Slightly more mixed results this week, with the U11s team finding some tough opposition and the U9s losing their first match of the season, but they won one too and the U10s got a great win away at Macclesfield.
Sunday 30th April: Heaton Mersey U11 85-8 (20) lost to Didsbury 126-2 (20) by 41 runs – South Manchester league (Scorecard)
It was a good performance with both bat and ball, but we just couldn’t match some lower order hitting from Didsbury which took them to 126 from their 20 overs. A special mention for Tom Sinclair and Felix Leyden, U10s who both retired out at 25.
Monday 2nd May: Heaton Mersey U11 211 (59/12) lost to Romiley U11 247 (87/10) by 36 runs – Cheshire league (Scorecard)
On another cold early May evening, HMCC under 11s took on Romiley in a Cheshire County League pairs cricket clash, with Zidaan Ali making his debut. Some good straight bowling from Lucasz yielded four wickets and some wily spin bowling from Zak also claimed four wickets (and he was unlucky not to have a hat-trick). In all, Romiley were limited to 247. Unfortunately, our batting never really got going and we lost wickets at regular intervals, finishing on 211.
Monday 2nd May: Macclesfield U11 226 (78/13) lost to Heaton Mersey U10 286 (110/6) by 60 runs – Cheshire league (Scorecard)
A successful start to the Cheshire league campaign with an impressive away win. HMCC batted first on good pitch/slow outfield against a good attack. Despite losing a few wickets a score of 286 runs was very competitive with best contributions from Sam (16), Isaac (15 with a new bat), Felix (13) and Adam (13).
Macclesfield then batted against the backdrop of a setting sun and HMCC started superbly with Tom S taking a wicket with his first delivery (caught and bowled). The bowling and fielding from HMCC were as good as we have seen from this squad; all the bowlers took a wicket with the majority clean bowling their opponents with aggressive, accurate deliveries. Tom S and Albert with two wickets apiece. Excellent fielding throughout as well from Monty and Owen, and very well marshalled by Captain Felix. A superb victory against a strong Macclesfield team which bodes well for the rest of the campaign.
Friday 5th May: Heaton Mersey U9 262 (80/6) lost to Cheadle Hulme U9 263 (87/8) by 1 run – High Peak league (Scorecard)
A typically chaotic Friday night at Green Lane saw Heaton Mersey take on Cheadle Hulme. If memory serves, captain Emmet chose to bowl first on a moist, skiddy pitch. We rotated our bowlers and their batsmen started off well but Emmet and Gregory soon pegged them back, wickets for Gregory, James, Max and Will in the fist half of the innings.
The damp ball and popping crease proved a tricky combination, prompting the Mersey bowlers to run up a little more cautiously. It did prompt some good accuracy (aside from the occasional, understandable, wide due to the slippery ball) as there were wickets for Emmet and Max, with Gregory taking his tally to three, including an assured caught-and-bowled. There were some really great diving boundary stops that prevented quite a few runs over the course of the innings, as Cheadle Hulme reached 263 runs.
Their opening bowlers were effective, with Adam and Emmet struggling against them on the skiddy pitch, although Emmet flicked an effortless four over the square leg fielder. Gregory and Harley kept their wickets intact and focused on steady accumulation but we were a bit behind the run rate at the halfway stage of our innings.
Enter James and Max, who displayed some amazing running between the wickets, getting singles and byes all over the place, with James even running to the keeper on numerous occasions. It gave the innings some much-needed impetus, and the match was in the balance. Miles and Will also did some good running but they had their strongest bowler in the last pairing. It was looking out of reach, but then Miles flicked a great shot for four and we were just 3 runs behind.
Unfortunately, we could only manage a couple of singles of the last two balls and fell just short. However, it must be said that the sporting opposition coach did let us off a couple of wickets so in reality it was a little less close than it seemed and ultimately it was a fair result. The match was played in a great spirit and the team took their first defeat of the season on the chin. A special mention for Adam, who made his debut and wasn’t fazed.
Sunday 7th May: Mellor U9 254 (69/5) lost to Heaton Mersey U9 257 (72/5) by 3 runs – Cheshire league (Scorecard)
The Sunday weather was much more favourable, with the picturesque Mellor cricket ground being played in relatively warm conditions. That belied the drama of the day, however, as Matty had been sick in the car in the morning, necessitating an emergency call-up for Gregory. Matty had recovered sufficiently to turn up to watch but then Arno felt ill and so Matty stepped in to play.
Mellor won the toss and chose to bat, although captain Finlay would have chosen to bowl first anyway. Gregory and Leo opened the bowling and bowled fast and straight, conceding few runs and with Leo (who is an U7) getting a wicket. Mellor had some good batters throughout, though, and they kept us under pressure. Ted, Finlay and Matty were in the wickets, and there were run-outs for Ted and Gregory. Mellor set a target of 254 runs.
The batting order was slightly different but Gregory and Huzaifah got the team off to a solid start, both hitting fours. Leo and Ted also kept the scoring rate up, with Leo hitting a four. Finlay and Zane struggled to clear the tight in-fielders, but ran positively (sometimes a little crazily!) and kept us well in the chase. Matty and Caoimhin were the last pair and their running kept us on edge.
It was another match that was in the balance but we were gradually reeling in the total. Caoimhin then hit a great four to square leg to get us in front, and some byes edged us further ahead. Safety first was the order of the day (that wasn’t quite obeyed!) but the last pair did well in getting us to the finish line, three runs ahead on 257. Our third win out of four for the season and the team were very happy with the result. Special mention to Mellor who were gracious in defeat.
Sunday 7th May: Wythenshawe U11 vs Heaton Mersey U11 abandoned – South Manchester league (Scorecard)
The match between Wythenshawe and Heaton Mersey was unfortunately abandoned, with a share of the points.
The winning U9 team at Mellor:
