There were a couple of close defeats but five key wins as progress to the High Peak semi-finals for both the Magic and Phoenix teams, and to the Cheshire Club Cup final for the U13s, were secured.
Monday 6th July 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Dean)
Stockport Trinity 79 all out (15.2) lost to Heaton Mersey Magic 141/5 (20) by 62 runs (Scorecard)
It was a big week for Magic as they had three matches in four days, the results of which would determine whether they would make the High Peak final. Magic travelled to Stockport Trinity, with captain Leo winning the toss and electing to bat. They suffered a couple of early setbacks, falling to 15/2 in the third over, but Charlie got the bit between his teeth, smashing the last three balls of the third over for four. After opener Arjo played out a maiden, Charlie hit another three fours off the next two overs, retiring on 26 off just 11 balls.
Arjo took a bit longer to get going, but hit a six then a back-to-back four and six to retire on 25 off 37 balls. There were contributions from Sam (11 with 2 fours), Finn (12) and Leo (15 with 3 fours), whilst the score was boosted by 48 extras (including 24 wides and 9 no-balls). In the end, Magic reached an above-par 141/5 off their 20 overs.
Trinity made a strong start, despite Charlie bowling one of their openers in the second over, as they reached 51/1 after 6 overs, with their star batter with a breezy 30 runs off 16 balls. However, there wasn’t a great deal of batting after that and Magic turned the screw. After a run out in the 7th over, leg-spinner Finn struck twice in two balls, with an LBW then a bowled.
Magic continued to target the stumps, with Leo (twice), Lucas and Arjo all hitting them, while Finn claimed a third, caught behind by Sam W, to finish with the amazing figures of 2-1-2-3. Trinity had collapsed from 56/1 to 79 all out, securing the win by a comfortable 62 runs. One win down, two to go.
Anna, who was present, noted later that “Magic were brilliant tonight. Lots of fun to watch! The team were positive & buoyant and great to umpire for!” PA
Tuesday 7th July 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Bollin)
Bredbury St Marks 43 all out (15.4) lost to Heaton Mersey Phoenix 161/3 (20) by 118 runs (Scorecard)
It was a comfortable win for the U13s last evening against a young and inexperienced team at the bucolic ground in Bredbury. Captain Adam H won the toss on a pitch which resembled crazy paving with large cracks everywhere in a hexagonal pattern; very odd.
From the outset, Mersey batted with authority, power and great intent. An opening partnership of 60 runs in 4 overs by Shazil and Jake eviscerated the home side’s attack, with Shazil retiring on 26* (off 11 balls) and Jake retiring on 25* (off 14 balls). Despite losing Naeem and Adam H cheaply, Evan and Gregory kept the run rate high with plenty of well-judged quick-singles and punchy fours through the cover region, with the pair putting in 35 runs before Gregory perished (for 11) to an arm ball from the home side’s best (spin) bowler.
Evan was then joined at the crease by Tom R and immediately Tom hit a couple of superb leg-side fours. Evan retired on 25* (off 25 balls), continuing his great form, and Will entered the fray. Tom and Will plundered more runs, with lots of quick singles and some superb drives through extra cover for several fours. Tom retired for the first time in his career on 27* (off 24 balls). Puneeth then hit some quick runs and Mersey finished on a whopping 161/3 off their 20 overs.
The home side started breezily, with one of their openers hitting some pleasant fours before Adam S struck with his loopy leg spin. Jake struck next; after bowling a couple of spin deliveries, he quickly reverted to pace and bowled the opener with his next ball quickly followed by a wicket from his next ball.
Wickets then fell regularly as the home side struggled to get the ball off the square. Adam H struck next, then Tom R bowled a superb over off ‘mystery’ spin, taking two wickets. Evan also took two wickets and then the innings was finished as Will took the final two wickets.
It was a very easy win for Mersey to seal top spot in the league, guaranteeing them a home semi-final. The pink match ball was awarded by captain Adam / vice-captain Jake to Tom for his all-round performance.
