A slight, and inevitable, reduction in the win ratio, but still more wins (four) than defeats (two) and every match going ahead.
Tuesday 5th May 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Bollin)
Marple Hawks 106/3 (15.3) beat Heaton Mersey Phoenix 102/5 (20) by 7 wickets (Scorecard)
We shuffled over to the picturesque Compstall Road ground in Marple Bridge, with a short upward sloping boundary to the pavilion side. The Marple Hawks, who had won one and lost one so far, won the toss and elected to bat. Jake found some good timing, particularly through the offside, hitting three fours in total, before getting bowled while trying another expansive-looking shot. But it had been a positive start.
Stan scored positively while Tom chiselled out runs at the other end. At the halfway stage, we were well positioned on 59/1. However, Marple turned to their slower bowlers, who found an accurate line on a pitch with low bounce, and the batters struggled to find the boundary. In particular, the bowlers kept well away from the legside given the short boundary. Stan eventually fell caught, having hit 18 off 31 balls with three fours. Gregory came in and made 13 not out, while Tom eventually fell for a patient 18, and we ultimately finished on a perhaps under par 102/5.
We started well in the field, with Liam bowling one of their openers with his second ball in the second over. Gregory then switched from round the wicket to over the wicket against their left-hander, and got the ball to slightly seam back into the batter and crash into middle stump. Jake was unlucky not to get an LBW (we decided basically not to give them unless they were playing French cricket) but Albert found a lovely line to bowl the same batter.
Unfortunately, that was the last wicket we took. They had a very solid middle order, with three players reaching 25 or more, and in the end they knocked off the runs with over 4 overs to spare. Still, it was played in good spirits, if not warm weather, as the chill wind left the umpires and the scorer, Will (making his debut on Play Cricket), shivering and quick to get in their cars.
Marple have a fairly strong team and it’s always going to be tough with us mixing up our teams, trying to give as many boys a chance as possible, but the season is long and the league is not over.
Wednesday 6th May 2026: Cheshire U13s league T20 (Under 13 Zone 1)
Heaton Mersey U13s 132/3 (20) beat Hyde U13s 97/7 (20) by 35 runs (Scorecard)
It was a solid victory for Mersey on Wednesday evening. Captain Joe won the toss and elected to bat first on a good-looking pitch. The home team started batting confidently, with Shawaiz and Adam rattling up an unbeaten opening partnership of 58 off only 6.1 overs before Adam retired on a belligerent 31* (off 19 balls).
Despite losing Thomas and Joe, Shawaiz continued to bat fluently. Sam then helped with the flow of runs including hitting 17 in an over and retiring on 30* (off 28). Hyde bowled better later in the innings and Mersey finished on 132/3, with Felix looking in good touch in his 1st game of the season with 8* (off 12). Adam, Shawaiz and Sam all hit a six.
Hyde batted well to begin, with aided by some loose bowling by the home team, before Adam struck first in the 6th over (with an LBW decision not fully appreciated by the away team’s umpire, evidently the father of the batter – it was absolutely plumb, though: yorker hitting the back foot on middle stump). Thomas then claimed two victims in successive balls, including a superb caught and bowled (throwing his left hand out to pluck it from its trajectory).
Hyde never recovered and Mersey then bowled with greater accuracy. Thomas took another wicket closely followed by Sam claiming two wickets in an over as the away side struggled with his sharp turn. Isaac found his bowling rhythm in his 2nd over, claiming his 1st wicket of the season. Sam W wicketkeeping was excellent throughout the match, and Monty bowled with great accuracy and pace. Thomas finished with best figures of 3 for 4 off his two overs.
This was a good victory for Mersey and it was great to see Isaac and Felix play their first games of the season, and Sam W with his first game in this competition. Thanks to Paul for umpiring. The pink match ball was awarded to Adam for his ferocious strokeplay that entertained the crowd.
Areas for improvement – Bowling more accurately, especially bowling a fuller length.
