Another week, another glut of matches, although we were finally beginning to be affected by the weather, with one match postponed (an U13s cup match away at Brooklands) and another played in moist conditions. Nevertheless, it was another successful week, with four wins against one defeat.
Tuesday 12th May 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Dean)
Heaton Mersey Magic 76/3 (11.0) beat North East Cheshire Hurricanes 75/9 (20) by 7 wickets (Scorecard)
Heaton Mersey won the toss and elected to field. This proved to be a wise choice as Zayaan Naeem removed the opening batsman with only his second delivery. Younus Haq then sent the ball clattering into the next batsman’s stumps in the following over. Charlie Evans, Thomas Cliff and Lucas Norvock kept the run rate down with some accurate bowling in the following overs. Arjo Dutta took the next wicket with a fine delivery and catch from Liam Hassan. Tom Bibby struck twice in his over whilst conceding few runs, with Lucas and Zayaan adding to Liam’s earlier catch showing Heaton Mersey had safe hands in the field.
This reduced the visitors to 25-5 and it looked like it would be an early night for all but North East Cheshire rallied with some fine shots. Zayaan and Younus added to their earlier tallies, taking a wicket apiece with fast and accurate bowling, before Arjo Dutta removed their dangerman with another cracking delivery. Thomas Cliff followed up with yet another tight over getting a wicket that his accurate bowling deserved. Lucas, Liam, Tom, Zane and Lloyd then restricted North East Cheshire to just 6 runs off the last 5 overs to keep the total easily in reach. Special mention to Leo Green behind the stumps who made some fine stops and ensured byes and potential overthrows were kept to a minimum.
Younus and Charlie opened the batting against some fast and difficult bowlers. Having seen the first over off and got his eye in, Younus cut loose in the next over. He smashed 16 runs off it with 4 consecutive boundaries all around the ground, timing his shots beautifully. Although Charlie was out in the next over with a good caught and bowled effort from the visitors, Younus kept the scoreboard ticking over. He duly retired the following over from yet another 4 and the visitors were glad he wasn’t in anymore.
Zayaan and Tom then fell in quick succession to some good bowling, leaving Mersey 28-3. Following a steady start to the partnership between Lucas and Leo, they decided it was time to advance the scoring, both hitting boundaries. As we got onto the 9th over, Leo decided it was time to go out in style and hammered 3 consecutive boundaries to be our next retired batsman and capping a fine effort from his earlier fielding exploits.
Liam and Lucas carried on keeping the scoring going, with Liam quite literally hitting a cracking shot (splitting his bat in half)! This sadly put him off his stride and Arjo entered the fray, ensuring Mersey won comfortably with him and Lucas finishing unbeaten.
A solid performance with the ball and general fielding was the catalyst for a fine victory. The lads then proved they could bat as well as they bowled making sure that the result was a formality.
Tuesday 12th May 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Bollin)
Heaton Mersey Phoenix 93/0 (8.4) beat Bollington U13s 89/6 (20) by 10 wickets (Scorecard)
It was a comfortable win for Mersey Phoenix at home vs Bollington. Captain Sam lost the toss and the visitors decided to bat first on a cool evening.
The away struggled getting bat on ball in the first few overs, with extras top scoring, the home side bowling with great pace and a full length. Shazil, bowling with supreme control, got the first wicket in the 3rd over with Adam striking in the next over, rattling the stumps again. Shawaiz then struck with Shazil taking a fine catch at point and struck twice more in the 7th over, clean-bowling two more victims as he adjusted his pace and length cleverly.
Bollington then dug in with their best batters showing some skill and determination. Liam entered the attack with his loopy slow deliveries and took an excellent caught and bowled, before Bollington batted out the remaining further overs with no further loss of wickets.
There was solid bowling from Joey, Puneeth, Jake, Naeem and especially Albert, who bowled a couple of probing overs. The away side finishing on a creditable 89/6 (including 28 extras), Shawaiz taking 3-6 off his two overs.
The home side then batted with great gusto as Adam bludgeoned several fours and Shazil playing a couple of elegant leg side flicks/pulls for fours, combining this with excellent singles as the opening pair ran with clarity and intent. Adam retired on 28* (off 18 balls), wielding the bat like Thor’s hammer.
