The Ashton-on-Mersey T20 match was postponed from the Sunday to the Friday while the following Sunday’s match against Whalley Range was conceded due to a lack of numbers. However, we picked up three wins to strengthen our position in the High Peak and South Manchester leagues, before a bad loss to the Lindow U13 girls. We thankfully recovered to beat Macclesfield in the High Peak summer competition to take us through to the semi-finals, but met a good side in Bramhall Bisons.
Monday 4th August 2025: Lindow Spitfires 232 (84/13 off 16) lost to Heaton Mersey Phoenix 315 (131/4 off 16) by 83 runs – High Peak pairs summer competition (Scorecard)
As usual, we had wanted to bowl first but Lindow won the toss and put us in to bat. It had been a bit of stormy day: while the rain had long since dissipated, there was still a strong breeze, keeping it fresh despite the appearance of sunshine. It was generally a solid batting performance, as Mersey took advantage of the relatively short boundaries.
Jake hit 18 for the first pair, with four fours, then Archie top-scored in the second pair with 29, including one six and five fours, partnered by Huzaifah, who hit an exquisite cover drive for four. Will and Gregory also bolstered the scoring with 16 apiece, both with three fours.
That led to an imposing score of 131/4 off the 16 overs, equivalent to a net score of 315, a typical total for Phoenix in the High Peak and one that was well above par. And so it proved with Lindow’s response.
The hosts lost wickets regularly throughout the innings, 13 in total, which hampered their scoring efforts, as the Mersey bowlers kept it relatively tight. Jake, Huzaifah and Evan picked up two wickets apiece – Huzaifah was getting some decent turn from his left arm spin bowled round the wicket. Archie, Will, Finn and Gregory also picked up wickets, the latter reaching 20 for the season, his oft-quoted target.
In the field, Mersey were generally sharp, and there were two direct hit run-outs, one from Archie and one from Huzaifah (there was a third run-out to add to the mix). The summer vibe, coupled with the one-sided nature of the competition, led to some frivolity from the visitors in the field, but the result was never in doubt. The home side took it well, wryly thanking us for the “lesson”.
Tuesday 5th August 2025: Heaton Mersey Phoenix 283 (111/7 off 16) beat Bramhall Bees 246 (74/7 off 16) by 37 runs – High Peak pairs summer competition (Scorecard)
As was the case the previous night, the opposition won the toss and put us in. Our batters generally struggled with the variety of bowling put on offer, which was due to the mixed nature of the opposition’s attack. Nevertheless our in-form batters carried us through, with Jake top scoring with 19 runs (once out), then Archie with 18 (not out), Harvey with 16 (once out) and Gregory with 14 (once out).
It was still unconvincing as Jeffers’ pre-match team talk requesting no run outs or being bowled, with being caught out going for shots noted as more acceptable, was taken a little too literally as batter after batter played early on the shots and chipped the ball to fielders. Such an act was impossible against some of their bowlers, though, since they were largely bowling pea rollers.
Ultimately, the runs flowed steadily enough and we got above 100 gross runs (111 in total), with the 7 wickets taking us below 300, to 283. It was above par but not comfortably so.
The opening pair of Harvey and Finn kept it tight, picking up a wicket apiece, but one of their second pair batters hit 24, putting them right on track. However, Jake (2-1) and Ollie Royle (1-4) kept it tight in particular, leading to their run chase fizzling out.
Archie got another direct hit run-out, identical to the previous night (from midwicket), while Gregory through the stumps down after fielding off his own bowling, somehow dislodging a loose tooth in the process. In the end, we won by a relatively comfortable 37 runs, but in truth it should have been by more given the carelessness of the batting at times. Nevertheless, that’s three wins out of three. If we finish top then we go into a semi-final match.
Friday 8th August 2025: Heaton Mersey Phoenix 109/1 (20) beat Ashton-on-Mersey 103/5 (20) by 6 runs – South Manchester T20 summer cup (Scorecard)
Another lost toss meant batting first (putting the opposition in seems to be the done thing, although it wasn’t deterring us). This was a good team performance with excellent team spirit. Mersey were patient and built a solid total off their 20 overs, protecting their wickets well in the first 10 overs against an opposition bowling a good length.
