U12s/U13s – week 11 – match summaries

Sun, 12 Jul 2026 19:32:00 +0000

After 8 games the previous week, it was back to a more mundane week, featuring three wins and a washout.

Monday 29^th June 2026: Cheshire Vitality T20 U13 Club Cup (Quarter final)

Heaton Mersey U13s 146/4 (20) beat Alderley Edge Wizards 36 all out (8.

A fantastic win for the U13s last evening against a good Alderley Edge team who were quite simply blown away by Mersey’s skill, power and intensity.

Shawaiz was joined at the crease by Harrison and the pair batted confidently – they defended straight balls and punished anything wide.

In the 13^th over, Felix hit a magnificent six to deep cover before holing out the next ball trying to repeat the shot.

Stan then upped the tempo with some excellent power hitting before being bowled by the 6ft Year 7 bowler.

The pitch looked a good one to bat one but sometimes looks can be deceptive….

Naeem splattered the wickets again with his fifth ball of the over as the pace cranked up even more.

Isaac was next up to bowl (after chatting to me constantly when I stood at square leg, ha ha) and struck with his final two balls of his first over, with Felix taking a catch at mid-off then another bowled victim.

Stan got in on the act as Sam pouched his 2^nd catch fielding at cover and Isacc polished off the innings with a 3rd wicket in the 9^th over.

Areas for improvement – just enjoy the win.



Thursday 2^nd July 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Bollin)

Heaton Mersey Phoenix 154/4 (20) beat Cheadle Hulme U12s 60 all out (15) by 94 runs (

It was a straightforward win against inexperienced opposition who were also a player short, so perhaps not the most equitable matchup.

There was a minor wobble the next over when Will and Greg were both out to the visitor’s most effective bowler, who may or may not have bowled an outside of regulation 4 overs in the match.

Back to the cricket, Adam S arrived at the crease with his sturdy defence, displaying all the qualities of Geoffrey Boycott opening a Test match.

Play Cricket back on course, we took to the field.

The visitors had lost 5 wickets for no runs in 5 overs.

The match ball was awarded by captain Shazil and vice-captain Gregory to Tom Rubie for his outstanding keeping, conceding just 1 bye in the whole innings, despite the extreme pace of some of our bowlers.



Friday 3^rd July 2026: South Manchester U13s league T20 (Division 1)

Heaton Mersey U13s 125/7 (20) beat Macclesfield 84 all out (17.

It was a glorious warm evening at the ‘Village’ for what turned out to be a comfortable win for Mersey.

Naeem (17) played some lovely shots, while valuable contributions from Stan (22) and Felix (22) helped keep the scoreboard moving.

Our bowling and fielding performance was probably our best of the season.

There were wickets for Naeem, Shawaiz, Albert, Isaac, Arjo and Reuben on debut.

Harrison was excellent behind the stumps on a lively, bouncy pitch, especially with many of the bowlers steaming in.

Positives: Team spirit was outstanding, vocal in field, and welcoming of Reuben who was making his debut (lovely to see he always had a smile on his face!

Room for improvement: Running between the wickets remains a key area.

With the ball, we also need to keep our lengths fuller.

Pink ball award: the match ball went to Arjo for his bowling contribution and excellent running at the death, adding valuable runs to the score.

Merseybeat goes on in North East Cheshire

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 17:59:00 +0000

Heaton Mersey Magic (U10s) High Peak League Match 9

You can have the most talented batters and bowlers, and we have loads of those, but it doesn't always mean you'll win.
- Leadership - we are truly blessed to have had Charlie, Dan and Isaac showing some of the smartest cricketing junior brains around, and we've now got Freddie stepping up on Wednesday

- Glue - some players don't get the headlines, but are always there when we win.
- Togetherness - looking out for each other, backing each other, and celebrating each other's success

- Next men up.
- Ability to perform under pressure

We've got the above in spades, as this match ably demonstrated!
We lost our superstar keeper Zach H to a footie injury, so in came Tom for our trip to Disley at 09:30 (not Poynton).
It was "mizzling" and very overcast.
Over to George, the best U10s bowler in our area bar none, to lead the attack.
Calum and Ellis to open (spot the pattern), and another great start against some pacey bowling.
We could relax with Hugo and Alex next.
This was the "glue" part.
This was pressure, but you couldn't tell it from our captain and wickie.
Another amazing effort from the team.
Thank you to all the parents.
Just one HPL game left on Wednesday, splitting 2 Cheshire ones.

U12s/U13s – week 10 – match summaries

Sun, 05 Jul 2026 16:46:00 +0000

Whilst we’d had a steady stream of fixtures throughout the season thus far, it hadn’t seen anything like week 10’s “maelstrom” of fixtures, as John put it.



Monday 22^nd June 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Bollin)

Heaton Mersey Phoenix 110/6 (20) beat Cheadle Hulme Ladybridge 53 all out (16.

We started the week with a High Peak fixture against Cheadle Hulme Ladybridge, debuting at our third ground, Burnage School For Boys.

Whilst the temperature had started to crank up this week, by 6pm it was not too bad and we had regular drinks breaks.

Cheadle Hulme Ladybridge won the toss and put Mersey in to bat.

Shazil hit two fours during his innings but otherwise it was pure accumulation and he retired on 25 off just 26 balls, an impressive strike rate given the conditions.

The score was 90/2 at the start of the 17^th over and the rest of the batters were on a hiding to nothing, playing purely for the team.

The little rush at the end got us to 110/5, which we reasoned you could probably add 20 runs to given the outfield, so it was expected to be a challenging target.

That proved to be the case as the opposition found scoring tough.

The bowlers continued to keep it tight, with Archie finding a nice line and hitting the batter’s off stump in his second over.

Huzaifah then entered the attack, with the batter (who was the captain, I think) having previously confessed to liking spin, unless it was legspin.

Sam H hit the stumps with the final ball of his over, as did Ollie M, while Stan did the same twice in his first three balls.



Tuesday 23^rd June 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Dean)
Prestbury 91/6 (20) lost to Heaton Mersey Magic 101/8 (20) by 10 runs (

Magic were on fire as the heatwave started, to make it 5 wins out of 6 games played in the High Peak league.

Captain Leo won the toss and elected to bat first.

The controversial hydration break at 10 overs didn’t work for the Magic team, with 7 wickets falling in quick succession afterwards.

With the added motivation of finishing the game swiftly in time to watch the England football match, the Magic team started brightly.

