The Men’s 1st XI were at Overdale Lane on Saturday, hosting Hawk Green. Captain Craig Phelan continued his winning streak at the toss, winning 5 out of 5 in 2025 and electing to bowl on this occasion. Matt Holland and Benedict Verma provided an economical start with the ball which saw the visitors 30/0 at the end of the first ten overs. The long opening partnership was eventually broken through the introduction of Ethan Mackin to the attack, making the score 58/1 after 19 overs. Mackin followed this up with two further wickets in a 10 over spell which saw him finish with figures of 3/26. At 85/3 off 29 overs, Josh Westwood and Nathan Gee were brought into the attack and kept the wickets coming with Westwood finishing with 4/23 at the end of the 40th over with the Hawk Green score on 141/8. A resilient tail added 41 runs for the final two wickets with Gee (3/21) claiming both as Hawk Green were bowled out for 176.

Oakmere lost a wicket in the first over of the chase, but this brough Westwood to the crease who was looking to continue his recent good form. He begun to form a partnership with Matt Worsdale but this was broken with the final ball of the 10th over as Worsdale was out for 16, with the score at 38/2. Westwood continued a magical innings, with multiple supporting contributions throughout the order. He added 33 with Zach Howdle (13), 35 with Craig Phelan (13) and 17 with Dave Purcell (10). Westwood passed his fifty and put on another 49 runs with Matt Holland (19*) to push Oakmere to the brink of victory. Westwood’s innings eventually came to an end for an excellent 86 with just four runs required. Two further wickets fell in the 43rd over to provide some nerves but with Holland holding steady at one end, Lewis Newall hit a towering 6 to win the game from the other. A third league win builds on the momentum from league and cup wins over Over Peover and Runcorn respectively in the last week and will be looking to be furthered in the next week as the Men’s 1st XI host Christleton in the cup on Thursday evening before a return to league action at neighbours Winnington Park on Saturday.

Stockport 2nd XI (216 all out) vs Oakmere Men’s 2nd XI (193 all out) – Stockport won by 23 runs

The Men’s 2nd XI made the long journey to Stockport, winning the toss and opting to start with the ball.

Mathew Giles and Matt Howard bowled tight opening spells, with Howard (1/17) getting the breakthrough with a snorter that beat the opening batter’s defences. The bowling accuracy was backed up in the field, meaning runs were hard to come by, and the pressure told with two run outs in quick succession from Brandon Jones and Jack Mackin to make the score 49/3. Percy Bratherton followed on from his excellent debut last week, picking up anther wicket early in his spell and Jack Pickering (1/21) followed this up with his maiden second XI wicket on the stroke of drinks to make it 73/5. A fightback ensued from the hosts with a fifty partnership in quick time which was broken by a caught and bowled from the returning Giles (1/44). Debutant Jimmy Sidebottom was introduced to the attack, bowling an excellent off spinner’s line with good control to frustrate the batters, leading to him picking up his first wicket and make it 138/7. He made it two soon after with Brandon Jones taking a composed catch in the deep. Late order runs inflated the Stockport score but a third run out, courtesy of Mike Dodd, and a further wicket for the returning Percy (2/32) wrapped up the Stockport innings on 216.

Despite an early wicket for the hosts in the chase, youngsters Jack Mackin and Mathew Giles fought back well before Giles was bowled for 17 in the 12th over with the score on 34. Mackin followed soon after, also making 17, and two further wickets put Oakmere under pressure at 97/5. Although wickets were falling, runs were also flowing, but the dismissals of Paul Guilford (29) and Matt Howard (17) put Oakmere in deep trouble at 138/7, just as Stockport had been in their innings. What followed was an excellent display of clever batting from two 15 year olds in Jimmy Sidebottom and Brandon Jones. They waited patiently for any opportunities, and took advantage of tiring bodies in the field by running superbly between the wickets, putting the fielders under pressure at every opportunity. The pair put on 54 together in just 10 overs to make it 27 required off the last 4 overs. 2 singles started the 47th over but Jimmy then unfortunately played on, having made an excellent 41, leaving the field to a standing ovation from both sets of supporters. Unfortunately the final two wickets came in quick succession, leaving Brandon stranded on 29 at the non-striker’s end.

An excellent spirited fightback from a young side, just falling short, but showing plenty of promise for the future.

Oakmere Men’s 3rd XI (120/5) vs Macclesfield 5th XI (119 all out) – Oakmere won by 5 wickets

The Men’s 3rd XI hosted Macclesfield on Saturday with the visitors winning the toss and electing to bat first.

Corey Lewis and Emily Faulkner opened the bowling for Oakmere, bowling accurately to keep runs at a premium initially with the pressure telling to give Emily two wickets in quick succession and put Macclesfield on the back foot. Henri Shovelton entered the attack and took the third wicket, getting an edge behind to keeper James Lewis to remove the dangerous looking opening batter. Dan Gilbert took the fourth Macclesfield wicket soon after to make it 54/4. After a short period of resistance, wickets began to fall regularly with Corey (1/18), George Warburton (1/20) and Will Hardie (1/16) taking a wicket apiece. Ian Bett bowled a 3 over spell for just 3 runs to ramp the pressure up further before Emily (3/17), Henri (2/24) and Dan (2/14) all returned to wrap up the innings with the score on 119.

Oakmere’s young opening pair of Will Hardie and George Warburton set about making short work of the target, putting on an excellent 75 for the first wicker before Will was bowled for 19. George was next to fall for a superb 63, having posted his maiden senior half century. Three further quick wickets fell, leaving Corey (15*) and Hamish Warburton (2*) unbeaten at the crease having achieved their target in just 20.1 overs to give the Men’s 3rd XI their first victory of the season.