Monday 15th May: Heaton Mersey U10 349 (161/3 off 20) beat Alderley Edge U11 312 (152/10 off 20) by 37 runs – Cheshire league (Scorecard)
A superb victory last night away at the picturesque Alderley Edge ground. Put in to bat on a fast and true pitch, Felix got us off to a flier with 32 from 15 deliveries. Tom crafted a textbook 27 and Sam smashed a quick 26. Harrison made 15, and Monty and Isaac were able to hit boundaries.
Alderley Edge kept up with the run rate but the boys continued to take wickets, which made all the difference to the final total. There were two wickets each for Arjo and Isaac, and 1 for Eli, Sam. Monty, Felix and Stan. Superb wicketkeeping debut from Stan who took a caught behind and there was a direct hit run out. A fantastic game and the boys all did themselves proud as always.
Monday 15th May: Romiley U9 259 (71/4 off 16) lost to Heaton Mersey U9 273 (91/6 off 16) by 14 runs – High Peak league (Scorecard)
Heaton Mersey lost the toss and batted first, with Harry from the Under 8s making his debut as a late replacement. Arno and Ben opened the batting and struggled to get away some quality bowling from Romiley. In the next pairing, Isaac targeted the short legside boundary for a much needed 6 in his pairing with Jake, with the partnership worth 23 runes for the loss of no wickets. Harvey then shepherded Harry through the hostile opening bowlers and, although we lost 3 wickets, the pair ran superbly to score 15 runs (net of wickets). Mr Reliable, Gregory, then stepped up with Joey. They put on a masterclass, Gregory hitting 4 fours and Joey unlucky only to hit one boundary, for no wickets. This took Mersey to a respectable total of 273.
Our boys then found it tricky to target the stumps on a bouncy artificial pitch. This was matched by Romiley struggling to get on top of the extra bounce. Mersey only conceded 3 boundaries, plus 4 overthrows from rocket arm Isaac. There were 2 wickets for Ben and a wicket apiece for Jake and Gregory as Romiley reached 259 in reply. The game was played in an excellent spirit and everyone left smiling. It was a thoroughly enjoyable game of cricket.
Thanks to Arno’s dad Ian for making his debut with the pencil in scoring the game.
Tuesday 16th May: Heaton Mersey U10 277 (93/4 off 16) beat Cheadle U11 263 (95/8 off 16) by 14 runs – High Peak league (Scorecard)
An excellent victory over Cheadle's strongest side at Harwood Road. Cheadle won the toss and decided to bowl. On the synthetic surface, Cheadle initially bowled well and HMCC found it hard to score. But the pace of scoring improved and, boosted by runs from Isaac E (15 from 11), Harrison (13 from 9) and Sam (24 from 11), took HMCC to a competitive score of 277.
A similar pattern happened in Cheadle's innings with a slow start against accurate bowling. Mersey took wickets at regular intervals and this proved to be the difference between the two sides in the end as Cheadle finished on 263 after a late flurry of boundaries. Best bowling from Harrison with two wickets and Adam with a misery opening spell. Mersey fully deserved the victory and the margin should have been greater. Excellent running between the wickets set the tone which continued throughout the match. Will done to the players playing their first every hard ball game (Ollie, Karam, Tommy) and Dylan, playing his first hardball game of the season.
Tuesday 16th May: Woodford U11 218 (58/10 off 16) lost to Heaton Mersey U10 289 (117/7 off 16) beat by 71 runs – High Peak league (Scorecard)
Business as usual on Tuesday for the U10s away at Woodford – a convincing win by 71 runs, which never looked in doubt; a total of 289 to Woodford’s 218. Batting highlights included double figure scores for James, Arjo and Felix. The bowling performance was fantastic again, with 1 wicket a piece for James, Albert and Eli, 2 for Tom H and Arjo, and 3 for Joseph! Maidens for Albert and Arjo, and some ferocious pace bowling from Maya, added to the all-round bowling performance. A decent evening’s work for the U10s.
Thursday 18th May: Heaton Mersey U9 265 (98/11 off 16) lost to North East Cheshire U9 287 (108/7 off 16) by 22 runs – Cheshire league (Scorecard)
Heaton Mersey batted first. Opening pair Will and Sam did well to repel some hostile opening bowling, putting on 21 for no wicket. Harvey and Adam then continued with the good work, only losing one wicket and taking the score to 244 after 8 overs. NEC’s opening bowlers then rotated back in to the attack to devastating effect. Despite a number of boundaries from Thomas and Zane, Mersey lost a further 10 wickets in the second half of the innings to finish on 265.
NEC’s sent out their two strongest batters to open their chase. It was a chastening experience for the Mersey bowlers as they were hit for 6 fours in the first 3 overs. Harvey then came on for the 4th over and, despite his first ball going to the rope, he pegged the batters back by bowling a perfect line and length. The over ended with a superb caught and bowled, followed by a clean bowled, leaving him on a hat trick at start of his next over.
Despite this, the opening pair for NEC had put on an impressive 42 runs and effectively putting the game out of Mersey’s reach. In the remainder of the innings, Olly took 2 wickets and Zane 1. Harvey took a further 2 wickets, just missing out on his hat trick, with a ball that was on target but well defended. NEC finished on 287 for a well-deserved 22 run victory.
The game was played in an excellent spirit and everyone once again left with smiles on faces. NEC were outstanding opponents on the day. Thanks to Anna for scoring. A thoroughly enjoyable game.
Thursday 18th May: Heaton Mersey U8 287 (99/4 off 16) beat Cheadle Hulme Ladybridge U9 250 (65/5 off 16) by 37 runs – High Peak league (Scorecard)
This was the U8s first game of the season vs Ladybridge. With five on each team playing their first ever game of cricket, it was great to see them all find their confidence as the game progressed.
Ladybridge won the toss and chose to bat. The boys bowled in pairs, everyone did their bit, with mentions to Tom, Leo and Harry for pace and consistency in bowling, Tom for his voice in the field and Jimmy for his work behind the stumps. Ladybridge made 250 (note, they start on 200!).
We kept the bowling pairs in batting formation as well, and had a steady start from Jimmy and Harry, brave and tricky going in first but they did great. Then Alec and Carter picked up the run-rate facing some wayward bowling, Carter dispatching the first ball he received at his head for four. Leo and Tom stepped it up again - Leo top scoring with 13 and a great 6 on the leg side. And then with the game won, Shay and Oscar raced away with running between the wickets an U11 team would be proud of.
Mersey finished on 287, a comfortable win and on to the next one. Thanks to all parents for their support and to Alice for scoring and sorting refreshments and Anna the pitch.
Sunday 21st May: South West Manchester U11 57/9 (12.5) lost to Heaton Mersey U11 142/7 (20) by 85 runs – South Manchester league (Scorecard)
Heaton Mersey batted first in an academy game, putting on 142 off their 20 overs, with standout innings from Tom Sinclair (retiring on 28 off 36 balls, with two boundaries), Seamus Hinley (retiring on 26 off 18 balls, including 3 fours and a six) and Lewis Miles (finishing on 26 not out off 29 balls, with 1 four).
In response, South West Manchester were put under immediate pressure, slipping to 9-2. They recovered to 35-2, before collapsing to 57 all out, with only one of their batsmen getting into double figures. Special mention to Fionn McKillon for three wickets in two overs, two wickets for Harry Haynes, plus a wicket each for Felix Leyden, Ishmail Sheikh and Seamus Hinley, plus a run out, with economical bowling throughout. A strong win.
Pic: Both the U9s and U8s playing at Green Lane.