In the 15th over, Finlay managed to get some impressive turn from his leg spin.



Tuesday 23^rd June 2026: Cheshire U13s league T20 (Under 13 Zone 1)

Heaton Mersey U13s 108/5 (19.

It was a superb victory for Mersey in the sultry heat against a full-strength Timperley side who had only been beaten once this season (by Whalley Range).

The visitors accumulated runs briskly as the extras mounted up until Jake struck in the 10^th over, clean-bowling Timperley’s best batter (statistically speaking this season) with a superb full delivery.

The visitors then had an excellent partnership of 41 runs until Stan struck again with Adam taking his 3^rd catch of the innings.

Mersey started their innings and lost an early wicker through a run-out because of a superb piece of fielding to leave Adam stranded.

Harrison and Shazil put on an unbeaten 63 runs as both batters retired not out (30* off 41 balls and 31* of 36 balls respectively); a superb effort as they repelled everything that Timperley could throw at them.

Billy then came to the crease and immediately batted with calm assurance.

Mersey finished on 108/5, winning with 5 balls to spare, with Billy and Jake staying cool in the heat to steer Mersey to victory.

Areas for improvement – hard to fault the team in the hot conditions.



Friday 26^th June 2026: South Manchester U13s league T20 (Division 3)

Heaton Mersey U12s 113/1 (13.

Our final U12s fixture of the season saw us come to our favourite ground (for our winning record if not the facilities), Heaton Mersey Village, with the oppressive heat just about starting to dissipate.

The second over, bowled by George, could have got us off to a great start, as he got their decent opener to nick the ball behind, but it was unfortunately dropped by Sam W.

Their opener continued to find the boundary at will, including a consecutive four and six off Leo, which took him to a retirement on 35 runs off 19 balls.

They continued to tick the scoreboard over until they tried to take on a second run against the rocket arm of Gregory, running round from square leg to fine leg, with the throw taken well by Sam and finding the batter well short.

We needed to start well, having lost two early wickets the previous week against Timperley, and that’s what we did.

Charlie rode his luck, twice skying the ball high in the air, being dropped both times.

The scoring then slowed and the fielding side got more vociferous, led by their captain Reggie; but the batters were just getting their eye in.

We had won the match by 9 wickets, with over 6 overs to spare, which was a pretty amazing chase even allowing for the relatively fast-scoring nature of the pitch and outfield.



Friday 26^th June 2026: South Manchester U13s league T20 (Division 1)

Hale Barns Gold 90 all out (19.

On a very warm and humid evening in the leafy grounds of Hale Barns’ home ground, Mersey completed an excellent victory.

Two wickets fell to leave the visitors on 53/5 and in danger of not batting their 20 overs.

Sam and Zayaan hit the batting accelerator scoring 45 runs in four overs, destroying Hale Barns’ attack, Zayaan batting with real class and focus, and Sam hitting form including two massive sixes towards the barbeque at the clubhouse.

Hale Barns had a powerful-looking top order and they started well before Shazil struck with a customary superb full-length ball to send the stumps cartwheeling.

The match then turned decisively when Arjo bowled a classic arm ball to pin the Hale Barns batter for a plumb LBW.

An excellent victory for Mersey.

Areas for improvement – nothing obvious as the previous training on batting/bowling came to fruition.



Saturday 27^th June 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Bollin)

Heaton Mersey Phoenix 170/4 (20) beat Cheadle Falcons 69 all out (15.

It was a very easy win for Mersey against the High Peak League leaders on a warm Saturday morning at Burnage Academy for Boys (‘BAFB’).

Shazil fell to the last ball of the 6^th over and Adam entered the fray.

Billy and the U11 player, Evan, then batted fluently and the score continued to rattle along, with the pair running lots of quick singles and Evan hitting some sumptuous punches for four through the cover region (some of the best shots that I have seen all season).
The away batted carefully until Liam struck first in the 5^th over.

It was a very easy win for Mersey to put them top of the group.

Areas for improvement – loud and clear calling for a catch to avoid players colliding.



Sunday 28^th June 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Dean)

Stockport Georgians 80 all out lost to Heaton Mersey Phoenix Magic 94 all out (16.

It was another hard fought victory by Magic against a well-drilled Stockport Georgians team.

Mersey lost the toss and were put into bat.

There were also boundaries from Younus, Finlay, Zayaan and Lloyd as they kept the total ticking over.

Spurred on by the controversy, Magic responded in the best way possible by putting in a fantastic bowling and fielding performance.

It was a great win which moves the Magic team up to 3rd in the table and within striking distance of the top two and a semi-final spot.



Sunday 28^th June 2026: Cheshire U13s league T20 (Under 13 Zone 1)
Sale 94/8 (20) lost to Heaton Mersey UI13s 147/3 (20) by 53 runs (

It was a solid win for Mersey against Sale on a rare Sunday morning outing.

Naeem joined Harrison at the crease, having been promoted up the order, and the pair ran superbly between the wickets, putting pressure on the fielders.

Sam then retired on 31* (off 14 balls), bringing Shawaiz in, who immediately batted with real intent, hitting 12 off 6 balls.

The home side started their innings and immediately went on the attack, with one of their openers hitting a couple of powerful boundaries in the opening over before Naeem produced a superb delivery to splatter his stumps (the best delivery that I have seen this season).

However, the match was effectively ended in the 8th over when Adam produced a superb burst of quick bowling to take a HAT-TRICK.

Puneeth then took another wicket as his bowling has greatly improved this season.
The pink match ball was awarded by captain Shazil and vice-captain Shawaiz to Adam for his glorious hat-trick.

Connect 4 for Mersey as they continue their surge

Mon, 29 Jun 2026 17:53:00 +0000

Heaton Mersey Magic (U10s) High Peak League Match 8

We won this match.
Anyway, back to the match.
Our visitors were Bowdon Vale.
This was always going to be a tough target for Bowdon:

- Every one of our bowlers picked up wickets

- Tom got 3 in his late spell, and 2 each for Eddy, Isaac, Toby, and Alex

- Charlie had a great caught behind off Tom after latter's fine wicketkeeping display

- 3 run outs backed up a great fielding display

- We could even spare losing one of our fielders to a comfort break for a couple of overs

- Alex was like a ball magnet, with 5 catches, including the most casual one handed grab you'll see (see above video)

42 for 17 meant a net score of 174 and a healthy win for Mersey which lifts us to 2nd with 2 games to go.
Onwards to Disley on Sunday for the critical match up with NE Cheshire, before we wrap up the HPL against Bollington ar home next Wednesday.
Thank you to @⁨~Louis Mundin⁩ for coaching, @⁨AD⁩ for scoring, and Isaac for his amazing pre-match plan as captain, plus all the parents and families for cheering our boys on to the hilt.

