On the final day of the 2025 season, the Men’s 1st XI were on the road. They travelled to Heaton Mersey with promotion a possibility for both sides. Matt Holland won the toss and decided to bat first. The start was steady with some boundaries coming early. The opening pair moved to 29/0 off 8 overs when the rain came and the first delay of the day occurred. After a short but heavy downpour the two batters were back out with the match reduced to 48 overs per side. In the first over back Matt Worsdale (15) was the first to fall, ending the 34 run opening partnership. Josh Westwood joined James Norton and the scoring rate slowed following the wicket. After the first powerplay the pair began to pick up the scoring rate. Norton struck a few lusty blows as the partnership grew but after 15 runs had already been scored in the 18th over, he was caught for a well made 27. At 76/2 off 18 overs the platform was set for the side to continue driving the score upwards. Westwood continued his consistent form from the season as he continued to strike boundaries. A third wicket partnership with Nick Verma grew until Westwood was dismissed just before the halfway point for 43 from as many deliveries. At 25 overs the score was 107/3 and following the drinks break runs stopped flowing as freely. Nick Verma (11) was dismissed in the 18th and another wicket fell in the proceeding over, stunting progression slightly. As two more wickets fell in the 33rd and 34th overs the score moved to 122/7. For a third time in the innings, two wickets fell in consecutive overs to make the score 125/9 from 37 overs. With a very profitable 12 over spell for the home side, the target looked to be somewhat controlled. Benedict Verma and Matt Howard battled through the next 6 overs and managed to add a very useful 24 more runs before Verma was the final wicket. The final score of 149 all out from 42.3 overs set a slightly disappointing target that would require a brilliant bowling effort to defend.

The Heaton Mersey reply started slowly with the score rolling to 8/0 off 5 overs without a run being scored off the bat. The pressure applied finally brought a wicket with Howard (1/14) claiming the first as the score became 17/1 off 8 overs. The tight bowling and high energy in the field kept the batters at bay and the 11th over ended with the score on 23/1.
At this point Matt Holland entered the attack and took a wicket with his first ball. He continued to pivk up wickets, taking one in his next over and 3 more wickets in his third over. Holland (5/14) claimed his five-for in just 17 balls as he ripped the heart out of the Heaton Mersey batting order. At 39/6 off 16 overs, the target was looking a tricky proposition. After 20 overs, Worsdale came to the end of a miserly, wicketless spell that conceded only 14 runs from his ten overs. When Benedict Verma and Westwood came into the attack, a partnership had just begun to grow, threatening a lower order resurgence. In his first over, Westwood (1/3) put an end to the burgeoning partnership. At the end of his over, the rain returned and another break was taken with the score at 55/7 from 22 overs. The rain delay was only short and four further overs were lost, meaning the home side required 105 more from 22 overs. Any hope of a comeback was thwarted as soon as the game continued with Verma trapping the batter in front with the first ball of his next over. The following ball, he had a batter caught by Holland at mid off and with the third ball of the over, the number 11 batter was given LBW. A hat-trick for Verma (3/8) put a magical end to the season with great celebrations from the side who knew they had done all they could in their bid for promotion as they had bowled out Heaton Mersey for 55 in 22.3 overs.

A brilliant effort with the ball capped a fine season for the Men’s 1st XI that saw 13 wins across the 22 match league season. As the side waited on scores elsewhere, the tension did not end with the last ball of their game. Eventually, after their nervous wait, the results came in and with a Mobberley victory over Barrow, it was confirmed that the Men’s 1st XI had secured a second placed finish and promotion into Division 2 of the Cheshire County Cricket League, marking their first appearance in the third tier of the structure since 2009. The side shall be looking forward to the new challenges which Division 2 will bring after a well earned winter’s rest and will look to continue the success of the 2025 season.

