bowling for Mersey with a sensational first over, taking two wickets as he bowled an immaculate line and length. Brooklands then batted well and were ahead of the scoring rate at the midway point. No more wickets fell until Karam produced a superb delivery in his second over (his first being a maiden). Up stepped Arjo who bowled the over of the season so far taking three wickets in four balls as he bamboozled the opposition batters.
Mersey then bowled accurately, and Brooklands’ middle/lower order were not up to the task, finishing on 91/6. A well-earned victory for Mersey and despite some indifferent ground fielding, it was an excellent all-round performance embellished by solid catching. Well done to Cam on his first game with a fine catch at mid-on. Thanks to Rich for guiding the team and James for captaining.
Wednesday 5th June 2024: Heaton Mersey 254 (70/4 off 16) beat Alderley Edge 253 (81/7 off 16) by 1 run – High Peak league pairs (Scorecard)
Magic finally got their second game (second win) of the season last night on a cold night at green lane. Gregory won the toss and elected to bat first. Openers Emmet and Karam played out a solid 3 overs with Emmet hitting a four before 2 wickets in the 4th over brought Alderley Edge back in to the game. Fantastic stroke play from Stan (15no) with 3 fours, and great placement and running from Caoimhin, put us slightly on top at the half way stage. Gregory struck a great 4, unfortunately batting partner Samuel took a horrible ball (a beamer that struck his elbow) and had to retire injured.
Zayaan came out and struck a six and a four and Zane pushed 4 singles to ensure we had a par score. Bowling Stan delivered a sensational over with a triple wicket maiden to start things off. Again, disaster struck as Caoimhin making a fantastic stop also got injured and had to go off. With only 6 players to bowl, we were up against it. Thankfully, Zayaan and Gregory rose to the occasion and took 2 each before Stan came back on to close the game and we held on by 1 run. Big mention for Zane wicket keeping in his first ever hard ball match. Caoimhin for coming back on to bowl and field with an injury and Karam bowling a 3rd over due to injuries. Great win against a solid team. Plenty to work on too.
Thursday 6th June 2024: Brooklands 254 (86/8 off 20) beat Heaton Mersey 246 (94/12 off 20) by 8 runs – Cheshire league pairs (Scorecard)
A defeat for Mersey in this pairs game held at the Brooklands Sport Complex. Captain, Zayaan, lost the toss and the home team decided to bat first on a cool, sunny evening on a pitch that was very green and looked difficult to bat on. The home team batted carefully at first, accumulating steady runs, but Mersey roared into life with several wickets falling ,starting off with Stan bowling their opening batter.
The home side continued to struggle as Mersey bowled superbly and the ground fielding was much improved compared to previous games. Brooklands batted sensibly in the 2nd half of their innings to get to a net score of 254 runs as the ball started to swing a lot as the sun set and cloud cover increased.
Mersey started their innings and there was a clatter of early wickets as they struggled with the bat against some accurate bowling by the home team; the fielding was impressive too with one stunning catch at cover stopping a certain four. The scoring rate improved as Mersey settled down and, by the last pair, Mersey had hauled themselves back into the contest. The game looked winnable for Mersey after good batting in overs 17 to 19, but the final over bowled by the home team was superb and guided them to victory in the fading light.
Mentions to Younus, who had his best all-round game of the season, bowling intelligently with figures of 2 for 5 and batting with confidence hitting four boundaries; James’ fielding was sensational from backstop, getting three runouts with direct hits. The collective ground fielding was excellent, but the running between the wickets was poor.
This was a difficult defeat for the team to take, especially after they bowled and fielded so well, but ultimately the collective batting was not good enough against a superb attack who put on a display of exceptional fielding that was the best that I have seen at junior level. The team spirit remained good throughout though.
Sunday 9th June 2024: Lindow 37/7 (20.0) lost to Heaton Mersey 124/4 (20.0) by 87 runs – South Manchester league T20 (Scorecard)
A superb victory for Mersey in this standard T20 game held at Lindow’s home ground in Wilmslow. Captain, Adam, lost the toss and the home side decided to bowl first on a damp, cool morning on a green looking pitch. Mersey struggled initially after losing Isaac and Felix cheaply, but they picked up the scoring rate through Harrison and Sam. Despite losing Harrison, who had batted diligently for 12, Sam then reached 25 not out in 18 balls. This was then followed by a glorious partnership of 54 between Adam and Joseph who both scored an unbeaten 25 not out; Joseph’s score being a career best. Mersey finally finishing on 124 for the loss of only 4 wickets.
Lindow’s innings then commenced and, from the start, they struggled against Mersey’s accurate bowling attack. A rapid Isaac took two wickets in two balls bowling with hostile pace and accuracy. Further wickets were bagged by Harvey and Felix (two) who was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2 for 0. Adam and Joseph also took a wicket apiece as Mersey restricted the home team to less than two runs per over.
The fielding was sensational, with Gregory taking a magnificent catch running backwards. All Mersey fielders chased the ball with vigour and the energy in the field was the best that I have seen from them. The team also looked after the ball well in the damp conditions. This was another excellent T20 performance from this formidable unit and they should use this as a springboard for the rest of the season.