Shawaiz joined the batting and Shazil continued to bat serenely, enjoying the bouncier artificial surface and retired on 25* (off 17). Sam then joined Shawaiz at the crease as Mersey looked to wrap up the victory with no loss of wickets. Sam hit three boundaries, including two huge leg side sixes, as the home side reached their target of only 8.4 overs, with Shawaiz finishing on 11* (12) and Sam 19* (7).
It was a very comfortable win for Mersey as Bollington’s young side could not cope with Mersey’s pace, skill and power. The pink match ball was awarded by captain Sam / vice-captain Shazil to Liam for his caught & bowled wicket.
Areas for improvement – Bowling straighter / more accurately in the latter part of the innings.
Thursday 14th May 2026: U12 John North Cup (Round 1)
Heaton Mersey U12s 62/6 (15) lost to Davenham U12s 83/5 (15) by 21 runs (Scorecard)
This match might have gone either way but the opposition just pipped us with discipline in the field and smart running of 2s.
The main feature of this game was the weather. Rain fell intermittently as we met at Green Lane, but the Davenham team had travelled for over an hour, so with careful assessments of clouds and wind direction, we went ahead with overs reduced to 15 each. This seemed like the right move as the sun came out for the start of the match but conditions throughout were somewhat… slippy!
Davenham batted first and their opening batters made a positive start, scoring around 5 per over. After a couple of dropped catches early (the ball was slippy too), Charlie kept hold of one off Thomas’s bowling. We lost a player temporarily as Zane impressively fielded the ball with his face (!) and as the rain returned the batters confidence grew and boundaries started to flow (helped by the occasional misfield: again, slippy).
We had to come off briefly and Mersey regrouped, with Leo bowling a wicket maiden, Thomas getting 2 in 2 (clearly annoyed by being hit for 6 the previous ball), and a recovered Zane getting a wicket in the last over.
Our batting never quite got going, with a couple of wickets early due to irregular bounce and a fantastic run-out against George. With Leo not batting due to a sore back, Charlie and Will steadied the ship. Will hit some nice boundaries through a tight field to make 29, with one particularly enjoyable shot taken above his head, just guided down to third man.
However, after Charlie was bowled in the 9th, we were never quite able keep up with the required run rate. Overall, the opposition were friendly and appreciated us playing on despite conditions, and which we all agreed was better than deciding the outcome through a coin toss!
Friday 15th May 2026: South Manchester U12s league T20
Whalley Range U12s 84/8 (20) lost to Heaton Mersey U12s 87/8 (17.1) by 2 wickets (Scorecard)
It was another bright, sunny and deceptively fresh Friday evening in south Manchester, with Mersey this time facing Whalley Range. They had beaten South West Manchester twice but got solidly beaten by Urmston, so Ian’s pep talk at the start reminded the team that they should not fear the opposition. Captain Gregory came to the decision that we should bowl first to get into the game more – he lost the toss and the opposition chose to bat anyway.
We bowled reasonably tightly to begin with, keeping Whalley Range to 19 runs after 5 overs, with the loss of one of their openers, well caught by George off the bowling of Archie. The other opener, who was playing quite expansively, if not always successfully, was given a few lives with some tough chances, including one which Thomas L could not quite cling on to as he and Harvey converged somewhere near the umpire, perhaps distracting each other. Having got both hands to it, we expected it to stick given the blinders he has taken this season already, but it was not to be. Olly R and Tom B bowled some tight overs as we didn’t let them get away.
The hosts’ number three batsman played a fluid innings, striking some nice fours, as they put on 43 for the second wicket, before Will breached his defenses in the 13th over (he had scored 24). When Archie caught the remaining opener caught off his own bowling (also scoring 24), then repeated the act later in the over (to finish with excellent figures of 3/3), it seemed to highlight both the strength of their second-wicket partnership on a tricky pitch and the lack of depth to their batting. Sam W shook the hand and patted the back of the opener who scored 24 when he got out: it was a lovely sporting gesture.
