It was a successful week for Heaton Mersey in the U8s to U11s group, with four wins out of four, plus an opposition concession.
Sunday 23rd April: Heaton Mersey U11A 107 all out (19.3) beat Cheadle 80/7 (20) by 27 runs – South Manchester league (Scorecard)
It began on Sunday 23rd April, with a home win for the U11s Academy team over Cheadle in the South Manchester league. Tom Sinclair and Harry Haynes got the team off to a great start, both retiring out at 25. The team reached 107 all out, with some confusion over whether the opening batsmen could come back in (although there were only three balls left anyway).
In response, Cheadle started slowly and soon fell behind the rate due to some tight bowling. Some lusty blows towards the end of the innings got them closer but, with Monty Mayes taking two wickets, they ended on 80/7 after their 20 overs, 27 runs adrift.
Tuesday 25th April: Heaton Mersey U10 275 (95/5) beat Didsbury 259 (83/6) by 16 runs – High Peak league (Scorecard)
On Tuesday 25th, the U10s played Didsbury in the U11s High Peak league. It was a hard-fought win in cool conditions against a strong team. After losing the toss, Didsbury chose to bowl. A positive start, especially from Tom Sinclair (top scorer with 23), was built on during the middle overs. Sam Hanlon then scored 15 to propel HMCC to 275. When Didsbury batted, the bowling was tight to begin with as Harrison and Tom S bowled fast and straight. But, by the mid-point of their innings, Didsbury were on 244 runs and looked set for a comfortable victory.
Then the spin maestros, Aahil and Arjo, bowled beautifully and conceded only 6 runs in 4 overs, bamboozling the batters with guile and flight. Then, as the pressure increased, Mersey took charge and in the final four overs took four wickets, including two run-outs, with Albert's scattering of the stumps in the last over sealing victory. All the team contributed to this win and it was even more impressive as it was the first hard ball game for some of the team (Tom R, Zayaan).
Wednesday 26th April: Heaton Mersey U9 273 (88/5) beat Bredbury St Marks 225 (55/10) by 48 runs – High Peak league (Scorecard)
On Wednesday 26th, the U9s faced a double header: Bredbury St Marks at home in the High Peak league and the Stockport Georgians away in the Cheshire league.
In the home game, Bredbury batted first due to not being quorate at the start time. The bowling was fast, if not always accurate, from the start and Bredbury struggled to score many runs off the bat. Wickets were taken throughout, generally either bowled or run out, but there was one well-taken catch too. Harley and Ted finished things off brilliantly, with figures of 2-4 and 2-5 respectively. There were barely any runs conceded off the bat, with most runs conceded through wides and byes. Bredbury finished on 57/11, equivalent to a score of 224. A special word for Alden, who was everywhere in the field, backing up every last overthrow that was vaguely in his direction.
Heaton Mersey started their innings solidly, with Gregory and Sam losing no wickets and the former hitting five boundaries. Many of the batsman made contributions – Gregory top scored with 21, with Harley getting 15 and Isaac 13, and there were boundaries for others. In the end, Mersey finished on 88-5, equivalent to a score of 273, making it a fairly comfortable win in the end.
The match was played with great team spirit on both sides (particular with Bredbury helping out brilliantly with an off-field injury to one of Mersey’s players). Thanks also to Alden’s dad, Toby, for scoring.
Wednesday 26th April: Stockport Georgians 236 (66/10) lost to Heaton Mersey U9 254 (66/4) by 18 runs – Cheshire league (Scorecard)
In the away game, HMCC won the toss and elected to bowl first against an inexperienced Georgians team, fielding one overage girl (under the permitted rules). HMCC had two players making their debuts amongst an otherwise experienced side.
Harvey opened the bowling and players rotated around fielding positions after each over. It was a superb start from Mersey with the opening pair scoring 12 runs but losing 3 wickets for a net score of just 3. HMCC were sharp in the field, with some excellent keeping and backing up, the hard work on this in training already paying dividends.
The wickets continued to tumble throughout and were evenly spread between the bowlers. Jake and Olly both took a wicket on debut. Special mentions for Will 0-4, Olly 1-4 and Arno 2-5. There were 37 runs scored off the bat and 29 extras for the loss of 10 wickets, leaving HMCC chasing 237 to win.
On to the batting. Will and Olly got us off to a solid start, facing Georgians’ fastest bowler, whom Olly hit for a superb 4. This helped to settle the rest of the batsmen and the result was never in doubt after that. Harvey and Jake top scored with 17 runs off the bat in their partnership, with both hitting a boundary and Harvey leading the way with 10 runs and lots of pinched singles with his superb backing up. There was also a boundary for Arno and HMCC cruised to an eighteen-run victory with a total of 254. Well done to the whole team.
Having umpired the same fixture in the opening game last season, which we narrowly lost, it was pleasing to see how much our young cricketers have developed over the last 12 months. Their game management shone through and gave them a massive edge against less experienced opponents. A superb start to the season and a pleasure to take the team. Final mention for Finlay’s dad Tom, who scored the game.
Wednesday 26th April: Heaton Mersey U8 vs Stockport Trinity U9 – opposition conceded – High Peak league (Scorecard)
Stockport Trinity could not make this fixture and so conceded, giving a win to the U8s team.
Pic - Heaton Mersey U10s vs Didsbury:
