After the frenetic week of fixtures in week 7, things calmed down somewhat for the following three weeks, partly due to a couple of concessions (two matches on the same Friday night left Mersey unable to play a South Manchester match, focusing on the High Peak league given the need to secure a semi-final berth, while South West Manchester could not get a team) and an abandoned match (rain came down just before the start of the match against Ashton-on-Mersey with not a ball being bowled).
Nevertheless, progress to the High Peak and John North U12s Cup semi-finals was secured.
Sunday 15th June 2025: Marple Hawks 110/8 (20) beat Heaton Mersey Phoenix 109 all out (20) – High Peak T20 league (Scorecard)
A controversial loss for Mersey versus the hosts, Marple today.
A bucolic setting greeted us at the Compstall ground in Marple for this penultimate league game. Captain Adam won the toss and decided to field on a pleasant sunny morning. Mersey struck a couple of early blows as Naeem and Joe reduced the home side to 8 for 2 in the 2nd over with Adam snagging yet another catch. The scoring rate upped as the home side looked to consolidate before Stan struck bowling at a fuller pace. The home side then upped the scoring rate with aggressive batting taking the score to 47/3 at the midway point.
New player, Moez, then bowled a superb over to peg back the home side, and Ibrahim also got a wicket. Some poor ground fielding from Mersey then gifted the home side 10-15 cheap runs before Sam struck in the 18th over getting one to turn sharply. After a short delay where Stan got a whack on the shin, after treatment with a cold diet coke can, he promptly got up and got two wickets in successive balls. The home side finally finishing on 110/8.
Mersey would have to bat well to gain the win. Mersey’s batting innings started slowly as the home side bowled a tight line. Three quick wickets then fell in succession to leave Mersey reeling.
Moreover, the 2nd wicket was due to an appalling umpiring decision from the home umpire; Adam being given run out when he was clearly in his crease. But Mersey fought back tigerishly. Sam and Stan batted beautifully in tandem with a partnership of 51 runs. Sam hitting 25 not out off 18 balls including 6 fours and Stan anchoring the innings with great intelligence. With Joe at the crease and batting comfortably, the home side umpire gave him out lbw despite the ball was going well down legside; there was silence at the ground as everyone was incredulous at this awful decision.
Naeem batted with Stan and the pair battled hard against good bowling. Stan fell for an excellent 17 and. A superb cameo of 10 off 3 balls by Moez just failed to pull off what would have been a richly deserved win. Naeem finally out for a season-best 19. Mersey fell just one run short.
This was a very hard defeat to take, but credit to the Mersey team who stayed on after the match and had some fun in the sun.
Friday 20th June 2025: Lindow Originals 97/7 (20) lost to Heaton Mersey Phoenix 141/6 (20) by 44 tuns – High Peak T20 league (Scorecard)
A comfortable win for Mersey this evening against Lindow.
On the hottest day of the year, Mersey won the toss and decided to bat first on a pitch that was concrete-hard, but green. Despite the early loss of Shazil as the home side bowled a tight line, Mersey then picked up the scoring pace from the 5th over and Felix/Adam put on 27 runs together before Adam was bowled.
Sam came to the wicket and the runs continued to flow. Some excellent running put the home side under pressure as the heat and humidity continued. The partnership reached 48 runs when some great fielding by the home side resulted in Felix being run out for 22. Sam retired shortly thereafter on 25 (off 17 balls). The humidity was causing issues with the bowlers as several deliveries slipped wide due to wet hands.
Lindow took two wickets in over 15, but Mersey wrested back the initiative as Zayaan reached the crease and batted aggressively resulting in 39 runs being plundered off 25 balls. In the 19th over, Zayaan hit what appeared to be a single, but after three misfields, Zayaan and Monty got an all-run 6 (which I had never seen before). Both batters needed time to recover from sprinting especially Monty who dived three times. Monty batted sensibly with a splendid 14. Zayaan retiring with a superb 25.
Mersey finished on 141/6 as the home side wilted in the heat. I cannot underestimate the impact of the heat and humidity on all the players.
Lindow started batting and Felix struck in his first over as the home side struggled to hit the ball off the square. The humidity continued to hamper the quicker bowlers, so captain Sam turned to spin with himself and Arjo bowling two tight overs and Arjo getting a wicket with a clever change of pace. Shazil then struck with two wickets in an over, one of which a superb run by Felix.
Albert came into the attack and bowled a superb maiden, pitching the ball on a full length and getting some late movement to deceive the batters. Zayaan continued his excellent game with a smart caught and bowled. Monty got a wicket to cap a good performance; Adam chipped in with a late wicket and the home side finished on 97/7.
This was an excellent win for Mersey, capping off a very good performance in this league section, winning 7 out of 8 games. The squad will know if they have got through to the semi-final after all the games have been played.
Tuesday 1st July 2025: Heaton Mersey Phoenix 98/3 (15.5) beat Brooklands 96/7 (20) by 7 wickets – U12 John North Cup (Scorecard)
On a cloudy and damp evening Brooklands won the toss and elected to bat.
Brooklands included an opener who had scored 50 against Yorkshire only a month before; however, Shazil’s pace and accuracy was too much for him as the stumps were splattered in the first over (an outcome that had evidently been planned for). The opening over set the tone for a period of tight bowling as Brooklands reached 35/3 after 10 overs. Shazil ended up taking two wickets, with Joe, Isaac and Naeem taking one each.
Fielding was generally good with Adam “safe hands” Hayes taking two catches and Billy taking one behind the stumps. Sam and Naeem’s quick fielding resulted in two run-outs and a special mention must be made to Harrison for two superb boundary stops to ensure the pressure was maintained. Only a flurry of late runs brought Brooklands up to 96.
A couple of early wickets fell in Mersey’s response, which brought Adam and Sam to the crease. Adam played some impressive assertive shots to retire on 33 off only 25 balls. Sam and Zayaan kept the scoreboard ticking with plenty of intelligent running between the wickets against some good bowling before Sam accelerated through the gears to also retire on 33.
Great win against a talented Brooklands team. Onto the semi-final!! Big thank you to Coach Joe for leading team and umpiring superbly.
