Heaton Mersey Cricket Club

3rds finish on high in final game victory

Written by James Emmerson
Sunday, 13 September 2009
Terry Daniels at the crease Mersey 3rd XI cemented 2nd place in Division 1 with a two wicket win at home to Bramhall as the 2009 season came to an end on Sunday. play cricket link James photos Scores: Bramhall 142 (42.4 overs, 149 mins) Mersey 143-8 (39.1 overs, 147 mins) Points: Mersey 25, Bramhall 10 Another season drew to a sunny and cheerful close as a good natured and enjoyable game of cricket saw the 3rds get across the line and take 25 points from their last outing in 2009. 24 hours previously, the respective 1st XIs of these two clubs had played out a tense and unpredictable game on the same pitch, and although there wasn’t anything like as much riding on this encounter, this game was nonetheless close enough to keep both sides interested until the very end. As it was, Mersey struck the decisive blows through the in-form Ali Raja, and won with 7.5 overs to spare. Having hit 20 off 13 balls to turn an edgy 119-7 into 141-7, Ali bizarrely turned down at least one easy run when Hassnain was on strike, and then seemed rather reluctant to run the two byes that Faisal pushed for that sealed the game. But those runs were taken and it was a very pleasant and sunny end to a memorable campaign for the 3rd XI. The match started with a guard of honour for veteran Bramhall servant Terry Daniels, whose long association with the Church Lane club ended today. Terry is retiring this year and relocating down south, and he takes with him the best wishes of all at Mersey. He appreciated the ‘guard’ gesture by both teams, and it was great to see the Mersey players sportingly refuse a chance to run him out when Terry slipped and fell mid-pitch as he attempted a quick single. The fact that he was batting at all was something of a surprise, because Bramhall got themselves into an excellent position and seemed all set to post a really imposing total. Youngsters Drury and Vaish had put on 62 in just 39 minutes for the 3rd wicket with some lovely strokes, Vaish in particular dishing out some severe treatment on Amar. He hit the Mersey ace for six boundaries in 11 balls – one was an involuntary edge but the others were beautifully clean straight hits. The pair also ran really well together, hairing sharp singles and turning ones into twos, and at 84-2 in the 19th over, Bramhall were looking good. Sadly for them, but thankfully for Mersey, a ghastly collapse set in when Drury was caught down the leg side. 84-2 became 85-5, Vaish also giving his wicket away somewhat, rather tamely bowled as he charged Hassnain, and Bramhall spluttered and stuttered as they added only 58 more in 23 overs. The boundaries which had flowed so freely – 10 in the first 14 overs – also evaporated in the September sun, only three more being managed in the following 27.4 overs before the innings ended on 142. Mersey – as they have done so well and so often this season - put the pressure on very effectively. Wickets were shared between wily spinners Ayaz and Hassnain, the pace of Amar & Ross, and the bustling Faisal, who bowled a tidy five overs despite the good natured banter from his fielding colleagues, who teased him after just about every ball for not hitting the stumps! The target was always in range but Mersey were given plenty to think about by tearaway Bramhall quickie Dave Shoesmith. The double of Nathan Bracken, Shoesmith started with a wild full toss which passed several feet over the head of a startled Sajjad – it was a good job the wicketkeeper was so far back to stop it, or we might just have had six no-balls, which I have never seen before! But Shoesmith quickly found his range and bowled some very quick deliveries. Joe Laverty was completely beaten for pace, and all the batsmen were sorting out helmets to wear as he generated some real speed. You don’t see many out-and-out quicks in 3rd XI cricket and it was really good stuff to watch - at least, it was while sipping a lager in the scorer’s room! But as it was Shoesmith was unable to break through, and as Ayaz and Abbas started to patiently pick him off, that particular threat subsided. There was still plenty of work to do, though, and Ayaz’s classy 44 was a most valuable –and watchable - contribution. With young Tom Wood zipping several balls through, it needed Abbas and Amar to organise some calm reconnaissance after Ayaz’s dismissal, one of four victims of Vaish’s intelligent spin, which teased and tempted several Mersey players to hole out. Eventually Ali Raja picked the right ball to wallop for a soaring straight six, virtually sealing the match, and the game ended shortly after 6pm as I have described above. So Mersey ended the season on a high, just 34 points behind champions Didsbury. The players immediately busied themselves with the end-of-season jobs of moving sightscreens and covers but will be able to reflect later at length on an excellent 2009. This was just the right way to end the season and congratulations to all. A full review of the 3rd XI season will appear on the site in due course. Set as favorite Bookmark Hits: 1772 Comments (0) Write comment Name Comment smaller \| bigger