Thursday 7th May 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Dean)
Heaton Mersey Magic 119/8 (20) beat Cheadle Hulme U13 B U13s 132/3 (20) beat Hyde U13s 97/7 (20) by 35 runs
It was an overcast and inclement looking evening at Green Lane which saw the visitors win the toss and elect to field.
Harvey offered to open for the first time alongside Charlie and the pair made a steady if unspectacular start before Charlie was trapped plumb in front for 11. Leo joined Harvey at the crease and immediately looked to up the scoring rate. Harvey hit 2 fours before falling for 12, which brought Monty to the crease, who promptly went 4, 6, bowled.
Zayaan then entered the fray and produced a gem of an innings to solidify Magic’s hold over the game with 32 off 25 balls. A middle-to-lower order collapse followed with Mersey losing 5 wickets for 22 runs around Zayaan’s retirement. Harry and Tom showed dogged determination to push the total towards 120. Tom added a bit of flair with 2 sumptuous boundaries, stepping to the off side and cracking the ball down leg both times. Lloyd finished with a cameo 2 from 2 to pose a challenging target of 120, at a run a ball, for Cheadle to win.
Magic were not in the mood to let them get close as they took to the field, marshalled by captain Leo and vice-captain George. An early finish looked on the cards when some superb bowling and fielding reduced the visitors to 22/6. The highlights were an LBW for Harvey from his first ball and a second wicket in the same over; 2 wickets bowled and 2 genuinely stunning catches from George fielding at short mid-off; and 2 wickets for Tom to cap off his best all-round performance, showing great promise for the rest of the season.
At this point everyone was thinking of an early finish until Cheadle’s outstanding JJ marched out to the crease and played a magnificent rearguard of an innings. The plucky Cheadlite had taken 4 wickets when bowling and batted sensibly to retire on 31. However, the result was never in doubt. Cheadle batted out the remaining overs and finished on 58/7, just under half Magic’s total.
A thoroughly professional performance once again. Well done all involved.
Friday 8th May 2026: South Manchester U13s league T20 (Zone 2)
Heaton Mersey U13s 108/5 (20) beat Bowden Cutters 101/9 (19.3) by 7 runs (Scorecard)
In a tight contest, the home side emerged victors. The away side lost the toss and captain, Adam, decided to bat first. Mersey lost quick wickets at the start of their innings and by the end of the 5th over were 19/4. Stan and Billy then batted intelligently to consolidate the innings. The partnership of 43 runs was anchored by solid defense and quick singles with excellent calling and running.
After Billy departed for a solid 15 (off 27 balls), Younus came in and immediately looked to increase the scoring rate. Stan and Younus batted out the remaining overs, defending well and running hard, with Younus hitting some ferocious boundaries. Stan finished on 25* (off 37 balls) and Younus on 28* (off 27 balls) with Mersey scoring 108/5.
Shazil and Naeem bowled quickly and accurately and restricted the visitors to the odd single/extras before Naeem struck with a superb full delivery to ‘castle’ the stumps of the Bowdon opener. Adam bowled a rapid maiden, then Zayaan struck twice with Billy taking a smart catch behind the stumps for the 1st victim and clean bowling the next batter.
Younus then struck again with his 2nd ball leaving the visitors struggling. Shawaiz continued with his recent good form taking a wicket in his first over with Shazil taking a smart catch at cover. Bowdon recovered until Adam clean bowled the powerful lower order batter, and despite a fine knock by the Bowdon #5 who retired not out, Shawaiz finished the innings in the last over of the match by clean bowling two players with some incisive ‘death’ bowling.
It was a tight contest with Mersey prevailing as they kept their composure during the last few overs. Thanks to Rich for (solo) scoring. The pink match ball was awarded by captain Adam / vice-captain Stan to Shawaiz for his superb bowling performance.
And a word on the team/squad who have been a delight to umpire. Their attitude on the field is exemplary (win, lose or tie).
Areas for improvement – Better shot selection by batters. Reduce extras (wides, byes). Tighten the ground fielding.
