Junior Season Review 2023
A hectic junior summer has now drawn to a close with fixtures carrying on right into late September thanks to an unexpected cup run and the belated return of nice weather!
There’s going to be plenty to reminisce about and celebrate at our Junior Presentation on Saturday 7th October.
To whet the appetite for that night, here’s a brief-ish round-up of the season, team by team.
Under 9s
The U9s Reds matched last season’s imperious form, losing only one fixture all season with big hitting helping us over the line one more than one occasion.
Most memorably, a trip to Denton CC saw Slog Brothers Eggsy and William put on 38 in 3 overs to get them over the line in a tight encounter.
The U9s Blues had a much more settled team than in previous years and demonstrated their growing team bond by delivering a win percentage of >50% across the season.
Compared with only 1 game won in the whole of 2022, that shows positive signs for the future.
As ever, thank you to Coach Mark for his unyielding commitment to U9s cricket and also thank you to all the parents who enable us to get 2 sides out every Monday evening.
Don’t get too comfy on the sofa though 9s, DBSL action at West Hill starts in the coming weeks.
Under 11s
A busy season for the U11s who seemed to have the best luck with the weather and delivered an extended cup run to ensure they were playing cricket even as the nights drew in sharply.
Having been challenged to ensure we made it into the top division of the Performance League, the 11s well and truly delivered with a convincing start to the season. 5 wins in the bounce, ended by an agonising defeat at Saddleworth saw them finish Joint Top.
In the Performance League, great wins at Thornham, Droylsden and Middleton saw us improve once again on last year’s showing.
The fun didn’t stop there with a run to the GMCL Summer Cup East Plate Final where despite a thrilling start with the ball we fell short against Shaw.
Like the 9s, they are back in DBSL action very soon.
Under 13s
The U13s unwittingly turned themselves into the GMCL’s biggest fan of close finishes, finding themselves on both the right and wrong end of nail-biting endings right across the season.
After chastening early defeats versus Friends Sporting and Saddleworth, the 13s found their feet and began to build momentum.
Hyde, Milnrow and Droylsden were all beaten in fixtures where things all got a bit closer than parental blood pressures would have liked.
The 13s Entertainers took their “take it deep” approach into the Performance League Div 2 and immediately found themselves falling just short in high quality, high fun encounters against Micklehurst and Ashton.
A 5th place league finish felt a fair reflection of our season. Plenty of promise and talent, encouraging signs of U11s players stepping up and also the odd slip-up in close games.
Our U13s will be taking on opponents indoors at Audenshaw School throughout the winter to ensure they’re razor sharp for 2024.
Under 15s
The U15s season was largely played in two hurried chunks.
First, 4 games in 2 weeks during late May sun before a flurry of re-arranged games and cup fixtures in August once the unrelenting drizzle of July had finally shown some mercy.
A young squad with only 4 older age U15s to select from, had a tough start to the season with long nights endured at both DSL and Greenfield.
Guided by Skipper James and the formidable batting form of Dan Dadge, they found their feet and finished in 4th position in the Performance League.
Cheered home by an excitable home crowd they snuck past Middleton as they concluded their season by winning 4 of the last 6 games.
Under 18s
The U18s and U19s have battled weather, exams and freak accidents in their quest to get the game on.
With June and July largely fit for nothing other than dancing in puddles and putting armbands on frogs, they largely played in a hectic 3 weeks in August.
Our U19s campaign was hampered by a lack of availability, and whilst the team didn’t quality for Round 2 there was several individual performances that made the campaign worthwhile. For example, Jack Buxton and Dan Crudden’s battling innings at Stockport Georgians was the platform for their vital late season runs in senior teams.
The U18s league campaign started brightly with a complete dismantling of Denton West before narrow defeats at Friends Sporting and DSL applied the brakes somewhat.
With a relatively younger end U18s squad all set to be older, and dare I say wiser, next season there’s potential for a strong campaign should availability and precipitation allow.
Girls Team
The Girls fixtures seem to have exclusively taken place in bright sunshine this season, in stark contrast to everyone else spending their time being battered by the ceaseless winds.
Perhaps we should all play our junior games in the 2-hour Saturday morning slot before Beechy comes and paces on the wicket.
A 1 run win over Didsbury in a dramatic first outing of the season set us up well for an eclectic campaign which has featured lots of promising debuts from our U9s and U11s section.
Since then the team has defeated Lindow, lost to Lindow, been to the wrong ground when playing Lindow and finished off the season with a pulsating encounter against Timperley which saw us lose by 3 runs.
Most notable about that game was our ability to select a squad of 12, the highest number we’ve managed so far and we are confident it’ll keep rising.
As ever, thank you to all the parents who traipse round the North West, thank you to the senior players who take the time to support at games and thank you to all the coaches and helpers who make it all possible.
See you all on Saturday 7th October.
Sam
