The Men’s 1st XI hosted Over Peover on Saturday with Matt Holland at the reigns. He kept up Craig Phelan’s strong record at the toss, winning it and electing to bat first. Oakmere got off to a strong start with the score ticking along nicely through the opening powerplay. The first wicket fell in the third over but the scoring continued through Matt Worsdale and Josh Westwood with the pair taking the score to 39/1 at the end of the first ten overs. In the following nine overs only two boundaries were hit, but good running took the partnership beyond the fifty mark before it was broken at the end of the 19th over with Worsdale removed for 32. This took the score to 74/2, ending the 63-run partnership. Harry Poole joined Westwood and another partnership began to grow. Oakmere were 90/2 at the halfway stage of the innings, but with wickets in hand Westwood and Poole began to increase the scoring rate. Westwood brought up his fifty in the 33rd over with a boundary but unfortunately fell soon after for a well made 60, having shared a 62 run partnership with Poole. Zach Howdle joined Poole and the pair put on another solid partnership worth in excess of 60 runs, reaching 196 before Poole (41) was dismissed in the 44th over. Matt Holland joined Howdle for the final six overs and a combination of good running and boundary hitting pushed the score past 200. The push for runs saw Howdle run out for 45 from 40 deliveries but Holland continued to score quickly as he was joined by Nathan Gee (8) who added a couple of boundaries. Holland finished unbeaten on 32 from 21 deliveries with Oakmere posting 249/6 from their 50 overs.

A strong all round batting performance set a good platform for Oakmere’s bowlers to defend. The defence started well with Tom Court claiming a wicket in each of his opening two overs as the visitors tried to make the most of the powerplay. At 22/2 off the first five overs, Over Peover were up against it and that was heightened further when Worsdale struck in the eighth over and Court (3/22) picked up his third in the ninth over, which saw the powerplay end with Over Peover on 39/4. Worsdale (2/15) claimed the fifth wicket of the innings soon after as the pressure of the total set and the energy of a young fielding side saw runs hard to come by. At 47/5 from 15 overs, Ethan Mackin was introduced to the attack, and he quickly claimed two wickets (2/17) which saw the visitors reduced to 68/7 after 19 overs. Josh Westwood was brought into the attack, bowling a double wicket maiden in the 24th over and finishing the match with a wicket in the 26th as he finished with 3 wickets without conceding a run. Over Peover were bowled out for 78 to give Oakmere a commanding 171 run victory.

A superb all round team performance has seen the Men’s 1st XI climb back to second place in the league ahead of a very important game at Hawk Green next Saturday.

Cheadle Hulme 2nd XI (97/1) vs Oakmere Men’s 2nd XI (91 all out) – Cheadle Hulme won by 9 wickets

A young Men’s 2nd XI side travelled to Cheadle Hulme and were asked to bat first after losing the toss. At 19/3 in the early stages with Oakmere’s three most experienced batters back in the pavilion, it was to be an uphill struggle against a strong bowling unit. Mathew Giles (20) and Mike Dodd (17) provided some counter attack, whilst there were also excellent efforts from youngsters Jack Pickering (3), debutant George Warburton (3), Will Hardie (10) and Corey Lewis (5). Leah Holland (6*) and Sean McDonnell (10) provided some lower order resistance but Oakmere were eventually bowled out for 91.

Cheadle Hulme came out all guns blazing with the bat, reaching their target inside 12 overs. The sole wicket to fall went to Giles (1/22) courtesy of a good catch on the run from McDonnell.

Oakmere Men’s 3rd XI (70 all out) vs Winnington Park 3rd XI (248/3) – Winnington Park won by 178 runs

The Men’s 3rd XI hosted neighbours Winnington Park at Winsford with the visitors electing to bat after winning the toss. Park weathered initial testing spells from Percy Bratherton and Emily Faulkner with the first wicket coming with the score on 60, courtesy of Harry Peters. Peters (2/53) also took the second wicket to fall to make it 92/2 before a rallying third wicket partnership worth more than 50 runs. The returning Bratherton (1/43) took the third wicket to fall, but Park batted solidly through the remainder of the overs, finishing their allocation on 248/3.

A very inexperienced Oakmere batting lineup struggled to get going with the bat, falling to 70 all out. Harry Peters (12) and Emily Faulkner (11*) were the top scorers.

Oakmere Women’s 1st XI (165/6) vs Lindow 1st XI (150 all out) – Oakmere won by 15 runs

The Women’s 1st XI hosted league leaders Lindow at Overdale Lane on Sunday with the visitors electing to bowl first after winning the toss. Despite being in a bit of early trouble at 20/2, Phoebe Cottam and Sarah Worsdale steadied things for Oakmere, sharing a partnership worth 87 runs before both fell in quick succession, with both scoring 43. Nat Lyons (33* from 26 balls) and Amy Jones (16 from 15 balls) capitalised on the platform set, as Oakmere finished their 40 overs on 165/6.