Friday 8th May 2026: South Manchester U12s league T20
Urmston U12s 100/2 (11.2) beat Heaton Mersey U12s 98/7 (20) by 8 wickets (Scorecard)
This is a hard one to write. After facing Urmston at HMV the week before (and beating them comfortably), the players were a bit too overconfident about the return leg at the Urmston ground. The coaches on the other hand were not. Knowing Urmston’s track record for winning at all costs and, let’s be honest, a little bit of a tendency for interesting decisions, we knew they would not take the beating lying down.
Once we saw the team sheet, we knew that they would be bringing back their U12 “ringers” (who actually play up for the U15s!!). Mersey opened the batting, with the opening ball sending Leo out for a duck to set the tone. Our batting was no match for their bowlers who expertly picked us off – even with a very dodgy caught behind decision against Will we just couldn’t rack up a high enough number of runs.
The mood was desperately low (mine included) after the end of the innings, and it was impossible to get the players spirits back up. The expert Mersey fielding that we witnessed in previous matches just fell away, with silly mistakes, overthrows and poor teamwork. There was no shaking them into action and they just gave up in the end.
Even if the bad umpiring decision had not occurred, we were still destined to not be able to face their expert players on the day. I am gutted for the team and more gutted that we couldn’t lift spirits and give it a better go!
To finish on the positives, there were two standout performances on the day: Lucas N (U11) who retired on 30 from 40 balls, showing the U12s how it’s done, and Huzaifah whose fielding stopped at least 3 boundaries. He flew round the back of the field like he had wings. His backing up in the field was textbook perfect.
Lots to learn and a more positive attitude needed in the future.
Sunday 10th May 2026: Cheshire U13s league T20 (Under 13 Zone 1)
Bramhall Bulldogs 66 all out (14.3) lost to Heaton Mersey U13s 68/7 (18.2) by 3 wickets (Scorecard)
It was an excellent win for Mersey in a low scoring contest away at Bramhall. Captain Shazil won the toss and elected to bowl first on a very green-looking pitch (due to the heavy rain from the previous day). Shazil struck first, clean bowling the opener with a superb full-length delivery at the end of the 2nd over. The home side then consolidated and attacked with the best two batters scoring fluently.
Felix then got the key wicket after being hit for a couple of boundaries as Shazil took a catch at mid-off. Mersey subsequently turned the screw and flattened the home side’s batting. It was ruthless. Wickets for Stan (2), Zayaan (2), followed by two in Sam’s first over (including Felix getting a splendid run-out with a superb throw to hit the stumps), and Shazil taking his 3rd catch of the match despite the ball hitting him on the mouth first!
The home side were reeling at this onslaught. Younus then bowled his customary unplayable yorker to get his wicket and Jake rounded off a quite superb effort clean bowling their last batter with another perfect yorker. They ended up 66 all out.
The away side batted well in the first four overs before Shazil over-balanced and was stumped. A flurry of wickets then fell as the home side’s best bowler bowled four excellent overs including a couple of interesting LBW decisions which went in favour of Bramhall (given by the home side’s umpire I should add).
Billy and Leo then dug in and defended well, taking singles when they could. The away side appeared to be moving towards their victory target without too many issues until the 15th over, which was a double wicket maiden. Billy then departed leaving Mersey to score 20 runs in the last 4.1 overs to win with three wickets remaining.
Zayaan and Sam then put on the match winning partnership batting with a great maturity, with Zayaan immediately striking a superb four over mid-wicket. The pair seemed to be batting on a different surface and the win was secured by a classic pull shot by Sam for four with 10 balls to spare.
Mersey march on with another win and this was possibly the best bowling performance that I have seen watching juniors. The batting was a bit nervy though. The pink match ball was awarded by captain Shazil / vice-captain Sam to Zayaan for a great all-round performance and a cool head in the run chase. Shazil captained with great composure and took three crucial catches.
Areas for improvement – Defending full, straight deliveries on a sticky wicket.