Golden performance from Mersey in the "Golden Triangle"

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 18:35:00 +0000

Heaton Mersey Magic (U10s) High Peak League Match 7

Being a Barrow fan I've gone off football a bit, but I had some famous words from John Motson in my head umpiring this: "this is getting better and better and better"*.
An early start on a Sunday but a nice setting with church bells ringing in the distance.
Our favoured opening pair of Ellis and Calum continued their remarkable record.
George, with some beefy biffs, and Sam, and then Ben and Isaac got us into a great position.
Dan threw the ball to Ben to open up.
After that the wickets kept coming with Prestbury struggling to keep their heads above water (200).
The strength of our team remains having 7/8 bowlers who you can trust.
Their third pair were restrained by Ben and Calum striking, with the latter continuously our unluckiest bowler.
The last pair needed 64 to win.
But they don't have the bowlers we have.
Prestbury's unbeaten run was over and our acceleration up the table continued.
Thanks to all the parents for helping with warm ups and applause, and @⁨AD⁩ and @⁨Simon Webb⁩ for keeping my eldest in line with the manual scoreboard.
Onwards to our new third (home) ground in Burnage and the visit of Bowden Vale for Match 8 in the HPL.
*The 5-1 win away in Germany for those old enough to remember it

George (and a few others) versus the Georgians

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 18:31:00 +0000

Heaton Mersey Magic (U10s) High Peak League Match 6

I am running out of superlatives.
Our latest away match was a trip to Stockport, somewhere in the wild lands around Bramall and Davenport.
Led superbly, the team matched the Macc performance from Monday, not putting a foot wrong:

- Zach deserved the match ball for keeping for 16 overs.
- Tight bowling from all

- Ben's ace run out with a measured underarm throw

- Hugo's 3 for 5 says it all

- once again we just didn't bowl any no balls and wides, backed up superbly (with hands!
After some well deserved drinks at the interval we set about chasing down a target of 246, having kept Georgians to 61 for 4 and a net of 245.
Hugo and Alex to open After a calmish first over, all he'll broke lose with the batsman dispatching the ball to all parts.
Enter George and the Dragon (Seth).
Would our last pairs take it easy.
All the many boundaries left us on 319 for 3, a net of 307, and a resounding 62 run win.
The improvement being shown is immense.
Thank you to @⁨Paul Benham⁩ and @⁨Simon Webb⁩ for scoring and @⁨~Louis Mundin⁩ for coaching.

U12s / U13s - week 9 - match summaries 2026

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 22:30:00 +0000

A week against tougher opponents saw a double Friday loss but a comfortable win in the High Peak league and another cup concession as the Langley Lobsters were unable to get enough crustaceans, sorry players, together.



Monday 15^th June 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Bollin)

Alderley Edge (HP) 107 all out (19.

John had built up to this match, which he had nicknamed the Ashling Cup due to the presence of our coach at Alderley Edge Cricket Club.

The picturesque away ground was also a place to celebrity spot, with Rich picking out Lancashire legend Paul Allott and their scorer pointing out that Jack Cork, a former Burnley midfielder and father to one of the players, was also present.

We opened the bowling with our trio of U12 fast bowlers, Jake, Gregory and Will, rotating the first six overs between them.

It was quite a while before the next wicket as they had two batters retiring on 25, but then Sam struck to remove one of the new batters in, with a clear nick behind.

However, the spin twins of Sam (bringing himself on again due to a shin injury to Liam, suffered when bravely stopped a well-hit shot) and Huzaifah got hold of the innings.

Huzaifah then tormented the lower order with slow, well-flighted, turning deliveries.

Alderley Edge ended up on 107 all out in the final over, which was perhaps a total that some thought was a bit higher than they had expected to be scored and could prove a challenge.

However, Harrison soon got in the groove, finding the boundary with well-timed square drives, before Adam muscled the ball away with a six over the bowler’s head, planting his size fourteen down the pitch and swinging through the line.

Adam’s fourth six had him retiring on 30 off just 13 balls, and that brought the similarly-tall Shazil to the crease.

Their scorer took it very well, and actually was glad they had somewhat of a challenge.

Huzaifah got player/moment(s) of the match for his two wickets in two balls.



Friday 19^th June 2026: South Manchester U13s league T20 (Division 1)

Heaton Mersey U13s 85 all out (20) lost to Whalley Range Lions 88/6 (16.

It was a tough defeat in a high quality encounter at HMV last night.

Stan anchored the innings with a well-made 18 with a couple of pull shots for 4.

As always, quick accurate bowling from Shazil and Naeem made Whalley Range have to work for their runs as they made an equally slow start.

Arjo had a strong night in the field with a wonderful steepling catch and a bowled wicket.

Unfortunately, we were just slightly short in the runs and Whalley Range passed our total.

Friday 19^th June 2026: South Manchester U13s league T20 (Division 3)
Timperley Falcons 134/6 (20) beat Heaton Mersey U12s 108/7 (20) by 26 runs (

Our next Friday night game against effectively Timperley’s second team, with a mixture of Y6, Y7 and Y8 players, while we were missing some Y7 first-teamers due to an ill-timed inset day.

My research had suggested they had a strong opener, and he did not disappoint from that perspective, smashed four fours and two sixes (both off Leo full tosses), helped by a fast outfield and relatively short boundaries, retiring on 31 off just 19 balls.

Havery, however, induced a top edge from the other opener and Ollie M ran and dived full length to snaffle the chance well.

But the runs, and extras, kept coming and the total kept building.

We would need to start well to chase this down, but we lost both openers in the first two overs, denting our chances significantly.
Gregory came in and was also struggling to find his touch, but Leo continued accumulating and, with a retirement in sight, he played across the line and had his stumps clattered (and was out for 27 off 29 balls).

Lucas, our other U11 in the match, showed the way with his timing, clipping a full toss for four through legside second ball.

Lucas remained not out with an excellent 23 (off 22 balls), while Gregory eventually accumulated 20 (off 26 balls) before attempting a kamikaze run in the last over, apparently to give Finlay a bat (who faced one ball from which he ran a bye).

(Incidentally, they bowled two of their best bowlers for three overs, with one outfielder not bowling at all.