Their scoring ground to a halt and Finlay flighted a lovely leg-break to bowl one batsman, while Olly R hit the stumps of another. Then George stepped up in his now-trademark fielding position in the covers, twice gathering the ball cleanly to throw the ball at the non-striker’s end, neatly taken by Olly R the first time and a direct hit the second time (for which the non-striker failed to make it back or face a ball), getting two in two balls. They had collapsed from 62/1 to 76/8, eventually finishing on 84/8. It could have been even better for Mersey had they taken those half-chances and been a bit sharper in the field (22 extras is a bit much).
It was a defendable total but eminently chaseable, although a large cloud blocked out the sun, making visibility poorer for the batters and making the scorers shiver (uncontrollably at times). We did not start well. Harvey top-edged a full toss to square leg before Finlay found great timing with one shot which unfortunately went straight to midwicket. When the fielder in both instances caught Will off his own bowling, we were 5/3, which became 8/4 when Gregory was bowled a low bouncing delivery from their pacy left arm bowler, coming round the wicket. The match seemed like it would be over quickly.
Archie, though, counter-attacked, finding some beautiful timing, with four fours and 20 runs off 16 balls (cementing his man of the match status). The bowler had tried a yorker with the previous ball and Archie dug it out but a repeat delivery was too strong and Archie was bowled, making it 41/5. It was a crucial partnership, getting us almost half of the way there and well ahead of the rate (we were in the 8th over). Sam W and Tom B gritted it out for a while, slowing the scoring rate but we had time and wickets were more crucial. Unfortunately, they fell in successive overs to leave us precariously on 59/7 in the 14th over, with 26 runs still to get. Still, it was 18 crucial runs that they had put on.
That brought together two lower order hitters in Thomas L and George (deployed there deliberately as finishers), and the latter effortlessly tickled of their fast bowlers round the corner to fine leg for four. One of their weaker bowlers came on in the 16th over and George immediately launched him over square leg for a 6. That left 12 runs needed and evidently George was determined to finish the game quickly, but he succeeded only in toe-ending the next shot to the scorer’s son for his fourth catch. That brought Arno to the crease, who immediately set up as the non-striker despite being due to face the next ball. The mistake was soon rectified.
Wides and byes were gratefully received as we edged closer to the total, with the batters eagerly running everything they could. Thomas played the 17th over circumspectly, again with him and Arno running some byes before he stole the strike with a single at the end of the over. That left two runs needed to win and Thomas smashed the first ball of the 18th over for four over mid-on for a nervy but gritty victory, as many of the Mersey team streamed onto the pitch in glee.
With Urmston surprisingly losing to South West Manchester (Urmston conceding 53 extras as the latter chased down a tough target) that put us clear at the top of the table and making the match against them more important than expected at this stage. There is currently no 6th fixture scheduled, which is a bit odd, so winning next week currently gives us the league. No pressure!
Friday 15th May 2026: South Manchester U13s league T20 (Zone 2)
Heaton Mersey U13s 44/0 (5.2) beat North East Cheshire Hurricanes 42 all out (15.1) by 10 wickets (Scorecard)
It was an easy win for the home team against NECCC. Captain Adam elected to bowl first after winning the toss. The away started slowly as Mersey bowled with their usual miserliness, Shazil striking with his first ball to clean bowl their opening batter. Naeem struck next with Younus pocketing a neat catch.
Despite a couple of boundaries through square leg, Mersey took regular wickets, Joe with an excellent caught & bowled, Younus with his customary two wickets in an over followed by the returning Felix picking up a wicket with an immaculate full pitched delivery. It was relentless.
Younus took his 3rd wicket (finishing on 3/4 off 2 overs), Isaac getting in on the act as Adam took a superb one-handed catch at cover. Stan chipped in with a wicket before Monty entered the fray; in typical Monty fashion he did not hang about, one ball, stumps splattered to leave the away side shattered at 42 all out.
Adam and Shazil then batted Mersey to victory, seeing off the opening bowlers with ease as they reached their target of 43 runs in only 5.2 overs, with Adam finishing on 22* (off 15 balls) and Shazil left on 12* (off 18 balls).
Mersey achieved their 2nd 10 wicket victory in a row as the visitors were crushed. The pink match ball was awarded by captain Adam / vice-captain Stan to Younus for his bowling.
Areas for improvement – Nothing of note.
