Despite it being the quieter part of the season, we had a week of fixtures that was reminiscent of the busier times, with four matches in four days. We were unbeaten across all of them with another exciting tie in one match (the third of the season so far) as well as three wins.
Tuesday 4th August 2026: High Peak U13s summer competition T20 (Group C)
Stockport Georgians HPL 56 all out (14.1) lost to Heaton Mersey Phoenix 60/1 (9.4) by 9 wickets (Scorecard)
The Phoenix team was bolstered by some Magic squad members as it was right in the middle of the holiday season as they travelled to Stockport Georgians for a High Peak match. The Georgians won the toss and elected to bat. They started well, with their opener hitting three consecutive fours in the 6th over, bowled by Zayaan, to retire on 26 off 28 balls. When the other opener hit Harvey for four, they had reached 40-0 at the start of the 8th over. But then things unravelled somewhat for the home team.
Harvey immediately had his revenge by bowling the opener before Arjo bowled the new batter in the next over. In Harvey’s subsequent over, he struck twice, both caught (by Adam H and Sam H), to finish with excellent figures of 3/11 off his two overs. That left the Georgians on 46/4 but the collapse continued.
Huzaifah struck twice in the next over before a wicket for Omar and another for Arjo finished off the innings (the home team only had 10 players). They had fallen from a promising 40-0 to 56 all out in a calamitous 7-over spell.
A target of 57 was clearly under par, although doubts were raised when Charlie was bowled for a two-ball duck, but Huzaifah and Shazil accumulated steadily, removing any doubt of the outcome. Shazil went through the gears in the 10th over, hitting five fours either side of a wide, with the 22 runs conceded jumping the score from 38/1 to a match-winning 60/1. And that was that, with the benefit being an early finish. PA
Wednesday 5th August 2026: High Peak U13s summer competition T20 (Group C)
Heaton Mersey Phoenix 107/2 (20) beat Didsbury Bears 106/8 (20) by 1 run (Scorecard)
In an absorbing encounter, Mersey edged out Didsbury to win by 1 run in this Cheshire High Peak Summer Cup clash at Green Lane.
At a gloomy home ground, Mersey won the toss and captain, Sam H, elected to bat first on pitch which had a green tinge about it after heavy rain showers in the past 24 hours. The away side bowled accurately in the first few overs, taking two quick wickets as Adam H then Thomas L perished.
Sam joined Puneeth (in an unaccustomed opening slot) and started to accelerate the scoring with well-judged quick singles and some excellent timing from Sam continuing his fine form with the bat, Sam retiring on 25* (off 18 balls containing four 4’s). Puneeth continued to anchor the batting innings as Thomas C joined him at the crease.
Then the heavens opened and everyone scuttled off for shelter. After a few minutes play resumed. The pitch had softened and batting became more difficult as well-hit shots went for ones where previously they had rocketed to the boundary. Puneeth retired on 25* (off 48 balls) for his first ever retirement – well done, Puneeth!!
Naeem came to the crease and both he and Thomas C found it difficult to up the scoring tempo. Didsbury’s slow bowlers and spinners bowled well and Mersey ended up on 107/3, with Thomas C finishing on 11* and Naeem on 14*. A close match looked likely.
Adam struck early in the Didsbury innings with a smart catch behind by Sam W. Mersey then bowled a bit erratically as the extras racked up to boost the away side’s total. A couple of dropped catches ensured that Didsbury could keep up with the required run rate. Albert was brought into the attack and struck with his first ball to clatter the wickets of the batter.
Didsbury responded with their best batter hitting some meaty offside shots. After the 10th over and switching of ends, Sam H came into the attack and immediately bowled the highest scoring batter and then struck again two balls later with a perfect left arm spinner’s delivery as the ball turned significantly, as Sam W took advantage with a superb stumping.
The game was ebbing and flowing. Monty struck with a classic off cutter in the 13th over and there was a run out in the 17th over as the away’s running started to became skittish. Puneeth took a wicket at the start of the 18th over with Adam pouching a regulation catch at cover.
Five runs were needed for Didsbury to win in the last over, but Thomas L came back into the attack, and after Didsbury edged closer with two byes and a single, and in the last three balls he bowled a dot ball then another dot ball and then took a wicket with the final ball of the match (caught Adam at cover). Phew!!!
It was a tight contest that could have gone either way, but Mersey just prevailed. The pink match ball was awarded by captain Sam / vice-captain Adam to Puneeth for his first every batting retirement and taking a wicket as well.
Areas for improvement – bowling wicket to wicket and limiting extras. JH
Thursday 6th August 2026: High Peak U13s summer competition T20 (Group B)
Marple Stags 109/5 (20) tied with Heaton Mersey Magic 109/5 (20) (Scorecard)
Miss Marple? You missed out – this was appointment to view cricket at its finest. The previous evening had seen a couple of the team involved in a one run victory at Green Lane and, as we decamped to the greener, lanier surroundings of SK6, nobody could have realistically predicted that the outcome would be even closer.