Our next opponents, NEC Spitfires, surprisingly thrashed Whalley Range to blow the division wide open, although we’d need a very specific sequence of results to be able to win the group.

The lost ball at Alderley Edge:

The British summer hit hard in weeks 7 and 8, with a number of games falling victim to the rain, either through waterlogged pitches or inopportune downpours.



Tuesday 2^nd June 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Bollin)

Mellor 77 all out (19.

A victory for the Phoenix squad in the High Peak group match away at Mellor.

Will was run out pushing for a quick signal and in stepped Stan.

Jake and Liam then finished the innings unbeaten on 10* and 8* respectively with Liam hitting his first ever 4.

After a quick turnaround, Mersey starting bowling with Jake and Will opening the innings.

The home side upped the scoring rate until the 6^th over, when Sam struck in successive balls with his left arm spin.

Adam also took a wicket in his 2^nd over (snaffled by Jake who was vocal at mid-wicket throughout the match).

Mersey won match with some extra quality in the field and sensible batting marshalled expertly by captain, Stan.

Areas for improvement – Running the first run hard and with intent, putting pressure onto the fielders.



Friday 5^th June 2026: South Manchester U13s league T20 (Division 3)

Whalley Range Eagles 78/7 (20) beat Heaton Mersey U12s 74 all out (18.

After a win in our opening game in Division 3 of the South Manchester league, we had a tougher task going back to Whalley Range (having played their U12s) to play against their U13s second team (their first team competing against our U13s in Division 1).

Whalley Range won the toss and chose to bat – we would have chosen to field had we won the toss and so both sides were seemingly happy.

Then, having been hit for four, Leo struck twice in succession, the first a stumping as keeper Sam sharply noticed the batter stood out of his ground, the second bowled first ball.

That left the home side at 40/7 after 12 overs and limping to a low total, but a spirited if steady lower order partnership got them to 78.

That was emphasised when Harvey was adjudged LBW for 0 and Leo was bowled for 1.

The batters were finding it tough as the ball often stayed low, and the remainder of our wickets were all bowled.

We got closer and closer to the target, but wickets kept tumbling.



Friday 5^th June 2026: South Manchester U13s league T20 (Division 1)

Heaton Mersey U13s 81/6 (14.

It was a superb victory for Mersey in this encounter with Didsbury in Division 1 of the South Manchester League at Heaton Mersey Village.

The away side batters were nervous coming into bat.

Didsbury then batted well and accumulated runs at a steady rate to consolidate their innings albeit with lots of edges from the bat, close run-out calls and a couple of dropped catches (difficult ones though).

Monty then bowled a superb couple of overs with his off-cutters confusing the batters and got a well-deserved wicket.

Adam and Shazil continued their burgeoning opening partnership with a solid start, putting on 30 runs (off 6.

A flurry of boundaries for Younus and Shazil then took the home side to the brink of victory as Shazil retired on 30* (off 37 balls) with a classy chanceless knock augmented with superb shot selection.

Mersey won match with a great display in the field, especially in the opening 10 overs as they matched the performance vs Toft a couple of years ago (a mention for Sam for his excellent keeping on this tricky surface).

Areas for improvement – Maintaining bowling and fielding standards throughout the innings.



Sunday 7^th June 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Dean)
Heaton Mersey Magic 129/6 (20) lost to Bowdon Vale 155/6 (20) by 26 runs (

It was an overcast Sunday morning at Green Lane that brought back good memories of many such outings last season for U11s.
Bowdon requested 20 balls maximum per batter for their team to allow some of the less experienced players a chance to bat.

The opening pair looked a bit scratchy initially facing the Mersey quicks.

At the halfway stage, Bowdon Vale were 69-2 with one retired not out from 20 balls (albeit only scoring 13 runs).

Unfortunately, Bowdon had kept some batting in reserve (perhaps contradicting their request to give the less experienced batters a chance to bat) and the ball was dispatched to and over the aforementioned short boundary with some lustre.

The only bowlers to come out with any real credit were the outstanding Thomas Cliff, stepping up from the U11s to show Cheshire form with 2 maidens; and Charlie and Olly who both went for only single figures in their 2 overs, including a wicket for Olly.

Mersey knew they would have to have 4 or 5 batsmen retiring in 25 to have any chance of chasing down an enormous total.

Younis then went on the counter attack, with Thomas holding down the other end.

This brought Zayaan to the crease to join the now set Thomas.

Thomas hit an aerial 4 over the leg side, narrowly avoiding a fielder.

Tom Bibby fell shortly after with a peach of a delivery that clipped the top of oof stump.

Zane batted out the remaining over (after Paddy failed to pad up in time for the final delivery) to leave Mersey 26 short on 129-6 and an unlikely chase proved to be beyond the magic line-up.

It was a very high scoring and entertaining game that was enjoyed by all.



Friday 12^th June 2026: South Manchester U13s league T20 (Division 3)

Lindow Super Giants 30 all out (10.

The week had been a washout but confidence was moderately high that the rain would finally stop on the Friday lunchtime.

There was some trepidation at the quality of our opponents.

The sunshine was mercifully blazing down (albeit with a strong breeze) as we lost the toss and Lindow elected to bat, as last week in line with what we wanted anyway (we would have chosen to bowl).

With his third ball, he bowled one of the openers who had taken a bit of a swing at a full delivery.

George bowled a tight maiden before Will stepped up to make an impact, bowling the batter with his second ball, then inducing a chipped catch to Jake (fielding ever closer at a sort of short cover, and he still had to reach and take it low), then bowling another batter with his final ball.

Finlay came into the attack and found his usual flight, which was too much for the batter, whose eyes lit up, the bat swung and missed, and the stumps were hit again.

The run chase was clean and straightforward, with Jake and Charlie, generally running well between the wickets (Lindow’s calling had not been good), despite their protestations.

The 10-wicket win was secured near the end of the 7^th over and so we all got to go home early (there was talk of playing some friendly cricket to give everyone a bit of a go but that prospect evaporated).

It was a complete performance in the field, with nothing missed or dropped (apart from a tough chance to Leo off Gregory’s bowling), good chatter, and excellent straight bowling.

A final shout out to the dog owner who repeatedly let their dog run onto the cricket field during the action, as well as the two boys who, when asked to go round the field, went more directly over it and kicked the covers at the end.