Areas for improvement – not much to say as the opposition were no match for Mersey on the day. JH
Wednesday 8th July 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Dean)
Woodford 85 all out (17.5) lost to Heaton Mersey Magic 152/2 (20) by 67 runs (Scorecard)
Another day, another away match, and Magic followed the same formula with captain Thomas L winning the toss and electing to bat. Magic made a positive start, with Arjo and Charlie opening the innings again. They traded boundaries, with Charlie hitting a 6 before he was out, caught, in the 8th over, but not before they had added 52.
Leo came in next and kept the tempo going, hitting five fours and retiring on 27 off 24 balls. Thomas was a bit more circumspect but, after Sam W was out cheaply, he came to the fore, retiring on 25 off 21 balls in the last over, with four fours. In the penultimate over, Harvey gave some extra polish to the score with a four and a six. Boosted by 40 extras, including 23 wides, Magic finished on an intimidating 152/2 off their 20 overs.
In a similar manner to the Trinity match, the home side started strongly, reaching 36 at the end of the 5th over, before Harry recovered well from being hit for three fours by having one of the openers caught. They continued to bat well, getting to 57/1 off 9 overs with their other opener retiring on 25 off just 13 balls.
With both openers gone, Magic went in for the kill, with Thomas getting a wicket, bowled, in the 11th over. Leo bowled a batter in the next over and Finn did the same two overs later. Magic then got a team hat-trick, with Harvey striking twice in the last two balls of his over (LBW then bowled; he finished with the excellent figures of 2/2) and Arjo bowling the set batter with his first ball. Liam and then Harry (2/19) struck the stumps to finish off the innings, bowling Woodford out for 85 and winning by an impressive 67 runs.
That win, alongside other group results, meant that Magic had qualified for the semi-final a game early. With no chance of catching league leaders Romiley, that meant that they were more-or-less guaranteed to play Phoenix in the semi-final. PA
Thursday 9th July 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Bollin)
Heaton Mersey Phoenix 77 all out (14.5) lost to Macclesfield 78/8 (20) by 2 wickets (Scorecard)
It was a narrow defeat for Phoenix in the final league match, as we went a bit topsy turvy with the batting order given we were already guaranteed first place. Captain Stan won the toss and decided to bat at Green Lane on a very hot evening.
The visitors started well, with their opening bowler getting a wicket maiden in his first over. Albert then Evan fell quickly with Huzaifah joining Adam S at the crease. Two further wickets fell with Huzaifah and then Will falling to the accurate visitor’s attack. Stan, fresh from his school trip to Paris, came out to bat and immediately batted with great fluency, driving beautifully and scoring freely on the offside.
With Adam defending stoutly, Stan played his best innings of the season to retire on 28* (off 14 balls), including 6 fours. Mersey were 45/4 off 10 overs and looked set for a competitive total, but the visitors struck back. Tom R and Adam S were bowled in the 12th over and Shawaiz was run out for 0 having not faced a ball.
Jake was then caught behind and the final batting pair of Shazil and Naeem came out. After a couple of lovely fours by Shazil, there was another run out as Naeem was short of his ground, caught out at the non-striker’s end. Phoenix finished with a subpar score of 77, only batting 14.5 of their 20 overs. Macclesfield were excellent in the field.
The away side got off to a difficult start as Shazil got his usual wickets in over 1. The two away batters then defended well and ran some dicey quick singles to keep accumulating the runs. The best Macclesfield batter then struck a couple of glorious sixes, albeit getting away with one that he mistimed and dropped in the gap, eventually retiring on 27*.
With Naeem nursing his injured toes and unable to bowl fast, Mersey rotated the bowling resources, but the away side keep up the scoring rate. Macclesfield looked on course for an easy win until Naeem, bowling spin for the 1st time, took two wickets in two balls in the 16th over. Adam S then chipped in with a wicket in over 17 before Jake bowled a superb over to get two more wickets.
