The Men’s 1st XI travelled away to Runcorn, winning the toss and choosing to bat first. Starting steadily, the first wicket fell at the end of the third over. At 11/1 Josh Westwood came to the crease and immediately got underway with a boundary off his first ball. In partnership with Matt Worsdale, the score continued to grow quickly to 52/1 after 10 overs. With some tight bowling, pressure was applied and the scoring rate slowed, but wickets were kept in hand and the score moved to 95/1 at drinks. Shortly after drinks, Westwood reached his 50 with a big six down the ground, clearing the sightscreen. After a long fought innings, Worsdale (56) fell to a brilliant return catch from the bowler, ending a partnership worth 157 runs. Zach Howdle came to the crease with the score at 168/2 off 36.3 overs. Howdle and Westwood then began their destructive partnership. Westwood brought up an excellent century with a towering maximum over long on before his innings came to a close for 114 with 5 overs remaining. Continuing his big hitting, Howdle raced to 50 off 39 balls and finished the innings with an unbeaten 82 with 5 sixes , supported by some fantastic running from Matt Holland. Oakmere’s innings closed on an imposing 303/4.

The reply started well for Oakmere with Tom Court (1/16) taking his first 1st XI wicket in the first over. Runcorn responded well with a fifty run partnership, but were kept behind the required run rate throughout. The partnership was broken by a run out from Worsdale. The introduction of Ethan Mackin (2/30) and Westwood (5/34) to the attack saw wickets fall at regular intervals as Runcorn fell to 146/9. The returning Benedict Venerma (1/27) finished proceedings with the Runcorn score on 157. A big 146 run win for the Men’s 1st XI to kick start their season.

Oakmere Men’s 2nd XI (91 all out) vs Upton 3rd XI (95/3) – Upton won by 7 wickets

The Men’s 2nd XI hosted Upton 3rd XI in their first home fixture of the season which was a repeat of the final fixture of last season. After losing the toss, Oakmere were asked to bat first and lost a wicket to the first ball of the innings. This was a theme for things to come as only Dan Faulkner (10), Mike Dodd (18) and Matt Howard (27*) reached double figures as Oakmere laboured to 91 all out on a tricky deck.

Mathew Giles (1/15) took an early wicket in Upton’s response but Upton steadily made their way towards the target. With the score on 45, Brandon Jones was introduced to the attack and took a wicket with his first ball. He took another to make it 64/3, finishing his spell with 2/17, but this was the last wicket to fall as Upton cruised home with more than 20 overs to spare.

Holmes Chapel 2nd XI (104/5) vs Oakmere Men’s 3rd XI (103 all out) – Holmes Chapel won by 5 wickets

The Men’s 3rd XI travelled to Holmes Chapel on Saturday, losing the toss and being asked to bat first. Father and son duo Peter and Cameron Giles opened up for Oakmere, seeing of the first 7 overs and building a strong platform before Cameron was caught with the score on 27. Batters came and went with James Lewis’ 37 being the highest score of the innings. Youngsters Henri Shovelton and Emily Faulkner pushed the total past the 100 mark before Henri was the final wicket to fall to a sensational diving catch at cover with the score on 103.
Undeterred, Oakmere took to the field with real purpose, determined to defend the total.

The opening spells from Corey Lewis and Percy Bratherton were outstanding and kept Holmes Chapel behind the required run rate for the first ten overs. The pair were replaced by Dan Gilbert and Emily Faulkner who ripped through the hosts’ middle order with 3/16 and 2/23 respectively, helped out by some excellent keeping from James Lewis. Henri Shovelton and Pete Giles continued the pressure, swinging the ball prodigiously and making life difficult for the batters. As Holmes Chapel reached 90, openers Corey and Percy were brought back on, but were unable to make the breakthrough as Holmes Chapel reached their total in the 30th over.

Didsbury 1st XI (144 all out) vs Oakmere Women’s 1st XI (147/9) – Oakmere won by 3 runs

The Women’s 1st XI kicked off their 2025 season with a trip to Woodford to take on Didsbury. After losing the toss and being asked to bat first, openers Kerry Hartnett (29) and Thisumi Jayawarna (28) made a great start, reaching 52 before the loss of the first wicket. Amy Jones (18), Nat Lyons (22), Maddi Lawson (15) and Abbi Lamidey (10) all made valuable contributions as Oakmere reached 147/9 from their 40 overs with crucial runs at the end from Layla Dwyer (6) and Emily Faulkner (1*).

Sarah Worsdale (2/24) and Nat Lyons started excellently with the ball, taking two wickets a piece as Didsbury were reduced to 10/4. Didsbury began to fight back, but Layla Dwyers’s 2/25 put a stop to things. At 124/6 the game was really in the balance, but a run out of the set batter was crucial. Nat Lyons returned to take a further wicket and finish with 3/21, before Thisumi Jayawarna was given the final over on debut with Didsbury requiring just 8 runs for victory. Thisumi (1/17) held her nerve brilliantly claiming a wicket with her third ball before a Nat Lyons run out sealed Oakmere’s victory by three runs with just two balls left in the contest.