Friday 12^th June 2026: South Manchester U13s league T20 (Division 1)
Heaton Mersey U13s 133/8 (20) beat Bramhall Bulldogs 115/4 (20) by 18 runs (

It was a solid victory against Bramhall in the Cheshire League match.

From the off, Felix played with calm, assured strokeplay echoing innings of yesteryear, with a flurry of superb drives and cuts accelerating the scoring rate as the home side piled on the runs.

Leo then came to the crease and batted aggressively from the off, with his trademark sweeps and low pull shots scattering the field.

Shazil struck in the first over, with Adam taking a superb catch at cover (I might trademark that phrase now).

At one point, Leo claimed a stumping but the square leg umpire was not entirely focused on the game at the right time and, having admitted not seeing what had happened, raised the finger, to the derision of the away side’s parents.

Mersey kept the scoring rate down though and the away side were always behind the required rate.

Mersey won the match with a solid display against a good Bramhall side.

A bridge too far for Mersey

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 18:23:00 +0000

Heaton Mersey Magic U10s High Peak Legaue Match 4

Cricket can be an agonising game with the result built up from lots of small things over 2 or 3 hours.
On Tuesday we welcomed Cheadle Hulme Ladybridge to Green Lane for our 4th match in the HPL, looking for our third win.
Captain Charlie marshalled the bowlers and fielders well:

- Leading from the front, Charlie returned 2 for 2 from his 2 overs.
- Our accurate and intelligent throwing continued, with overthrows almost eliminated

- Thomas had another great game behind the stumps, with another classic run out

- Isaac, Hussein, Tom, Ben, and Thomas backed Charlie up, going for 8 or less in their 2 overs each

- The outfielding improved as the game went on and there was great commitment in chasing down the ball

This all kept Ladybridge to 272 for 5, a net of 252.
253 to win for Mersey this time.
Thomas and Ben continued their opening partnership.
Well done to all the boys.
There's a few reasons we haven't got over the line lately:

- Playing balls on stumps with a straight (not cross) bat, by getting in line behind it with good footwork (no LBWs allowed), and staying low initially as the ball can skid.
- Some chaotic run outs.
- Across the above, we've been losing more wickets than the opposition which has cost us

- Cutting out the football on the boundary.
- We gave away more "extras" than normal.
There's a lot the coaches and parents can help with in the above.
Thank you to Huxx, Simon, and AD for coaching and scoring, and the other parents for their great support.

Nail biter in the Village

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 18:21:00 +0000

Heaton Mersey Magic (U10s) Cheshire County Cricket League Match 7

Somehow after thunder, lightning, and hail the weather cleared enough for the visit of Romiley's Gryphons on Tuesday night.
Our visitors won the toss and put us into bat.
Tom C and Evan opening the bowling were like Anderson and Broad in their pomp.
Romiley's last pair got them just ahead for the last over.
Some highlights:

- great seeing the U11s and U10s come together as "one Mersey".
- Mersey's never say die spirit.
- Dan's captaincy - like he's been doing it for years

- Thomas's wicketkeeping.
- Seb's run out

- Our collective bowling keeping the match close when heads may otherwise have dropped

- Game awareness as it got squeaky (bum) tight

*Learning point* Just a wicket or a few runs would have swung this.
*Well done to all the boys* - it was a pleasure to watch (and umpire), even though I am another 5 years older after it.

U12s / U13s - weeks 5 & 6 - match summaries

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 21:55:00 +0000

The weather started to affect matches more as we hit the second half of May, with the Magic game away at Romiley cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch (the team manager seemingly not wanting to rearrange, even though I offered our place after a comment about fixture congestion at theirs), although the U13s managed to get in a cup game away at Brooklands on the same night.

Outside of that, it was four wins out of four over the fortnight, which included the U12s playing in Division 3 of the South Manchester league, a fixture for which we were given little warning (the U13s didn't manage to get their game on in Division 1).



Monday 18^th May 2026: Cheshire Vitality T20 U13 Club Cup (Round 1)

Brooklands U13s 82/6 (20) lost to Heaton Mersey U13s 83/4 (18.

In a competitive match in the 1^st round of the Cheshire Vitality Cup, Mersey saw off a full-strength home side to win by 6 wickets and progress to the 2^nd round.

Brooklands batted confidently in the first few overs, with the opening Mersey bowlers bowling too short and wide, feeding the strength of the opening batters.

The spinners entered the fray and Arjo, bowling as well as I have ever seen, took two wickets.

Stan bowled three accurate overs and took a wicket, before Will entered the action.

The away side started their batting innings confidently against a solid attack, with Adam and Shawaiz reaching 31 without loss before Shawaiz drove uppishly and was caught at cover.

Stan joined Leo at the crease and the scoring rate dropped, although both scorers were surprised at the lack of wides being called as the home side sprayed the ball well down the leg side on several occasions.

Leo then started scoring freely with Stan running well and taking singles where available.

Mersey deservedly won the match against a strong Brooklands line-up who were over-reliant on their Cheshire players, and this was the first time that this team/squad had won away at Brooklands.

Areas for improvement – Bowling a correct line and length to opening batters, bowling to the field.



Friday 22^nd May 2026: South Manchester U13s league T20 (Under 13 Zone 2)

Stockport Blues 71/8 (20) lost to Heaton Mersey U13s 72/0 (7.

A strong Mersey team comfortably beat a mainly underage Stockport team by 10 wickets.

Stockport won the toss and elected to bat in the glorious sunshine.

At the end of the 12^th over, Stockport were 53/5.

However they hadn’t planned on facing Monty and Felix, neither of whom were in a generous mood.

Adam and Shazil opened the batting for Mersey.

The young Stockport team may be a different prospect in this league next year, but this was a comprehensive victory for Mersey who march into Division 1 of the South Manchester league as Zone 2 champions.

The match ball was awarded to Monty for his excellent ‘death bowling’.



Friday 22^nd May 2026: South Manchester U12s league T20

Heaton Mersey U12s 133/4 (20) beat South West Manchester U12s 46 all out (14.

We had technically, probably, already secured the U12s SM league on the basis that this was the last scheduled game, we had a four point (one win) lead, and we were winning the head-to-heads against both Urmston (closely on net run rate, I had calculated) and Whalley Range (having won the only scheduled match against them).

It had been a warm day but it started to cool in the evening at Heaton Mersey Village (our Friday evening home, away from the Green Lane multi-format mayhem).

Their coach had been open about changing their bowling strategy, which basically meant it switched from rotating round everyone twice to bowling in pairs essentially.

