A chance to catch up with the progress of our senior teams over the last fortnight – I will start with a brief mention of week 14 (when I was away) and an unprecedented and hopefully never to be repeated week, when every senior side lost! The Wanderers did get a ‘win’ courtesy of a concession but it was an absolutely staggering first for the club, certainly post-Covid. Defeats happen and are all part of the game of course, and thankfully many of our teams immediately righted those ‘wrongs’ if you will. Here’s a look at how things stand:

Womens XIs
It’s been a more encouraging time for Rosh’s team with the skipper leading by example. They lost out to Ramsbottom in a T20 KO match which ended hopes of qualifying for the Finals Day of that competition – but in the T20 League competition, a fantastic two wins in two days left the 1s in pole position in the division. A magnificent 102 off 63 balls from our champion batter herself left Lindow needing something special, and when Rosh then went and dismissed both Holly Topp and Heidi Cheadle cheaply (two prolific and very fine players) it really was a case of some Rosh-Bosh giving our opponents some cosh.

Things then got even better the following evening when Rosh’s 38 off 32 was the prelude for Hannah Jones to enjoy herself, a wonderful 65* off 40 against Divisional leaders Georgians setting up a thumping 95 run win. Hannah herself also picked up a wicket, as did Isabelle H & Sacha. Jessye got two but Rosh, with a return of 2-0-9-5, is clearly having a purple patch and long may that continue. Georgians were actually 29-8 at one stage – extraordinary that they started the evening top of the group with the best NRR.

I shall quote from Martin Saxon’s excellent newsletter as he summarises the situation in this competition: “Up to three re-arranged fixtures remain, and the race for the T20 Championship looks to be between the three teams with one defeat – Didsbury, Nantwich and Chester Boughton Hall. If two teams tie on points, the result of the match between the two teams will be the deciding factor, but if there is a three-way tie at the top, net run rate could be used, and here Didsbury have a significant advantage.”

Dids play CBH at home (that is, actually at Dids) on Thurs 6th – should be a fascinating encounter.

The Womens 2s got a much-needed win over Upton at Woodford on Sun, Abby Nicholson starring with 52 and Sarah McCann making a handy 30 in a DLS-adjusted chase. 25 precious pts gave them some breathing space to the bottom of Div 2, where Lindow currently are, although they have played three games fewer than Dids! A real fixture pile-up looming for them, it seems.

The 3s have played one game in their Div 5 East comp (where there are net scores) and one game in Div 4 East (where there aren’t). They went down to Macc in the net scores match but a remarkable spell of 4-2-4-4 from Tasnim Akram restricted Lymm OP to just 63-6 in the Div 4 game, Dids knocking off the target, Charlotte Howard (25*) and Helen Hevican (16*) adding an unbroken 46.

Over 40s
A much-needed win against bottom club Bowdon Vale last Weds was just the tonic to keep the side away from the drop zone. Dids made 144-7, their highest total of the season, and just did enough to hold on and claim a squeaky 4 run victory.

Knights
The struggles for our lowest ranked side continue with a second concession of the season on Sunday after a team of eight took a predictable pasting at Styal the week before.

Wanderers
Chris’s side went down by 115 runs at Bowdon on Sunday to leave them fourth in Div 3 East. Bowdon did play two of their regular first team players, one of whom made 100! I can only assume this was all done with permissions etc. Doc’s first-baller didn’t help matters either!

5s
Simon’s side are sitting pretty in second place in Div 2. It could have been even better but for a classic case of defeat snatched from the jaws of victory against Metrovicks last Sun, when, having reached 150-6 and needing 8 off the last to win, the 5s somehow lost 3-5, rendering Moeed Chugtai’s fourth half-century of the season and a doughty 36 from keeper Ryan Hamblett in vain. However, Ryan put matters right on Sun, a fine 67 on a tricky surface at Flixton setting the 5s up for a DLS-adjusted 90 run win over Trinity, Ahmad Butt’s 5-24 and Ameer Parveen’s 4-13 proving more than useful.

A big game on Sun as the 5s play third-place Ashton-on-Mersey at their attractive ground (which is looking in super condition btw).

4s
A creditable performance in losing at second-place Cheadle last Sun was followed up by an excellent chase of a potentially tricky 163 set by bottom side Runcorn on Sun. Charlie Knowles hit a run-a-ball 77* which, along with 26* off 27 from Aaron, and an earlier 32 from James C kept the 4s third in the table, where they will realistically be aiming to stay (there’s a 50 pt gap to second).

3s
JB’s side lost out conclusively in their clash with leaders Brooklands but came back in the best way possible with a good win over Marple on Sun. Six games remain to be played and although it’s not in their hands, all JB’s side can do is win their matches, especially the upcoming clash with second place Georgians in mid-August. But great to see the young 3s attack (yes, including you Haris) do such a good job of cheaply dismissing a Marple side who have had some notable wins of their own this season.

2As
Despite a terrific 80 from Krishav against high-flying Maritime on Sat, the 2As were denied at the last as they lost out by 1 wkt. It was still a creditable display against a good side (who included two players who played for their 1st XI the following day) and they will certainly need another one on sat as they entertain the league leaders Marple.

2s
Well well well! Two defeats in two matches have changed the complexion of things somewhat at the top of the Prem for Ryan’s side, and with their next game against third-place Toft, it’s a testing time. But that’s as things should be really, with competitive 2nd XI cricket boding well, and the 2s still have a 15 pt lead which they have worked hard for. This evening (Tues 28) the 2s are aiming to make it a sixth successive appearance at T20 Finals Day with Cheadle their quarter-final opponents. I am scoring (and hopefully providing some comms) but do come down to lend your support.

1s
It was such a shame that things went so wrong last weekend, a poor slip-up in the league followed by a decent tilt at a top Nantwich side in the Cheshire Cup with key players absent. But unfortunately that is the reality, and the 1s certainly did all they could in response by retuning a comprehensive win over Brooklands on Sat to keep pace with Hyde and Nantwich. All three sides are level on pts – Hyde are currently top on games won – and with one more game in the WLD phase to go, 24 pts on Saturday is vital….and it would happen to be away at Hyde! What a match in prospect.

The six remaining win-lose matches start with two very tough games – home to Lindow (fourth) and then away at Nantwich! Home games against Cheadle and Alderley Edge are interspersed with trips to Oxton and Bramhall (the last fixture). But it does all demonstrate the 1s can still have things in their hands and we wish them all the best as they aim to retain the Prem title.