Lyons and Worsdale (2/19) carried their momentum with the bat into their bowling, with the openers reducing Lindow to 30/3 early on courtesy of two excellent catches from Layla Dwyer and one behind the stumps from Amy Jones. A fourth wicket partnership from Lindow brought them back into the game but a double strike from Annie Rashid, one courtesy of a Lioness-inspired bit of footwork to get a run out, swung the game back in Oakmere’s favour. Kate Renshaw (1/7) chipped in with a wicket before Lyons returned to the attack to great avail, finishing with figures of 4/24 from her 8 overs. Annie (2/30) closed out the game, taking the final wicket at the start of the 38th over with Lindow still 15 runs short of their target.

Alvanley 2nd XI (92/6) vs Oakmere Women’s 2nd XI (93/2) – Oakmere won by 8 wickets

The Women’s 2nd XI played their final league fixture of the season away at Alvanley on Tuesday evening where the hosts won the toss and elected to bat first.

Kate Renshaw (1/9) got Oakmere off to a great start with the ball, making the breakthrough with the first ball of the third over. A solid second wicket partnership followed which took the score from 5/1 to 64/1 before Maddi Lawson (1/25) made the key breakthrough. A Thisumi Jayawarna run out made it 69/3 before a great spell of 3/12 in four overs from Charlotte King, supported well at the other end and in the field, which saw Alvanley finish their 20 overs on 92/6.

Abbi Lamidey (11) and Emily Faulkner got Oakmere off to a confident start in the chase reaching 30 in eight overs before Abbi was caught. Emily was joined by Thisumi and the pair put on an excellent partnership of 59 runs in the next nine overs to take Oakmere to the verge of victory before Thisumi was bowled having made 22 from 27 deliveries. Layla Dwyer (4*) hit the winning runs as Emily batted through the innings making an unbeaten 40 to carry Oakmere to victory.

The result will fill the team with great confidence ahead of their cup semi final against the same opposition (date and time to be confirmed).

Wirral Midweek XI (110/5) vs Oakmere Midweek XI (121/9) – Oakmere won by 11 runs

A young Oakmere Midweek XI travelled to Wirral CC on Wednesday evening looking to close the gap to league leaders Tarporley. Batting first, Josh Westwood (39 from 17 balls) set a platform in the early stages. Matt Worsdale (15) and Harry Poole (12) got starts but kicking on proved to be difficult as Oakmere slipped to 92/8. A composed 18* from youngster Will Hardie, accompanied by Brandon Jones (9) carried Oakmere through the remainder of the 20 overs, as the side finished on 121/9.

Matt Holland (1/16) and Mat Giles got Oakmere off to a great start with the ball, each taking a wicket in their opening overs to reduce Wirral to 7/2. A fightback ensued, but Henri Shovelton’s introduction to the attack repeated the trick, taking a wicket in his first over to get the breakthrough. His excellent spell of 1/12 from 4 overs slowed the scoring rate and gave Oakmere the upper hand. Matt Worsdale (1/15) took the fourth wicket to score with the score on 84 before Giles returned to sew up the game as he finished with 2/9 from his four overs. Wirral fell 11 runs short of their target in a good, competitive game.

Didsbury 1st XI (104/8) vs Oakmere Women’s 1st XI (88/6) – Didsbury won by 16 runs

The Women’s 1st XI rounded off their T20 league campaign away at league leaders Didsbury on Thursday evening. The hosts won the toss and elected to bat first, but it was Oakmere who made a great start with the ball with Sarah Worsdale (2/10) and Emily Renshaw (1/22) both striking early to reduce Didsbury to 8/3 in the fifth over. Maddi Lawson (1/15) made it 23/4 with the first ball of the eighth over and an Amy Jones run out made it 31/5 at the start of the next. Kate Renshaw struck twice in two balls in the twelfth over to take the score to 47/7 and followed it up in her next over (3/8), finding an edge to Amy Jones behind the stumps to see Didsbury fall to 61/8. A ninth wicket partnership worth 43 runs carried Didsbury through the remainder of the innings as the hosts finished on 104/8.

Oakmere’s innings nearly got off to the worst possible start as Phoebe Cottam appeared to have been bowled by the first delivery, but she was reprieved when the bail was not dislodged! However, run scoring did not prove to be easy as Oakmere found themselves 35/3 in the eleventh over. Sarah Worsdale hit 23 from 20 deliveries to give the innings a boost, but Didsbury’s bowling proved too tight despite the best efforts of Emily Renshaw (16) and Amy Jones (22*) as Oakmere closed on 88/6.