Harvey (now becoming established at the top) and Jake opened the batting for Mersey and accumulated solidly, with Jake in particular playing some immaculate back foot defensive shots against anything straight.

After Jake was bowled and Harvey was unlucky to find the square leg fielder after some more immaculate timing, Archie and Will steadied the ship.

Will, however, continued his innings, deliberately uninformed by the gallery regarding his proximity to 30 and a first retirement of the season, having got out for 29 for the team against Davenham in the cup.

Conversely, their batters struggled to find runs, as George started with a maiden and Jake bowled one of their openers at the end of his over.

Their fourth wicket partnership rebuilt the innings to an extent, but their best batsman called for an ambitious single as the ball went straight to Jake at short midwicket, who threw down the stumps at the keeper’s end with the non-striker comfortably out of his ground.

That left them 35/4 and when the other batter was out, bowled by Arno in the same over, the possibility of a win by the away team, which had already diminished, was almost non-existent.

Gregory then came to the fore, inducing a chipped shot that Archie ran in to catch smartly, before pinging down the stumps of the next batter in, a left hander.

Mersey got a bit silly towards the end, with most of the field switching sides for their last wicket left hand / right hand combination.



Friday 29^th May 2026: South Manchester U13s league T20 (Division 3)
Heaton Mersey U12s 129/5 (20) beat South West Manchester U13s 74 all out (20) by 55runs (

On a sunny half-term Friday at Harwood Road, we were pleasantly surprised to arrive to see both the lawnmower and roller in action.

The visitors won the toss and elected to bowl, approaching their attack strategically by rotating through 4 experienced bowlers for 3 overs apiece with some not bowling at all.

He formed a particularly useful partnership with Jake, who batted with intent and also went on to retire.

George was highly motivated opening Mersey’s attack, and his pace was rewarded with a wicket on the second ball.

Unfortunately, George then suffered a nasty sprain to his ankle running in hard for his second over and left us a man down in the field.

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.



Tuesday 12^th May 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Dean)

Heaton Mersey Magic 76/3 (11.

Heaton Mersey won the toss and elected to 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.

Younus and Charlie opened the batting against some fast and difficult bowlers.

Zayaan and Tom then fell in quick succession to some good bowling, leaving Mersey 28-3.

Liam and Lucas carried on keeping the scoring going, with Liam quite literally hitting a cracking shot (splitting his bat in half)!

A solid performance with the ball and general fielding was the catalyst for a fine victory.



Tuesday 12^th May 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Bollin)

Heaton Mersey Phoenix 93/0 (8.

It was a comfortable win for Mersey Phoenix at home vs Bollington.

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.

Bollington then dug in with their best batters showing some skill and determination.

There was solid bowling from Joey, Puneeth, Jake, Naeem and especially Albert, who bowled a couple of probing 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.

Shawaiz joined the batting and Shazil continued to bat serenely, enjoying the bouncier artificial surface and retired on 25* (off 17).

It was a very comfortable win for Mersey as Bollington’s young side could not cope with Mersey’s pace, skill and power.
Areas for improvement – Bowling straighter / more accurately in the latter part of the innings.



Thursday 14^th May 2026: U12 John North Cup (Round 1)
Heaton Mersey U12s 62/6 (15) lost to Davenham U12s 83/5 (15) by 21 runs (

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.

Davenham batted first and their opening batters made a positive start, scoring around 5 per over.

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.

However, after Charlie was bowled in the 9^th, we were never quite able keep up with the required run rate.



Friday 15^th May 2026: South Manchester U12s league T20

Whalley Range U12s 84/8 (20) lost to Heaton Mersey U12s 87/8 (17.

It was another bright, sunny and deceptively fresh Friday evening in south Manchester, with Mersey this time facing Whalley Range.

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 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 13^th over (he had scored 24).

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.

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).

Archie, though, counter-attacked, finding some beautiful timing, with four fours and 20 runs off 16 balls (cementing his man of the match status).

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.

Wides and byes were gratefully received as we edged closer to the total, with the batters eagerly running everything they could.

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.



Friday 15^th May 2026: South Manchester U13s league T20 (Zone 2)

Heaton Mersey U13s 44/0 (5.

It was an easy win for the home team against NECCC.

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.

Younus took his 3^rd wicket (finishing on 3/4 off 2 overs), Isaac getting in on the act as Adam took a superb one-handed catch at cover.

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.

Mersey achieved their 2^nd 10 wicket victory in a row as the visitors were crushed.

Areas for improvement – Nothing of note.
A slight, and inevitable, reduction in the win ratio, but still more wins (four) than defeats (two) and every match going ahead.

Tuesday 5^th May 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Bollin)

Marple Hawks 106/3 (15.

We shuffled over to the picturesque Compstall Road ground in Marple Bridge, with a short upward sloping boundary to the pavilion side.

Stan scored positively while Tom chiselled out runs at the other end.

We started well in the field, with Liam bowling one of their openers with his second ball in the second over.

Unfortunately, that was the last wicket we took.

Marple have a fairly strong team and it’s always going to be tough with us mixing up our teams, trying to give as many boys a chance as possible, but the season is long and the league is not over.



Wednesday 6^th May 2026: Cheshire U13s league T20 (Under 13 Zone 1)
Heaton Mersey U13s 132/3 (20) beat Hyde U13s 97/7 (20) by 35 runs (

It was a solid victory for Mersey on Wednesday evening.

Despite losing Thomas and Joe, Shawaiz continued to bat fluently.

Hyde batted well to begin, with aided by some loose bowling by the home team, before Adam struck first in the 6^th over (with an LBW decision not fully appreciated by the away team’s umpire, evidently the father of the batter – it was absolutely plumb, though: yorker hitting the back foot on middle stump).

Hyde never recovered and Mersey then bowled with greater accuracy.
This was a good victory for Mersey and it was great to see Isaac and Felix play their first games of the season, and Sam W with his first game in this competition.

Areas for improvement – Bowling more accurately, especially bowling a fuller length.



Thursday 7^th May 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Dean)

Heaton Mersey Magic 119/8 (20) beat Cheadle Hulme U13 B U13s 132/3 (20) beat Hyde U13s 97/7 (20) by 35 runs

It was an overcast and inclement looking evening at Green Lane which saw the visitors win the toss and elect to field.

Harvey offered to open for the first time alongside Charlie and the pair made a steady if unspectacular start before Charlie was trapped plumb in front for 11.

Zayaan then entered the fray and produced a gem of an innings to solidify Magic’s hold over the game with 32 off 25 balls.