There were two well-constructed 25 retired from Thomas C, opening for the first time, and Will laid the foundation for Sam and particularly Harvey to accelerate at the end of the innings with a flurry of boundaries.
Ashton’s innings followed a similar pattern as the batsmen were kept quiet in the first ten overs, only scoring 38 runs but crucially losing more wickets than Mersey, mainly thanks to 2 in 2 from Harvey. Ashton’s batsmen then accelerated in the second half, causing 2 run-outs as they pushed for runs late on.
The game was on a knife edge entering the last over, to be bowled by Paddy. Ashton’s most fluent batsman pierced the field twice, even with all of Mersey’s fielders on the rope. This took him past 25 and a retirement with 7 runs needed from the last 2 balls. Paddy then steeled himself and, with lots of encouragement from his team mates, saw the penultimate ball only go for a single.
Only a 6 would do if Ashton were to steal it off the last ball. Paddy kept his cool and bowled a tight inswinger which narrowly missed the leg stump as the batsman took a massive heave, ultimately chasing the maximum in vain. This sparked jubilation from the Mersey players. An excellent game played in an excellent spirit throughout.
Tuesday 12th August 2025: Lindow U13 Girls 42/1 (9.1) beat Heaton Mersey Phoenix 38 all out (13.0) by 8 wickets – South Manchester T20 summer cup (Scorecard)
Our last Twenty20 game of the season took us to the Wilmslow Phoenix Sports Club. We had beaten them comfortably in the High Peak pairs league earlier in the season, but with a pretty strong team. We had a less strong team this time but I thought we could still hold our own. I was sorely mistaken.
The girls put us into bat and Charlie, fresh back from a holiday, played a lovely, if airy, cover drive for four. I nearly suggested that he keep it down (I was umpiring at square leg). Next ball he played a similar shot, but it was a little closer to the fielder and it was well pouched. Thomas C was bowled next over to leave us 6-2. That put our most experienced batters of the day in together, and I suggested that they needed to put together a decent partnership.
The girls were bowling straight and full, from well behind the crease to help their length, and it was a challenge. Gregory and Will applied themselves quite well, scraping runs here and there. Gregory then hooked a full ball well for four, which nearly prompted me to suggest that he didn’t get carried away. I held my counsel and then Gregory played expansively around a full ball to be bowled. When Will was bamboozled by a ball that really stuck in the pitch and tennis ball bounced up to his chest, then unluckily bounced on the stumps, we had lost the heart of our batting line-up, with the score on just 23-4.
Emmet batted sensibly at one end, finishing on 4 not out, but it was a procession at the other end. Our batters seemed unable to play anything straight, with three more bowled to leave us on a precarious 36-7. There were no heroics as when another bowler came into attack, whilst she briefly struggled with her line, she soon rectified that to snare two caught-and-bowleds and a bowled in one over to leave us all out on a rather pitiful 38.
I watched the four wickets in the last two overs in some form of horror from behind the stumps as umpire. There were no real demons in the pitch (Will’s unfortunate dismissal notwithstanding), just accurate, full-pitched bowling.
One of their openers showed us how it should be done, playing very patiently against our strong opening attack of Gregory, Will and Evan, putting them 7-0 after 3 overs. After Thomas bowled the fourth over, from which they hit 10 runs, I debated what to do next since they were almost halfway to the target. I wanted to try to make a game of it whilst also thinking that I should share the bowling around. Will encouraged me to rotate back through our opening battery, and it was rewarded with Gregory bowling their other opener with the first ball of his second over.
But once again they played exactly as they needed to (given the required run rate was less than two an over at the start of the innings). Whilst Huzaifah managed a run-out (from memory the batter was just stood outside of the crease so it was a bit of a slam-dunk), the torture was soon over and they hit the winning runs off the first ball of the 10th over. The bonus of the short match was getting home a lot sooner, not that that was much comfort. It was a far cry from our early South Manchester matches. The loss put us mid-table, on the same points as the Lindow Girls but inevitably behind on net run rate.
