The Men’s 1st XI hosted Runcorn on a scorching day and with the away team winning the toss, Oakmere were asked to bowl first. The visitors got off to a steady start with the opening pair reaching 39 in the eighth over before Benedic Verma took the first wicket to fall. Verma (2/32) soon got his second as the score was 41/2 from the opening ten overs. The double breakthrough stalled the scoring rate but a partnership began to build, pushing on through the bowling changes up to the 25th over. Matt Howard’s (2/53) return to the attack saw two wickets fall in two balls, making the score 99/4 just past the halfway stage and leaving the game in the balance. Soon after the drinks break, there was another two wickets in two balls, this time for Josh Westwood who went on to claim his 3rd wicket a few overs later as he finished his spell with figures of 3/35 from ten overs. After 32 overs the visiting side were 128/7, but an excellent eighth wicket partnership saw Runcorn add 78 in the next 13 overs before Matt Worsdale (1/47) broke the partnership. Matt Holland (1/20) picked up the ninth wicket to fall and a Worsdale run out rounded up the innings. The final four overs saw three wickets fall with the addition of just five runs as Runcorn were bowled out for 211 from 48 overs.

Oakmere’s reply got off to a rocky start with a wicket falling in the first over of the chase. James Norton picked up the reigns, scoring 21 before he was dismissed in the ninth over. The score at the end of the powerplay was 41 as it had been in the Runcorn innings, however with an extra wicket having fallen. With two further wickets having fallen before the end of the 14th over, the chase looked a steep task. A partnership looked to be growing between Frank Herrington and Harry Poole (11) but the fall of the latter in the 19th over put a halt to proceedings. Craig Phelan joined Herrington and the pair continued to the drinks break, reaching the end of the 25th over at 85/6. Phelan (17) was dismissed four overs after drinks, again halting a growing partnership. Holland came to the crease and steadily built with Herrington, adding 37 as a pair over the next 8 overs. Herrington was eventually dismissed for a hard fought 35 as Oakmere found themselves 131/8 after 37 overs. Another 30 run partnership between Holland and Matt Howard gave Oakmere hope, but when Howard fell in the 43rd over and an unfortunate runout followed, Oakmere were all out for 164 with Holland stranded unbeaten on 30.

A disappointing defeat for the Men’s 1st XI which sees them slip to third place. The team’s attention now goes to a fixture away at Hale Barns.

Upton 3rd XI (233/9) vs Oakmere Men’s 2nd XI (222/8) – Upton won by 11 runs

The Men’s 2nd XI travelled to Upton on Saturday and were asked to bowl first after the hosts won the toss. It was a great start for Oakmere with Mathew Giles taking a wicket in the first over, courtesy of a diving catch by Sean McDonnell. Giles and Corey Lewis kept things tight in the early stages and this was kept up when Brandon Jones and Nathan Gee joined the attack. Gee took the next two wickets to fall to make it 52/3 before a solid fourth wicket partnership took the hosts into three figures. Dave Purcell took wickets in consecutive overs to make it 115/5 before an Upton counterattack. This was cut short by the returning Gee with the pair bowling in tandem together and found edges to wicketkeeper Dan Faulkner who brought up his 300th dismissal for the club. Gee finished with 4/44 and Purcell 3/22 as they worked tirelessly in the heat to reduce Upton to 170/8. A lower order blitz saw Upton finish on 233/9 with the returning Giles (2/48) taking the final wicket to fall.

Oakmere’s batters struggled to get going after a long shift in the heat. Nathan Gee (13), Dan Faulkner (17), Ian Eaton (11) and Mathew Giles (17) all made starts but could not push on as Oakmere fell to 69/5 in the early stages. Paul Guilford and Brandon Jones steadied the ship, patiently putting together a fifty partnership before Guilford edged behind for 27 with the score now 125/6, leaving Oakmere requiring a further 108 runs from the final 12 overs. Mike Dodd joined Brandon Jones with the pair pushing the fielders hard in temperatures in excess of 30C. 59 runs were added in 7 overs before Jones was bowled by the last ball of the 45th over for a well made 42. Corey Lewis joined Dodd and five boundaries were added in the next three overs as Dodd’s risk taking paid rewards to see nerves rise in the Upton camp. Dodd’s fine effort came to an end when he was run out attempting to get back on strike having struck 54 from 33 deliveries. Lewis (8*) and Sean McDonnell (9*) were left requiring 25 from the final 14 deliveries of the innings, but fell 11 runs shy as Oakmere came up just short in a thrilling contest.