Magic were not in the mood to let them get close as they took to the field, marshalled by captain Leo and vice-captain George.

At this point everyone was thinking of an early finish until Cheadle’s outstanding JJ marched out to the crease and played a magnificent rearguard of an innings.

A thoroughly professional performance once again.



Friday 8^th May 2026: South Manchester U13s league T20 (Zone 2)

Heaton Mersey U13s 108/5 (20) beat Bowden Cutters 101/9 (19.

In a tight contest, the home side emerged victors.

After Billy departed for a solid 15 (off 27 balls), Younus came in and immediately looked to increase the scoring rate.

Shazil and Naeem bowled quickly and accurately and restricted the visitors to the odd single/extras before Naeem struck with a superb full delivery to ‘castle’ the stumps of the Bowdon opener.

Younus then struck again with his 2^nd ball leaving the visitors struggling.

It was a tight contest with Mersey prevailing as they kept their composure during the last few overs.

And a word on the team/squad who have been a delight to umpire.

Areas for improvement – Better shot selection by batters.



Friday 8^th May 2026: South Manchester U12s league T20

Urmston U12s 100/2 (11.

This is a hard one to write.

Once we saw the team sheet, we knew that they would be bringing back their U12 “ringers” (who actually play up for the U15s!

The mood was desperately low (mine included) after the end of the innings, and it was impossible to get the players spirits back up.

Even if the bad umpiring decision had not occurred, we were still destined to not be able to face their expert players on the day.

To finish on the positives, there were two standout performances on the day: Lucas N (U11) who retired on 30 from 40 balls, showing the U12s how it’s done, and Huzaifah whose fielding stopped at least 3 boundaries.

Lots to learn and a more positive attitude needed in the future.



Sunday 10^th May 2026: Cheshire U13s league T20 (Under 13 Zone 1)

Bramhall Bulldogs 66 all out (14.

It was an excellent win for Mersey in a low scoring contest away at Bramhall.

Felix then got the key wicket after being hit for a couple of boundaries as Shazil took a catch at mid-off.

The home side were reeling at this onslaught.

The away side batted well in the first four overs before Shazil over-balanced and was stumped.

Billy and Leo then dug in and defended well, taking singles when they could.

Zayaan and Sam then put on the match winning partnership batting with a great maturity, with Zayaan immediately striking a superb four over mid-wicket.

Mersey march on with another win and this was possibly the best bowling performance that I have seen watching juniors.

Areas for improvement – Defending full, straight deliveries on a sticky wicket.
Another strong week, with four wins and the first defeat, again across five leagues in four competitions.



Monday 27^th April 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Bollin)
Lindow Vikings 71/9 (20) lost to Heaton Mersey Phoenix 106/6 (20) U13s 127/7 (20) by 35 runs (

A relatively comfortable win for the team last night to stay top of our High Peak league.

Shawaiz 27 (retired) then cut loose and hit a six and 3 boundaries while the other players looked to get him on strike and play some big shots to get us over the 100 mark.

With the game still evenly poised the rest of the attack showed their talent and the stumps were scattered everywhere as Albert, Gregory, Puneeth and Shawaiz all got a wicket each and Will bowled a maiden.



Tuesday 28^th April 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Dean)

Heaton Mersey Magic 125/5 (20) beat Bramhall Bees 106/5 (20) by 19 runs (

The mighty Magic completed another impressive victory over a solid Bramhall team.

Captain Younus won the toss and elected to bat.

Bramhall started their innings with two strong openers.

There was another run out in the fifteenth over following great fielding from Leo and Younus.



Tuesday 28^th April 2026: Cheshire U13s league T20 (Zone 1)

Timperley 83/3 (12/4) beat Heaton Mersey U13s 82 all out (19.

Mersey were well beaten in their 2^nd match of the Cheshire league.

Billy top scored with a rapid and confident 18 (off 17 balls), including a huge legside 6.

Timperley batted confidently from the start, reaching 38 without loss before Adam struck with George taking a smart catch at point.

It was a disappointing outing for Mersey, but this league is played home and away so there will be a return match against Timperley in May where I am certain that Mersey will play better.

Areas for improvement – 1) Clearer calling when running singles (3^rd game running with at least two run outs), 2) better shot selection early in innings, 3) more positivity in the field.



Friday 1^st May 2026: South Manchester U13s league (Zone 2)

Didsbury Bulls 121/5 (20) lost to Heaton Mersey U13s 123/5 (19.

It was a rare away victory against Didsbury for Mersey yesterday evening.

The home side looked set for a big score at the 10 overs mark, but Younus struck with a perfect yorker to splatter the stumps.

The away side started confidently with Shazil and Adam dealing well with the home side’s opening attack.

With 3 overs to go, Mersey needed 19 to win.

It was a particularly good all-round display from Mersey, expunging memories of the Timperley game a few days earlier.

Thanks to Mike for scoring (again) and for Will in taking the team’s warm-up (please do this again).

Areas for improvement – Ground fielding, especially stopping fours.



Friday 1^st May 2026: South Manchester U12s league

Heaton Mersey U12s 47/1 (8.

It was with apprehension that we approached our Friday evening game against Urmston, as the previous week they were giving Whalley Range a hiding while we were chasing down a target in the gloom in Chorlton.

Anyway, that was then and this was now.

It was apparent from the first three overs that the batters had all the time in the world, and that maybe our opening trio of Will, Gregory and George were not as quick as we thought, but something was bugging me about the length of the pitch.

With the pitch shortened to its correct length, we found renewed impetus, as Leo’s tight over was rewarded by bowling the other opener.

In stepped Arno, playing in his first match of the season, to take on the mantle.

Urmston put together some mini partnerships to edge the score up, as their scorer noted previous lowest scores to beat, but Zane broke their joint highest partnership of just 11 by bowling out Keep (not their keeper, frustratingly).

We rotated back round to our opening bowlers, with Gregory bowling one of their tenacious lower order batters via a ricochet through the legs, before Leo’s rocket arm flew in to Sam, who secured a run out on an ambitious second (a colourful combination from Green and White there).

Pretty much every shot they played in the air went close to a fielder, and we dropped nothing (other than the very tricky one to Gregory low down).

Thomas set the tone for the chase by smashing his second ball for four.

Thomas meanwhile was perhaps getting a little carried away, as an attempted reverse paddle brought mild incredulity from the Heaton Mersey parents and coaches.

