Monday 19th June: North East Cheshire U9 274 (92/6 off 16) beat Heaton Mersey U9s 269 (84/5 off 16) by 5 runs – Cheshire league (Scorecard)
The weather had threatened all day but the skies cleared in time and the sun shone down on a crucial top-of-the-table clash in this Cheshire league Zone 1 fixture. Mersey batted first and struggled all evening to get the NECCC bowlers away. The highlights included boundaries each for Harvey and Finlay, and a magnificent 6 in the final over from the ever-reliable Huzaifah as proud dad Hassan umpired at square leg. Both teams played nervously, clearly understanding the significance of the fixture. The innings was littered with extras, making up more than half of Mersey’s total in a battling 84/5, giving a total of 269 and something to defend.
In their reply, NECCC kept up with the run rate throughout, as Mersey shared 6 wickets between 6 bowlers to keep pegging them back. As the final pair walked out to bat, the result was in the balance with NECCC on 255. The tension continued to build in the scorers’ seats as the batting side started with a boundary and Mersey countered with a wicket for Harvey. A tight over from Finn produced only one run from the first 4 balls before the momentum swung again with a boundary 4 off the penultimate delivery.
Two overs to go and NECCC stood on 265. Adam then bowled the over of his season, going for just 3 singles. NECCC were 1 behind going in to the final over. Despite a wicket with the final ball from Huzaifah, it was not to be for Mersey on this occasion, with the home team finishing on 274. The highlights were Finlay’s 1-7, Adam’s 1-8 and Arno’s 0-7, the latter unlucky to not take at least one wicket. A valiant effort but ultimately the second narrow defeat to the hosts this season. As ever, the opposition were magnanimous in victory and the game was played in a great spirit.
Tuesday 20th June: Heaton Mersey U11 265 (97/8 off 20) lost to Stockport Trinity U11 297 (137/10 off 20) by 32 runs – Cheshire league (Scorecard)
Sadly, we suffered a defeat tonight for the U11s, losing by 32 runs to a strong Stockport Trinity team. There was some good batting from Owen, Zach and Yakub, which got us to a respectable score, but we knew that we would have to bowl and field well to have any chance of winning.
Some good early bowling and fielding from Mersey kept the score down but the more experienced Trinity had just too much in the end. There is lots still to work on and improve but there were lots of positives as well.
Special mentions go to Rowan and Sam playing their first games and Zidaan for his second. All contributed with either bat, ball or in the field. Well done all.
Tuesday 20th June: Heaton Mersey U10 237 (73/9 off 16) lost to Cheadle Hulme U11 257 (73/4 off 16) by 20 runs – High Peak league (Scorecard)
In the last of the High Peak league games of the season Mersey, lost this home match to Cheadle Hulme. Mersey won the toss and elected to bat on a cool, dry evening and a close encounter was expected as Mersey fielded an inexperienced team. Batting was difficult on the far side pitch at Green Lane, which was very green (appropriately) and, with the ball keeping low, the home team struggled to score runs. A few wickets were lost early, but the batting improved with top scores from Isaac E, Karam and Ollie helping the home team to a net score of 237. This was below par, but the visiting team had bowled and fielded well.
It was a big challenge for the home team to repeat the heroics of previous matches this season. The visitors started very carefully with the low target in mind. But Dylan then took two wickets in his first over to rock the visitors’ confidence, including an excellent caught and bowled. The home team fought very hard, but Cheadle Hulme kept ahead of the scoring rate in the middle of their innings and, with the last pair to come, they were ahead of target. Despite some excellent bowling by Maya, the visitors batted skilfully to guide them home to a solid victory.
After a very good league campaign, this was a minor setback for the team who, despite battling valiantly, did not score enough runs to win this contest. A big thank you to Sue Walton for scoring this match.