Oakmere Men’s 3rd XI (101 all out) vs Holmes Chapel 2nd XI (105/2) – Holmes Chapel won by 8 wickets

The Men’s 3rd XI hosted top of the table Holmes Chapel on Saturday with the visitors electing to bowl after winning the toss. Holmes Chapel’s strong bowling lineup put Oakmere under pressure throughout. George Warburton (17), Cameron Giles (13), Hamish Warburton (11), Harry Peters (14) and John Edwards (8*) all made good starts, but the pressure told as Oakmere were bowled out for 101.

Despite a wicket from the first ball of the innings from Percy Bratherton (1/23), Holmes Chapel made light work of the chase, reaching their target inside 17 overs for the loss of just two wickets. Harry Peters (1/11) took the other wicket to fall.

Nantwich 1st XI (181/3) vs Oakmere Women’s 1st XI (182/9) – Oakmere won by 1 wicket

Sunday saw the Women’s 1st XI travel to Nantwich where captain Phoebe Cottam won the toss and elected to bowl first. Nantwich had an excellent start with the bat, passing fifty before Kate Skelhorn (1/25) found an edge to Amy Jones behind the stumps. A century partnership followed as Oakmere toiled in the sun, but stuck at their task well to keep the run rate in check. Nat Lyons (1/26) picked up a wicket at the end of the innings and there was a run out for Kate Skelhorn as Nantwich finished their 40 overs on 181/3.

Phoebe (42) and Thisumi Jayawarna (15) got Oakmere off to an equally good start with the bat, also passing fifty without loss. Thisumi was the first wicket to fall which sparked a collapse from 56/0 to 80/7. Kate Skelhorn’s 14 gave Oakmere some hope, but by the time she was dismissed and Sarah Worsdale had fallen for 8, Oakmere were left with a mountain to climb at 104/9. What followed was an unbelievable display of lower order batting as Becky Jones (26*) and Annie Rashid (35*) set what is believed to be both a club and league record tenth wicket partnership worth 78 runs that saw Oakmere take the victory.

Oakmere Women’s 1st XI (135/5) vs Nantwich 1st XI (135 all out) – Match Tied

It was a rematch on Monday evening in the T20 competition with the Women’s 1st XI again taking on Nantwich, this time at Overdale Lane. Nantwich won the toss and elected to field, making early inroads to see Oakmere 34/4 with Phoebe Cottam (14) and Rachel Warrenger (10) looking threatening before being dismissed. A solid partnership between Thisumi Jayawarna and Amy Jones brought Oakmere back into the cost, as the pair put on 44 together. Amy was bowled for 16 with the score on 78, bringing Maddi Lawson out to join Thisumi. The pair saw Oakmere through the remainder of the 20 overs with Thisumi retiring on 45 from 44 deliveries and Maddi finishing on 24 from 16 deliveries as Oakmere posted 135/5.

Thisumi carried on her good game in the field, getting the breakthrough courtesy of a run out. Maddi (1/12) took the second wicket to fall, but Nantwich rallied to reach 93/2. A run out for Phoebe made it 93/3 before Layla Dwyer (2/20) took two wickets in quick succession to make it 97/5. Nantwich fought back again before Charlotte King made it 121/6 and Maddi got another run out to make it 123/7. Nantwich then took the scores level before an incredible finish which saw Charlotte King (3/20) take two wickets without any addition to the score to make it 135/9. A Jen Lamidey run out came as Nantwich tried to find the final required run to see the match tied with Oakmere having taken three wickets without conceding any runs!