The visitors then need 7 off the final over to win. A superb four was scored leaving the scores tied with three balls remaining. Huzaifah struck with the fifth ball of the over. One to win off the last ball and Macclesfield scrambled through to score the winning run off the last ball for a deserved win!
It was a well-merited win for Macclesfield who bowled straight and fielded with lots of effort. The pink match ball was awarded by captain Stan / vice-captain Jake to Evan for his bowling effort.
Areas for improvement – the main one today was the lack of clear calling when running quick singles. There was a lack of energy in the field, but this was understandable given the hot weather. JH
Thursday 9th July 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Dean)
Hawk Green 93 all out (15.0) lost to Heaton Mersey Magic 100/6 (20) by 7 runs (Scorecard)
For the third time in three matches, Magic (via captain Finn) won the toss and elected to bat. Mirroring the Phoenix match happening on the same night, we had messed with the order a little to give others a chance, and because why not.
Thomas C started positively, hitting two fours in the second over, but then Finn and George fell in the space of three balls to put Magic on the back foot. Harry came in at number four as Thomas continued to strike the ball nicely, eventually retiring on 25 off 25 balls, with five fours. Harry played well at the other end, hitting two fours in two balls, eventually being bowled for 19 off 26 balls.
Magic then struggled to up the scoring, despite Lloyd and Omar hitting a boundary each and Sam W hitting two. Leo retired hurt and some of Magic’s better batters at the bottom of the order did not get many balls to face. Magic eventually reached 100/6 off their 20 overs, thanks to a four off the last ball from Thomas L, having only scored 39 in the second 10 overs rather than kicking on. A defendable total but certainly chaseable.
George struck in the second over, bowling one of the openers, but otherwise the hosts accumulated well, reaching 27/1 after five overs. Thomas C struck in the 6th over, getting the batter caught by Thomas L. Then Leo, bowling despite his injury, recovered from being hit for six by snaring the batter, caught by Charlie. Despite the wicket, Hawk Green scored 25 off two overs to reach 59/2 off 8 overs and in a strong position.
Harry kept Magic in it, getting a caught behind to Sam W and Lloyd bowled a tight over, before Charlie also struck by hitting the stumps. However, three fours off George from their star batter put them on 82/5, needing 19 runs off just 8 overs.
Thomas L had other ideas, bowling their batter off the first ball of his over. When their star batter hit him for four and retired for 25 off just 18 balls, Thomas bowled the new batter third ball and effectively Hawk Green were 8 wickets down, still needing 14 runs to win. Leo and then Arjo struck with bowled wickets to finish the opposition off, winning by the slender margin of 7 runs.
After two convincing wins earlier in the week, it was a more typical tight Magic victory, finishing strongly in the field. They finished a comfortable second in the table, with 9 wins out of 11 games with just 1 defeat and 1 game against Romiley being cancelled. Next stop: a semi-final against Phoenix. PA
Friday 10th July 2026: South Manchester U13s league T20 (Division 1)
Timperley Eagles 95/7 (20) beat Heaton Mersey U13s 94 all out (20) by 1 run (Scorecard)
It was a hard-fought match ended in the narrowest of losses for Mersey in this league match away at Timperley. On another very warm evening, Mersey fielded an under-strength side away to the team placed 2nd in the league.
The toss was won by captain Arjo, who decided to bowl first on a new pitch for this encounter. Mersey started superbly, conceding only 5 runs in the first three overs, with Jake taking a wicket. The home side consolidated and started to up the scoring tempo. A couple of quick wickets, one from Zayaan and one from a great delivery by Will, removed two top order batters.
The scoring rate upped a tad, but Mersey fielded well in the scorching heat and managed to stop many of the home sides attacking shots. Sam H struck in the 16th over with Charlie taking a smart catch behind the stumps. Arjo then pounced on some hesitant running to claim an excellent run out.
Jake then returned for a 2nd over and claimed another wicket with a pinpoint full delivery to smash the stumps of the Timperley batter. Shawaiz claimed a well-earned wicket with Huzaifah taking an excellent catch, the home side finishing on 95/7. It was a great effort by Mersey to restrict this batting line-up to under 100 runs.
The away side suffered an early blow as Shawaiz clothed one to mid-on in the 2nd over. Arjo started batting with real intent before falling for 16 (off 21 balls). Jake was batting well though and underpinned the first half of the innings, hitting 3 glorious fours on the offside. Charlie also batted with increasing maturity against some excellent bowling.
The home sides leg spinner then snared Charlie just after the mid-innings drinks break. Young Evan entered the fray and the runs still accumulated until Jake was bowled for a well-crafted 23 (off 31 balls). The home side then cranked up the pressure with some superb bowling.
Evan then Sam fell in quick succession. Zayaan and Monty then took 11 off the 17th over and Mersey looked favourites to win. At the start of the final over, the away side needed 6 runs to win with four wickets in hand, but Timperley bowled and fielded magnificently, taking four wickets in four balls, including three run outs, after Zayaan had hit the second hall for four. Mersey lost by 1 run as Zayaan was joined by his brother, Yusuf, for the last ball (see the great photo of the brothers).
It was an agonisingly close loss for Mersey, but the team fought superbly. The pink match ball was awarded by captain Arjo / vice-captain Shawaiz to Jake for a superb all-round display. A special mention to Charlie and especially to Yusuf for playing with great desire and effort as last-minute replacements; thank you.
Mersey finished a creditable third in Division 1, with two very winnable games not played (either due to not having teams available or due to the weather).
Areas for improvement – very little to improve on this display apart from trying to stay cool in the last over. JH
Sunday 12th July 2026: Cheshire Vitality T20 U13 Club Cup (Semi-final)
Timperley Lions 86/7 (20) lost to Heaton Mersey U13s 92/5 (20) by 6 runs (Scorecard)
An absorbing encounter in this semi-final clash saw Mersey victorious by 6 runs to progress through to the cup final.
Mersey won the toss, but after a comment from the home team’s players about their coach not being present at the toss, there was a re-toss of the coin which Mersey lost and the home side elected to bowl first. Mersey had played on a new strip just two days before (in a South Manchester league game which they lost by 1 run) and had the advantage on knowing how the pitch would play.
Shawaiz started brightly, hitting some glorious straight/cover drives for 4 despite some excellent bowling from Timperley. Harrison and Arjo fell in quick succession but Shawaiz continued to play beautifully. Wickets continued to fall and the scoring rate decreased after Shawaiz retired on 33* (off 31 balls including 7 fours).
A late flourish of runs from Younus and Leo took Mersey to a total of 92/5 off their 20 overs. This looked 10 to 15 runs short although the pitch was difficult to bat on with some variable bounce and enough movement for the bowlers to trouble the batters.
Mersey started superbly with the ball as they reduced Timperley to 4/3 as Adam struck twice, bowling superbly, with Joseph clean bowling their #3 batter. The home side then consolidated with an excellent partnership before Zayaan got a key wicket to reduce the home side to 38/4. The match then ebbed and flowed as both sides strove to gain the upper hand.
A tight finish looked a certainty, and this proved to be the case: the match reached the last over with the home side requiring 10 runs to win. A superb last over by Adam ensured that the home side were restricted to only 4 runs as Adam bowled fast and accurately giving the home side’s batter no width, Mersey winning by 6 runs.
It was an excellent performance from Mersey in a tight game. The pink match ball was awarded by captain Stan / vice-captain Sam to Shawaiz for his superb batting display.
Areas for improvement – not much to improve as this was a high-quality match between two well-matched sides. Perhaps rotate the strike more when batting. JH
Authors denoted by the initials; all match reports (sub-)edited by PA.