Oakmere Men’s 2nd XI (162 all out) vs Alderley Edge 2nd XI (178/9) – Alderley Edge won by 16 runs

The Men’s 2nd XI hosted champions Alderley Edge in their final game of the 2025 season with the visitors winning the toss and electing to bowl first. After starting on time, only two deliveries were managed before a rain delay, but the second of those deliveries saw Tom Court (1/18) bowling the visitors’ opener. After returning to the field, it was the turn of brother Aaron Court to get amongst the wickets, twice finding the hands of Mathew Giles in quick succession to reduce the visitors to 12/3 in the early stages. Tight spells from Brandon Jones and Mathew Giles followed the miserly opening effort from the Court brothers, which saw the score at 47/3 in the 22nd over before some quick thinking from Dan Faulkner behind the stumps earned a stumping off the bowling of Giles. The scoring rate increased somewhat in the fifth wicket partnership, nearing three figures before Faulkner got his second stumping, this time off the bowling of Sean McDonnell (1/21). Aaron Court (4/34) returned to the attack to take two further wickets to reduce the visitors to 127/7 before some lower order resistance pushed the score past the 150 mark. Giles (2/46) picked up his second and Brandon Jones (1/26) got a deserved wicket as an edge was taken by Faulkner. The final wicket partnership played out the remaining overs to see the champions post 178/9.

Dan Faulkner and Aaron Court started nicely with the bat for Oakmere, playing out testing opening spells whilst keeping the scoreboard ticking. It was the change to spin that was Oakmere’s undoing as Faulkner was first to go for a well made 21. Three further wickets fell to the visitors’ spin duo as 41/0 became 77/4. Giles joined Court and the pair pushed the score into three figures before Court (51) was bowled shortly after reaching his half century. Another cluster of wickets fell as Oakmere’s 100/4 became 109/7, which brought together the captain-vice captain pair of Mike Dodd and Paul Guilford. With Guilford batting with a runner after picking up an injury in the field, it could have been chaos, but the pair focussed nicely on the task in hand and began to find the boundary. The pair took the score to 160 before Dodd was bowled for 28 with only 19 runs required for victory. The very next ball 160/8 became 160/9 and eventually the confusion of a runner told as a run out ended the game with Oakmere on 162.

A valiant effort against the league champions from the Men’s 2nd XI which has seen them finish in a respectable 9th position following promotion last year. The season has seen a much younger side take to the field for the Men’s 2nd XI and the experience gained by those younger players will no doubt stand them in good stead for the 2026 season and beyond.

Aston 2nd XI (267/5) vs Oakmere Men’s 3rd XI (160 all out) – Aston won by 107 runs

The Men’s 3rd XI finished their season on the road at Aston, where the hosts won the toss and elected to bat first. Aston got off to a great start with the bat, nearing three figures when Pete Giles (1/29) made the breakthrough with the first ball of the 19th over. Will Hardie (1/38) followed this up six balls later to make it 97/2. Another partnership formed for Aston, as they upped the scoring rate and passed the 150 mark. Jimmy Sidebottom (1/41) took the third wicket to fall with Will Hardie taking a good catch before Hardie was again the catcher to give Henri Shovelton (1/66) a wicket. Aston continued to attack and raced past the 250 mark. Corey Lewis’ (1/48) caught and bowled in the final over provided some cheer, but Aston’s total of 267/5 would be a tough target to chase.

An already difficult task got made even tougher as Oakmere slipped to 20/3 early on in the chase. Sam Domville (16) rallied well but as Oakmere reached 77/5 in the 21st over things were not looking promising. Jimmy Sidebottom added a quickfire 23 from 21 deliveries and Jack Pickering was undeterred at the other end whilst wickets fell around him. He passed fifty for the first time on a Saturday and reached a personal best score of 57 before being caught whilst trying to increase the scoring rate. Cameron Giles struck five boundaries and a maximum as he added 30 in 29 deliveries, but Oakmere were eventually dismissed for 160.

As with the Men’s 2nd XI, the Men’s 3rd XI has seen an even younger side representing the club for our first season with three Men’s sides on a Saturday. Everyone that has played has done so with pride and a smile on their face, whilst also picking up valuable experience for the future.