Thomas hit another four before getting bowled with the score almost halfway there on 20.

Leo continued his excellent timing, though, hitting two more fours, the second of which secured the 9-wicket win off the first ball of the 9^th over.

It was a strong start to the season, with four wins and a tie out of the five matches played in five separate leagues across four competitions.



Monday 20^th April 2026: Cheshire U13s league T20 (Zone 1)

Heaton Mersey U13s 127/7 (20) beat Sale U13s 35 all out (13.

Mersey started the Cheshire campaign with a resounding win over Sale at Green Lane.

Billy retired on 30 off 40 balls, a great start to his season.

Mersey then bowled, with Shazil immediately causing the batters problems, and the team took two wickets in his 2^nd over, including an excellent run-out by Joe and an instinctive catch by Sam at 1^st slip.

He bowled with variable length but, after a couple of full tosses, a short ball stopped in the pitch and the batter could only lob it to Adam, before the bowler hit middle stump with a superb full ball.

The team were a pleasure to umpire and it was a true team effort, boding very well for the season, with the highlight being the sensational catching.

Areas for improvement – running between the wickets.



Wednesday 22^nd April 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Dean)

Sale U13s 79 all out (20) lost to Heaton Mersey Magic 81/6 (15.

It was the first match of the season for the High Peak Magic squad, away to Sale.

As has been said Mersey, is usually more of a bowling side and they stuck to that.

With 80 being an achievable total to chase, the team entered their batting innings with a spring in their step!

Well done Magic!



Thursday 23^rd April 2026: High Peak U13s league T20 (Division Bollin)

Heaton Mersey Phoenix 87/6 (15.

On a pleasant, sunny evening at Green Lane, Mersey Phoenix started their league campaign in fine style, with a win over our close neighbours, Didsbury.

Mersey started cautiously in their innings against accurate spin/slow bowling.

The home side kept ahead of the required run rate, but lost wickets regularly, and it could have been more as Didsbury dropped a couple of easy catches.

The match was played in an excellent spirit and it was a pleasure to umpire.

Areas for improvement – calling & running between the wickets.



Friday 24^th April 2026: South Manchester U12s league

South West Manchester U12s 102/5 (20) lost to Heaton Mersey U12s 105/5 (18.

The week’s sunny weather had gradually been matched by increasing temperatures, and so it was a very pleasant Friday evening that greeted us at a hidden away ground in Chorlton.

Captain Will won the toss and, after some debate, elected to field first.

Then Zane came into the attack.

Ian instilled some urgency into the fielding side in the second half of the innings, after a switch of ends (so that we were bowling uphill in the second half of the innings), and it was a much-improved performance.

The bowling remained relatively tight, with Charlie in particular coming back strongly from a wayward first over to force a nick which Sam ricocheted to Zane at slip who couldn’t unfortunately hold on before getting the batsman to lob in the air for Huzaifah to catch well in the last over.

Our response did not start well, with their talented opening bowler hitting the stumps of George and then Will, but Charlie and Finn steadied the ship with a partnership of 33.

In came Sam, who immediately found his timing, clipping a ball effortlessly to the legside boundary.

In marched Gregory, which was part of the pre-match plan to have a “finisher” down the order.

But ultimately we were 52/5, needing 51 to win off 7 overs, and the light was beginning to fade.

It also provided some sort of inspiration for Gregory as, after accumulating some singles and benefiting from a wide, he pounced on some short legside bowling to hit two consecutive fours, winning the game with 7 balls to spare, finishing on 18 off 19 balls.

We were not at our best, which is to be expected given that some were playing for the first time and some hadn’t had a training session yet.



Friday 24^th April 2026: South Manchester U13s league (Zone 2)
Heaton Mersey U13s 90/9 (20) tied with Macclesfield U13s 90/6 (20) (

On a warm, sunny evening at the Mersey Village ground, the first match of the South Manchester season started.

Wickets continued to tumble, leaving Mersey reeling at 28/5.
Macclesfield started their innings slowly and were respectful of Mersey’s bowling, which was rapid and accurate.

The match then ebbed and flowed as the sun started to set as both sides fought hard for victory.

Three runs were required off three balls, then two off the last ball for the away side to win.

This was a highly competitive match with both sides trying their best; there were moments of great skill and a few errors which ramped up the tension at the end.

One that got away for Mersey

Tue, 05 May 2026 18:02:00 +0000

Heaton Mersey Magic (U10s) High Peak League Match 2

It was the second game in High Peak last night.
Captain Isaac won the toss and decided to bowl.
For much of the response, it looked like we'd get home comfortably.
I am sure the boys will take a lot from such a good, and close, game of cricket, putting us in good stead for our next High Peak games.
Some particular highlights:

- Calum and Ellis becoming our Crawley and Duckett style opening pair, but better (because they don't get out straight away)

- Charlie's bowling - what a start to the season.
- Really (really) good fielding from all, doing everything Arsalan has been showing them on backing up and attacking the ball

- Congratulating and encouraging each other throughout

- Dan's Ben Stokes style batting cameo

- George's late caught and bowled to make sure he got the wicket he deserved (should have been more!
- Two fantastic long range direct hits from Dan and George to get run outs, meaning their batsmen were hesitant running all night

So many positives and so close.

No place to Hyde

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 17:58:00 +0000

Heaton Mersey Magic (U10s) Cheshire County Cricket League Match 2

So back to the hills last night for our third game in 5 days, this time in (the posh part of) Hyde.
Captain Toby won the toss and chose to bowl.
Hyde backed up their high score with very disciplined bowling.
Some highlights:

- more game time for more of the squad.
- debut for Franklin - well bowled.
- shout out to Calum for batting twice with Tom struggling with a cold.
- Sam and Ben putting into practice what they've learned this winter

- Charlie and Thomas for wicketkeeping.
- All bowlers knowing how to correct mistakes if they bowl a no ball or wide

Hopefully the weather will be kinder as we go again tomorrow at home to Ashley.

Heaton Mersey Cricket Club

U12s/U13s – week 11 – match summaries

Merseybeat goes on in North East Cheshire

U12s/U13s – week 10 – match summaries

Connect 4 for Mersey as they continue their surge

Golden performance from Mersey in the "Golden Triangle"

George (and a few others) versus the Georgians

U12s / U13s - week 9 - match summaries 2026

A bridge too far for Mersey

Nail biter in the Village

U12s / U13s - weeks 5 & 6 - match summaries

One that got away for Mersey

No place to Hyde