The Compstall Amphitheatre is one of the prettier venues on the circuit, but you’ve got to get there first. We lost the toss, and were relieved to hear Marple wanted to bowl, on the basis that after a late injury withdrawal, coupled with heavier than anticipated traffic, we began the game with 7 players on site.
Our innings was steady rather than spectacular. The shorter boundary came with the added complication of a pretty steep hill, and a well-placed (albeit rather static) fielding team meant only 9 boundaries were scored. 3 of those came from opener Tom Cliff, who was the pick of the batters (and the player of the match), retiring on 25* after a flawless innings.
Three others reached double figures, but the next top score was Zayaan with 14. Some nice partnerships developed, with (in the main) good, sensible running of singles, taking advantage of the statuesque opposition. We ended up on 109 for the loss of 5 wickets.
In response, Marple started very brightly. The boundaries which seemed out of reach to us were taking a bit more of a peppering from the home team – two of their top 3 retired on 25*, and they hit nine 4s between them. The other member of the top 3 had to retire due to being struck twice on the helmet in quick succession, which in my opinion was due more to the slightly unpredictable nature of the batting surface more than anything else. He was deemed fit enough to return to bat later on by the Marple coach, only to then take one in the box.
Despite numerous positional changes in the field, it was proving tricky to stem the flow of runs. At this point (around halfway into the innings), both umpires realised that the pre-game agreement for Mersey to be lent a fielder hadn’t been actioned. Helped by both the 11th man, and the support of the 12th, 13th, 14th (I lost count) “men” (a very vocal flock of sheep on the far side… “come on Mersey, wicket baaa-l”), the second half of the innings saw a real turnaround in fortunes. 3 wickets fell in just 7 balls, taking Marple from 71 without loss towards the end of the 10th over (excluding retirements) to 77 for 3 (or 5 if you include the retirees) at the end of the 11th.
The absence of a physical scoreboard only added to the tension, as we relied on Marple 4G coverage (which had apparently failed the night before) to keep “Wisden” Play Cricket up to date, allowing the umpires to relay the state of the game to the players.
More tight bowling followed, as just 12 runs were conceded off the next four overs, with Charlie taking a caught and bowled and Harry bowling another batter.
However, Marple took 9 runs off the 16th over and, with 4 overs (or 24 balls for those used to watching the Hundred in August) remaining, they needed just 12 runs to win with loads of wickets (well, three) left. A Mersey loss seemed inevitable.
Captain Tom Lightfoot was ensuring everyone had a minimum of 2 overs, before the most economical were given a third. This means Tom Bibby (2 runs conceded), Omar Mirza (3 runs conceded) and Charlie Evans (3 runs conceded) deserve huge credit for bowling overs 17, 18 and 19 with such discipline, as do the fielders for staying alert in the fading light. Sam also kept well, saving a number of balls late in the game which were shooting down leg side. There was an exciting moment when it looked like the borrowed fielder might have accidentally booted a relatively simple ball over the boundary, but fortunately that moment of potential controversy was narrowly averted.
So, the final over. 4 required for the win. Zayaan was tossed the ball. 2 runs were pinched off the first three balls. Ball four… dot. Ball 5… dot. The Win Predictor didn’t know which way to turn. The final ball of the match clipped the plucky batsman’s pad and a single leg bye was scampered, with a full length dive to make his ground at the non-striker’s end. The tie was tied. JW
Friday 7th August 2026: South Manchester U13s summer cup T20 (Group C)
Bowdon Vale 66 all out (19.2) lost to Heaton Mersey U13s 165/2 (20) by 99 runs (Scorecard)
If you google ‘great team performance’ it now takes you to the Play Cricket link for this game… Bowdon Vale won the toss and, after successfully chasing down 127 the previous week (against Macclesfield), put Mersey into bat on a flat wicket and an outfield as hard as concrete. Both Shazil and Adam H scored runs fluently, finding the gaps in the field with ease.
Adam retired not out 31, followed a couple of overs later by Shazil who scored 32. There was no rest for the bowlers as this only brought Sam H and Thomas L to the crease, who just carried on from where Adam and Shazil had left off. Deft touches and thunderous drives resulted in Sam retiring on 31 off only 17 balls and Thomas reaching 20. The final few overs brought Charlie and Stan to the crease who both attacked any loose ball with guile, Mersey ending on 165 for 2.
What followed was a masterclass in disciplined bowling and electric fielding. In their response, Bowdon Vale were 18 for 5 after ten overs (including five maidens), with Mersey using ten different bowlers. Captain Stan only had third man outside the (imaginary) fielding circle as the batters tried in vain to find gaps and get the scoreboard ticking.
As the shadows lengthened, Bowdon Vale went on the attack, but could only get to 66 before they were skittled all out. There were wickets for Naeem (two), Adam (two), Joe and Monty. Shawaiz the runout master (in a good way) ensured there were two occasions of heated discussions between the batters.
The boys played with great spirit throughout to ensure a thoroughly deserved victory. Captain Stan and vice captain Jake awarded the match ball to Adam. MG
Authors denoted by the initials; all match reports (sub-)edited by PA.