Monday 18th August 2025: Macclesfield Blues 261 (73/3 off 16) lost to Heaton Mersey Phoenix 281 (93/3 off 16) by 20 runs – High Peak pairs summer competition (Scorecard)
Mersey made the journey over to Macclesfield for a must win away game in the summer competition. Earlier in the season there was a last-minute postponement of the fixture, due to a biblical downpour, but this time the game was on.
It was a relatively chilly evening, and with a 6pm start a swift pace of play was required to avoid closing the game in darkness. The pink ball definitely played its part in the final overs.
The U11s team, with the squad depleted due to the August holiday season, was bolstered with the support of four excellent U10s. Evan, James, Alec and Seb joined the team, demonstrating the strength in depth across the age groups at HMCC.
Mersey Captain, Charlie, won the toss and elected to bat.
Charlie and Olly opened the batting. A steady opening performance, with Charlie scoring 11 runs and Olly providing support with no wickets lost between the pair. A solid start to build on. Will and Adam came next with Will scoring an excellent 23 off 15 balls. Adam provided support, including a big hit to the boundary for 4.
Then came the excellent U10s, Evan and James progressed the score with 15 runs for Evan and 6 for James, for no wicket. Seb and Alec finished the innings, working well together against some of the better Macclesfield bowling.
The Mersey innings closed at 93/3, with a respectable 281 to defend.
A short break, and out came Macclesfield to bat.
Charlie and Olly’s bowling frustrated the Macclesfield openers, with a wicket each, and just 7 runs scored. Mersey were in control. Will and Adam followed. Will's tight bowling proving to be unplayable, with only a handful of byes conceded.
At the halfway point in the innings, it looked out of reach for Macclesfield, but their third and fourth batting pairs put up a fight. Evan, however, frustrated the scoring with his pace; James complimenting with his own tight bowling, conceding just 6 runs.
There was a late flourish to come though from the final Macclesfield batting pair. As we entered the last couple of overs it was apparent the Mersey score was becoming uncomfortably achievable with further boundaries. A discussion took place about moving the field out to the boundary, and Charlie made the right call to go with it.
As Alec and Seb finished their overs, the Macclesfield batting resistance petered out, and Mersey won the game by 20 runs.
A good win, to stay top of the table with 18 points. A great team effort and huge thanks again to the U10s for their support.
With our match against Marple cancelled due to the weather (I think), we finished top of the table, narrowly ahead of Marple on net run rate. That set up a match against the might of the Bramhall Bisons (they had been smashing it in another group, including beating our U10s by 193 runs(!)).
Friday 5th September 2025: Bramhall Bisons 336 (152/4 off 16) beat Heaton Mersey Phoenix 245 (77/8 off 16) – High Peak pairs summer competition semi-final (Scorecard)
Most of the excitement for this fixture came from the team selection. We decided that, given it was the summer competition and many had contributed, we would go with a completely random team. It was originally scheduled for the Monday, with a video of the randomised player selection circulated. However, Bramhall informed us that the pitch was waterlogged and it was thus deferred to the Friday. That meant another exciting live player draw. It perhaps didn’t do any favours, but it’s the taking part that counts, right?
We won the toss and elected to bat, but we struggled against their opening bowlers (the second took three wickets in an over, leaving us on 6 gross runs for the loss of 4 wickets, although the pair eventually got to 17 for the loss of no more wickets). Adam and Harvey bolstered the middle order with 19-0 off their four overs. There was some steady contributions from the remaining two pairs but nothing spectacular enough to lift us to a challenging target. A score of 245 was not expected to be enough. Harvey top-scored with 12, including two fours.
In return, our bowlers struggled to contain their batters, although Harvey bowled well (a clear man of the match), with figures of 2-9 off his brace of overs, while Charlie took a great catch. Jeffers was ultimately happy to lose by less than 100 runs. Bramhall thoroughly deserved to win on a hard muddy pitch in fading light.
So, more silverware was not to be forthcoming, but it was a good experience (and in fact our last pairs game… ever!). Macclesfield Silks beat Didsbury Leopards in the other semi-final, but the final looks to have been abandoned at the halfway stage and the trophy was shared.
A picture from the Bramhall match:
