The Men’s 1st XI’s penultimate fixture of the season saw them make the short trip to Kingsley where captain Craig Phelan won the toss and elected to bowl first. An early wicket a piece for Matt Holland and Benedict Verma (1/48) saw the hosts at 28/2 in the sixth over. A third wicket partnership worth more than a hundred runs saw the game turn in Kingsley’s favour before two wickets in three balls for James Hodkinson (2/52) gave Oakmere a hope. The platform set by the third wicket partnership paid dividends as the hosts ended up finishing their innings on 261 after two further wickets for Matt Holland (3/33), two for Ethan Yeo (2/39) and a wicket and a run out for Craig Phelan (1/2).

Oakmere’s chase never established itself fully, with wickets falling at regular intervals as the visitors tried to keep up with the required run rate. Matt Worsdale (18), James Hodkinson (23), Ric Lyons (12), Nick Verma (18) and Matt Holland (24) all threatened to settle in and make inroads into the total, but none could go on as Oakmere were all out for 126.

Oakmere Men’s 2nd XI (171 all out) vs Davenham 2nd XI (133 all out) – Oakmere won by 38 runs

The Men’s 2nd XI started their double header hosting Davenham, winning the toss and electing to bat first. Dave Purcell (8) and Aaron Court got Oakmere off to a solid start with Ian Eaton joining Court at the crease after Purcell was caught behind after chasing a wide delivery. Court and Eaton continued nicely reaching 82 before Court was out for 38 courtesy of a good caught and bowled effort. New batters struggled to get going after this point with only Paul Guilford (10) and Mike Dodd (10) reaching double figures. As has become a theme over the last few weeks, Eaton remained at the crease, making 71 before being the ninth wicket to fall. It was again a crucial knock as Oakmere finished on 171.

Oakmere came out all guns blazing with the ball. Hamish Shovelton (1/25) made the initial breakthrough which was followed in the next over by a wicket for Matt Howard. Howard (3/12) took two further wickets before being replaced by Tom Court (2/15) who took two wickets in his first over to reduce Davenham to 32/6. Davenham’s troubles got worse soon after as Ethan Mackin got in on the action to make it 44/7 before a defiant stand from the eighth wicket partnership. This was eventually ended courtesy of a great diving catch from Shovelton off Mackin (2/32) to make the score 85/8. A similarly defiant stand came from the ninth wicket partnership who took the score to 125 before Aaron Court (1/31) made the breakthrough. A Dave Purcell run out ended proceedings with Davenham on 133, 38 runs short of Oakmere’s score.

Over Peover 1st XI vs Oakmere Men’s 1st XI – Match Cancelled (Rain)

No play was possible at Over Peover for the Men’s 1st XI on Sunday meaning a curtailed finished to their season. They finish the season in 4th position in Division 3 of the Cheshire County Cricket League.

Oakmere Men’s 2nd XI (41/4) vs Upton 3rd XI (79 all out) – Match Abandoned (Rain)

The Men’s 2nd XI finished their season by hosting Upton at Overdale Lane. After persistent late morning and early afternoon rain, conditions finally eased midway through the afternoon to allow a 28 over per side game to take place. Upton were asked to bat first and Oakmere made a great start with the ball through Ethan Mackin (2/16) and Matt Howard (1/23) which saw Upton at 44/3 at the halfway stage of their innings. Excellent fielding kept the pressure on which paid dividends with the ball as regular wickets fell throughout the second half of the innings with Hamish Shovelton (3/28) and Dave Purcell (3/7) tying the Upton batters down. Shovelton also added a run out to his tally as Upton were all out for 79 to the penultimate ball of their 28 over allocation.

It was a similar story after the turnaround with tight bowling from Upton being backed up in the field. Pressure and some nerves told as Oakmere slumped to 7/3 and 22/4, but some counter attacking strokes from Lewis Newall (25*) put the game finely in the balance at the halfway stage. It was at this point that the rain returned and put an end to proceedings. The bowling points accrued thanks to their efforts with the ball saw the Men’s 2nd XI leapfrog Ashley into second place in the league on the final day of the season, securing promotion for next season.