Womens XIs
No games for the 1s this weekend – they have an important T20 Championship game with Chester at Dids on Thursday, where a win would put them top of the table.

The Womens 2s lost out to second-place Nantwich by 8 wkts in their Div 2 clash on Sunday – not a performance the2s will care to dwell on for long. But the 3s won again in their Div 5 East comp (where there are net scores), beating Hawk Green and staying in second spot in the table as a result. It’s a competition where bowlers are restricted to two overs each so that as many as possible get to experience bowling in a match situation.

The 2s are next in action in against Lindow on the 16th while the 3s have five games in the next 14 days, starting tonight (Tues) when they take on Lindow in a Div 4 clash.

Over 40s
Sadly but not surprisingly the o40s were well beaten by runaway Div 2 leaders Sale on Weds, which left them teetering above the drop zone. However, by my reckoning the team have done enough to retain their Div 2 status even if they lose to second-place Hale Barns on Weds as the only team that could go level on pts with them (Alderley Edge) will have won fewer games even if they win their game on Weds – although as they play Sale, I wouldn’t be putting the mortgage on that happening, shall we say.

Knights
A heartstopping win for the Gladys Knights against Heaton Mersey 4s at Hale Barns on Sunday lifted them off the foot of the table, and what a win it was. All was going swimmingly for Doc DeWeever’s men as HM limped to 94-8, but their tail dug in – so much so that Doc, in characteristically ruthless mood, brought himself on to put a stop to this nonsense.

2-20 in four overs of what onlookers described as ‘making Patrick Patterson look military-medium’ finally saw the innings ended for 174, Doc no-balled three times for excessive short-pitched bowling which had St.John’s Ambulance on standby at the ground and the HM batters hurriedly arranging dental insurance.

A clearly exhausted DeWeever was then one of three early lbw victims as the Knights started badly, but Sufian Gjertsen (41) and Torran McNeil (40) helping get the team closer to the line, although at 164-6 the Knights suffered a loss of nerve, resolved by Ali Azmat whacking his first ball for four, and an open-top bus back to Dids being hired to mop up the adulation of the crowds en-route.

But seriously, a brilliant win, thoroughly deserved. Five more games for the Knights, not surprisingly all against teams above them in the table, and let’s hope for a little run of form to brighten the rest of the month.

Wanderers
Although the scorecard is somewhat confused, it seems, remarkably, Chris’s side also won their game against Cheadle Hulme by 1 wkt – it’s more likely to have been 2 wkts, but whichever, it was a grandstand finish. Having slumped to 113-7 in pursuit of a distant 187, no. 9 Aqib Rasheed decided to make the most of his day out, belting 62* off 35 balls and hitting three successive sixes to win the game in style! Having earlier taken two wkts, not much argument about MotM there.

The Wanderers stay fourth but play the leaders Bollington on Sunday, followed by the team in second (Lindow) the week after, so two tough assignments on the horizon.

5s
A terrific 21-run win at Ashton-on-Mersey put an 18 pt gap between the 5s (second) and AOM (third), and what a good team display it was. Keeper Ryan Hamblett led the way with the bat, making a great 50 (60 bs), his second successive half-century. Faisal made 31, Paul chipped in with a handy 27 and Isaac 30 off just 15 balls, following that up with 4-35 (including bowling the splendidly-named AOM captain Guru Boggula) as Simon wisely kept the field up and invited the opposition to hit. Nate finished things off with three wickets, and he also chalked up a run-out too.

It was good to get to see a bit of the action (this week’s photo) and the team were, I am assuming, very pleased with their afternoon/early evening’s work (the match did seem to meander along at a leisurely pace).

With bottom of the table Davenham next, hopefully another win will set things up nicely for the meeting with leaders Bredbury SM the week after.

4s
So near and yet so far for Jack’s side as they went down by 7 runs to Grappenhall. From 164-9, Zain Ali and Shaun Bosworth fought really hard and showed great nerve to get as close as they did to the winning line, but it was not to be. A shame especially for Charlie Knowles who followed up his 77* last week with a superb 81 (95 bs) and for Usman who claimed 5-43. The 4s remain in third, some way distant of second spot but Bramhall now breathing down their necks. Next up are Romiley, with whom the 4s tied earlier this season.

3s
Ben Lowe provided the headline act on Sunday with a fabulous hat-trick off the first three balls of the innings. A brilliant achievement for the youngster, who seems to be getting that bit quicker every time, and he was clearly far too hot to handle at Weston, JB whistling him up later to put an end to an irksome last wkt stand which dragged the hosts from 68-9 to 102. Ben’s 4-19 was obviously the toast of the day, but a word too for Xavi (3-31), Zak (2-32) and Isaac H (1-17) who all contributed – great to see. And nice that the older hands took the responsibility to see the side home, Mash and Corbs adding 54* together.

The equation now for the 3s is simple: five wins = a retained league title. Thus, all games are big games but the upcoming clash with leaders Georgians in a fortnight is pivotal for both sides.

2As
A setback against the league leaders Marple on Sat was no great surprise – but the team, led by Bells, can definitely hold their heads up as they caused Marple – who have been top all season – a number of anxious moments in their 5 wkt loss. I was umpiring Marple 1s on Sat and their 2s arrived back later on, a clearly relieved James Hirst (skipper) more than happy with 20 pts after Marple slipped to 20-3 in pursuit of 118.

The 2As travel to rock-bottom Romiley next who have lost their last five games, something the team can hopefully capitalise upon.

2s
The most difficult piece of this week’s report is commenting on their exit from the T20 on Tuesday night, a competition it’s fair to say they have dominated (along with Chester BH) since Covid.

Watching on from the scorebox I was left aghast at what I witnessed and what unfolded, as poor a display as I can recall. Cheadle were deserved winners as they looked far more like Didsbury than we did. The team had a lengthy debrief on the ground afterwards, presumably as stunned as the rest of us at the manner of the defeat. The only consolation is that both Chester and Toft (third in the Prem) also went out at the QF stage, so in that sense we weren’t alone and 2nd XI Finals Day will have a very different look about it this year. No bad thing for the competition, being objective about it.

To their overall credit, the 2s managed to stop the rot of successive league defeats with a tie against Toft on Saturday. I say ‘overall’ because in truth the 2s really ought to have won, despite being set a massive 299 target. It’s brilliant that they got so close -chasing that many second inns is a big, big ask in any conditions - but frustrating that they couldn’t get over the line, and indeed Jack H and Owen deserve praise for getting the two off the final ball which tied the scores. Jacob’s fantastic 100 – his second of the season and the 21st in Dids senior cricket in 2026 – and his stand of 141 with Sam (74) did much to get Dids into a great position, but with confidence clearly not as strong as it was, things slipped to the extent that a last-ball bail-out was needed.

But, the 15 pts acquired is only five short of a win, and the fact remains that the 2s are top of the table with their destiny in their own hands. They have a lengthy ride to second-bottom Upton on Sat when we will hope that things turn round fully. If the 2s play as we know they can, they’ll be fine.

1s
Absolutely brilliant. A second successive win at Hyde, which used to be such a bogey ground/side for us, couldn’t have been better timed. Before play started Hyde were top of the Prem on games won, but level on points with both us and Nantwich…and things got even sweeter later on on Sat as news came through of Neston’s win at Whitehouse Lane, which suddenly put Dids 14 pts clear at the top.

I saw Hyde’s Luke Young later on Saturday and he was gracious in defeat, acknowledging that on the day Dids had simply been better. It certainly looked like the perfect team display, the General and ‘Horse’ each taking three wkts, with Jonty and Joe C two each, Joe following up with a lovely 78* as the job was completed with bags of overs in hand.

Six win-lose fixtures stand between Nick’s side and successive league titles – the next two especially important, one feels, fourth place Lindow arriving on Saturday (they have the regional T20 Final the following day, just saying) before a massive game at Nantwich the following week. As the fixtures have fallen, Hyde also have Lindow and Nantwich to play in the next three weeks so the picture in the title race should be much clearer after that – but Dids are in the best possible position after a lot of hard league yakka, which is a highly praiseworthy achievement thus far.