Thursday 22nd June: Timperley Lightning U11 277 (109/8 off 20) lost to Heaton Mersey U10 299 (123/6 off 20) by 22 runs – Cheshire league (Scorecard)
A sensational win for the team at Timperley last night. You could feel the tension from both sides as the top two in the table clashed in our final league phase game of the Cheshire season. Batting first, it was quickly seen that this was going to be a fierce contest. Boundaries were hard to come by but the boys refused to give away cheap wickets and kept the scoreboard ticking with regular singles. Sam top scored with 18 and Harrison, Adam and Felix also got in to double figures.
With a respectable 299 set, we knew the bowling and fielding would have to be at its best to win. Tom S with 2 early wickets and Joseph with a tight spell put us on top early. Then, Adam and Arjo kept it tight. Sam was the pick with 1 for 3 with beautifully flighted slow left arm deliveries. Zayaan was incredibly unlucky as he had 3 or 4 bowled outs ruled out for no-balls. Stan and Albert kept us just on top against their stand-out batters before Harrison (1 for 10) and Felix (3 for 14) brought it home. Stan kept beautifully in the first half and Tom S took a great catch and stumping when he kept. Sam also took a terrific catch. The boys were focused throughout. This was a real stand-out performance against an U11 side who have won the Cheshire league previously.
Friday 23rd June: Mellor U9 274 (92/6 off 16) beat Heaton Mersey 263 U8 (78/5 off 16) by 11 runs – High Peak league (Scorecard)
It was a close match against Mellor and well played to everyone in the team. It was drizzly and chilly, but we played the full 32 overs, and Mellor won a close match by 11 runs. Mellor won the toss and chose to field. Our batting was really good – a huge improvement in calling, with Alec and Oscar setting a great example as the opening pair, and excellent boundaries from Harry D and Thomas.
Bowling was also very strong, and we took six wickets that way. Harry D took two, and Seb took a wicket on the first ball of each of his overs! Shay made some good stops on the boundary, but Mellor took a lot of quick 1s and we can work on tightening up our fielding to reduce the runs there. Huge thanks to Nick for umpiring, and to Andy for helping me to score.
Sunday 25th June: Sale U11 23 all out (10.3) lost to Heaton Mersey 142 all out (19.2) by 119 runs – South Manchester league (Scorecard)
Well, what a game and performance by the U11 Academy team that was this morning.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, we put on a huge score of 142, with Harry, Tom S, Lukasz and Sam all retiring. There were also cameos from Owen and Adam.
We then put on an awesome bowling and fielding display to dismiss Sale for 23!! Great opening bowling from Aidan and Lewis, taking wickets for hardly any runs, was quickly backed up by Joseph, Felix, Harrison and Adam, leaving Sam to take the final wicket! A great all round team effort. Thanks to John for scoring again.
Sunday 25th June: Romiley U9B 285 (97/4 off 16) beat Heaton Mersey U9 262 (83/7 off 16) by 23 runs – High Peak league (Scorecard)
It was a closely fought game and everyone contributed. There were wickets for Gregory, Max, Finlay & Jake, with Some tight bowling from Adam and excellent wicket keeping from Sam. There was also great athletic fielding from Jesse. On the batting front, there were plenty of fours from Miles & Gregory. Well played, boys! This was our first High Peak defeat of the season (in our seventh match) which shows how far we have come from last year (when we won just one match).
Sunday 25th June: Cheadle Hulme Ladybridge cricket tournament
It was incredibly hot at the Family Fun Day at Cheadle Hulme Ladybridge! Because of the schedule, we played our four games back-to-back. It was very tiring in the heat, but the boys kept going!
There were so many fantastic cricket skills on display from our team. The fielding was sharper – stopping the ball, backing up, accurate throwing, and there were two superb catches from Leo! Bowling is developing with wickets being taken and more dot balls in the overs. There was good calling between the batting pairs, which is increasing our 1s and reducing run-outs. There were also some very skilful boundaries – well played shots, finding gaps, including sixes for Leo.
A big well done to Reuben, making his debut, and to Elliott on his second appearance. The season is drawing to a close in the next few weeks as it doesn’t run through the school holidays.
Cricket pic from the archives:
