Junior Cricket Round-Up - June 2024
The U9s have had a productive June after a frustrating May was largely rained off.
The U9s Reds won 6 out of 6 in June, with Eggsy in great batting form and Kiki taking a 5fer v Hadfield – you don’t get many of those in U9s!
The U9s Blues have had a strong month too with a whole host of debuts boding well for the future. Welcome to Mottram to Ryan, Maisie, Lyra and Isaac! The Blues ended June on a high with a 4 run victory v Dukinfield.
The U11s Softball Team saw just two fixtures escape the maze of rain and opposition concessions. Way back on 1st June a trip to Worsley saw Leo take 2 for 5 and Eris B make her Mottram debut as an inexperienced side lost by 30. Against Bury, it was debut time for Brodie who hit 3 fours, and Maisie who got a wicket in her 2nd over. Excellent starts for both.
The U11s Hardball Team have had a busy old June. It all started at DSL where despite a 2fer from Benedict and 12* from Fergus, we lost an absolute thriller with DSL hitting the last ball of the game for 6, to win by one.
We bounced back well, beating Denton West by 20 in a high-quality encounter at the MCG. Dan M teed off from Ball 1 to bludgeon 25* and Eggsy chipped in with 17*. With the ball, Haris A took a quite ridiculous 5 for 6 to wrestle the game away from West. A phenomenal spell.
The final regional league game was a 12 run victory at Dukinfield, with two direct hits by Dan M and Eggsy changing the course of the game in the penultimate over.
It ended on a high too, with Greenfield defeated in our first Performance League game of the U11s season. Having set 90 courtesy of 19 from Tom F and 19* from William, we held Greenfield to 56. Leo M with a steepling boundary catch, the moment of the day.
We’ve also held a number of U11s Development Games in June, to build the next-gen of Hardball Cricketers for MCC. A victory at Hadfield saw Alec (15*), Megan (2fer) and both George and Oliver K (1 for nowt) in the action. A trip to Stockport Trinity saw Max (pinpoint yorker) and Tom Fl (1 for 1) take centre stage. On the final day of June, Kiki (14*, 2 for 11) and Leo (1 for 6) saw us over the line v Dukinfield.
The U13s started June with a nervy win over Stayley. Having dismissed Stayley for 49 courtesy of Niamh (3 for 9), William (2 for 4) and Iris (1 ball, 1 wicket) we contrived to make hard work of the chase. 4 quick wickets got nerves jangling before Tyler and Niamh saw us home, 6 wickets to spare.
The first Performance League game saw us come undone against a strong Shaw side. Jack H (1 for 26) and William (1 for 15) took wickets but Shaw’s 147 looked a tall order. Patrick’s 30* led the resistance but we fell short. A similar tale at Woodhouses, where Tom F, Niamh and Jack took wickets to momentarily halt the host’s march but they reached 150. In response, Patrick retired on 33* as we got to 82.
A first Performance League win soon followed though, away at Saddleworth. Jack (3 for 13) blew away Saddleworth’s key batters and left us chasing 74. After an early race to 40, our scoring slowed as tensions rose, but thankfully Tom F (16*) steered us over the line with 5 balls to spare.
June brought a upturn in fortunes for the U15s who played three, won two.
First up, another narrow defeat this time at the hands of Dukinfield. A majestic 4fer from James H, including a sharp caught and bowled, saw Dukinfield bowled out for 85. Dan and Stan’s early work saw us get to 30 and in a commanding position but we failed to capitalise and fell short.
No such issues in the next two fixtures through. Asked to bat first v Woodhouses, our total of 78 was built largely around an excellent middle order partnership of Patrick (26*) and James H (14). We needed a strong start with the ball and it was delivered with aplomb by openers Jack (3 for 23) and Thomas N (1 for 9). Harry AT (1 for 1) turned the screw at the end as Woodhouses fell 10 short.
The U18s finally got their campaign underway in June, as the weather ran out of ways to cancel it. Against Heywood, Will D and James S bowled well to restrict Heywood early on before their acceleration at the end saw them reach 127. In response Jack B (31) and Harley (16) got us off to a strong start before falling in quick succession. Mackenzie (17*) and Ollie B (15) kept us into till the end but we fell 30 short.
June saw the Girls Team take on Didsbury and Timperley. In Game 1 v Didsbury, Niamh’s 24 and Iris’s 25 looked to have taken us to a formidable total of 85. When Emily, Earsla and Iris all bagged early wickets it looked home and dry. A big hitting 3rd pair though made it all rather too close for comfort. Didsbury briefly went ahead before 3 wickets in 5 balls from Niamh got us home with 10 runs to spare.
In Game 2, an all-round salvo from Iris (15* and 1 wicket) was the highlight as Timperley won comfortably by 45.
