What a season to be proud of. Despite competing against a league of 3rd XIs, our second Sunday team have pipped all but one in the standing to come second; with only Ashley having finished ahead of us, who have dominated the league with a collection of brutish bullying, spearheaded by their top two batters who have amassed over 1,100 runs this season between them. The lack of juniors in their side has been commented on by all. We’ve earnt the most bonus points across all of the Sunday pyramid with a whopping 52 points (our mighty 3rd XI are only on 20 in comparison) as we’ve performed well with both bat and ball, in particular in the ability to take wickets consistently. This is an outstanding achievement particularly when you consider that most of our bowling attack is aged between 14 and 16! 36 players have made an appearance this season, the highest number amongst teams in Division One that we play against, but even so it's a lower number than previous years as we’ve been lucky enough to have a more stable squad. Of the 12 most capped players, eight are under the age of 18, with five being just 14. Obviously pushing and developing our juniors is something near and dear to me but these young cricketers have earnt and held onto their spots through merit, as they continue to contribute greatly to winning games, and putting in superb individual performances. We’ve had multiple captains this year as well, as duties with Cheshire have dragged me away, that have all done fantastically well in leading a very young side in some tough games. Mike, leading the side the most of our stand-in captains, Ben, Rehmani, and Aaron all did a brilliant job. It’s been the T20 Cup run that has been the highlight of the year however, as we not only qualified out of our ground stage, beating Premier division side Timperley after a 59 from 47 by Mike led us to a great win, we also beat another Prem team in Grappenhall in the quarter-final. A blistering start by Kush and Madhu was followed by some pure destruction by Nikash and Zohaib saw us fly to 177/7 from our 20 overs. Grappenhall kept under wraps by some tidy bowling by our young bowling attack, but it was 4-0-21-3 by Madhu that brought us the win, and progression through to Finals Day. What an achievement for the 4s! Despite having to tackle two Premier division teams, and overly-restrictive eligibility rules, we beat the odds to earn our way through the competition.

Our batting has had more ups than downs this year, and the highlights absolutely outweigh any of our poorer performances. Madhu (483), Kush (471), and Zohaib (441) lead our top run scorers chart in League & Cup games, with all three being in the top 8 batters in the division. It was Mike, at the start of the year, that led from the front as our key senior batter, with scores such as a 77* vs eventual league winners Ashley, 42 vs AoM, and the aforementioned 59 vs Timperley in the cup, meaning that our young side could figure out how to score runs in senior cricket, something they learnt quickly and flourished towards the back end of the season. Two centurions in Zohaib and Tanmay; Zohaib’s unbelievable 132 from just 94 in our ridiculous posting of 303-5 from 40 overs vs Cheadle. An outstanding innings, not only because of the barrage of boundaries but some brilliant running and fantastic shot selection meant the 18 year old played one of the finest innings we’ve seen played at Didsbury, thankfully all to be rewatched on the livestream. His innings was ably supported by Kush’s highest score for the 4s, a brilliant 82 off 77 as he fell unfortunately short of a well deserved ton himself. The pair putting on an 152 partnership. A massive partnership, but dwarfed by the efforts of our other century maker Tanmay, and his partner Krishav as the 14 year old and 13 year old pair put on 194 together vs Romiley. A quite magical spectacle as the young duo batted superbly to bring Tanmay his maiden ton, 109* from 121 and Krishav 63* from 91 to highlight just how bright the future is at DCC. In a similar vein, Nikash has flourished in senior cricket this year, producing three fifties including his incredible innings of 62 off 32 in the T20 “Semi Final”. Five massive sixes can all be enjoyed on Brooklands’ livestream as he dispatched the Premier division side to all parts of their massive ground. His 310 runs an invaluable contribution to the season. Kush has been a breath of fresh air at the top of the order, cutting a swathe through many a bowling attack. His 82 off 77 was the highlight, but most games he has got us off to a solid, and quick start. Zohaib has found a home in the 4s where he’s been able to really show his class. Wherever he has been asked to bat, he has produced, two fifties and a ton to his name he’s been an ever reliable part of our batting line up. Last but not least, our leading run scorer of the year; Madhu. A crowd favourite, and a bowler's nightmare, he has hit some of the biggest sixes we’ve ever seen at Didsbury as he has scored 483 runs for the team, at an average of 43.91 and a blistering strike rate of 156. A remarkable record for any player. Four fifties in the year, all of which have been breathtaking but nothing comes close to the bludgeoning 81 off 32 as he went berserk against Brooklands at Finals Day. Eleven 4s and five 6s as he made quick work of Brooklands’ bowling attack, breaking a roof tile from a nearby house in the process. He hit as many balls for a boundary as he didn’t, as the bowlers had no idea where to bowl at him, and no matter where they did it seemed to end with the same result. A quite remarkable 199/5 from our 20, as Madhu and Nikash powered us beyond anything remotely chasable, and took us flying into the Final vs the 3rd XI.

Our batting has been superb, and our bowling has matched it. Our four leading wicket takers, Usman (32), Aarron (23), Xavi (19), and Ashden (18) have been the core of our attack across the season. We’ve used 23 bowlers in total across our League & Cup games which highlights the depth of our club, but does show how much change our Sunday sides go through week by week. We have 28 bowling points, which means across our 16 played league games (two rained off games) we have taken 8 or more wickets in 14 of them. I think that's quite an amazing statistic and a fantastic achievement by a bowling attack that is predominantly still U16. It’s been a fantastic season for two of our youngest in Aarron and Ash who have opened the bowling for us across the league and in the cup. Ash’s 10-2-35-4 vs league winners Ashley was a particular highlight for him, and his performance in the T20 Semi Final vs Brooklands, 4-1-18-3 destroyed any hope of them chasing down our total. Aarron’s 21 league wickets put him 4th in the Division’s leading wicket takers. Two of the bowlers ahead of him have bowled almost 50 more overs. He’s flourished this year in senior cricket, with his two five-fors being the best example of that. Ripping through Bramhall’s top order early in the season, dismissing their captain with the very first ball of the game, he thoroughly deserved his five wickets (7-1-19-5). His second, a demolition job of Ashton-on-Mersey (7.5-0-25-5) as all five wickets were bowled as he nipped it round (and under!) the opposition’s bat again and again. Our two junior senior pace bowlers have been brilliant, and they’ve been ably supported by a cohort of talented seamers. Harri, Noah, Milan, and Nikash have all taken valuable wickets and bowled tidily in the games they have played. Madhu, not to be confused as just being a swashbuckling batter, has also taken 19 wickets. The cup has been his domain with the ball, taking 3-0-9-3 vs Bollington in the group stages and 4-0-21-3 in our crucial quarter final vs Grappenhall. Despite the brilliance of our pace attack it’s often been spin that has won us games, with tired tracks on a Sunday being obliging to the masterful spin of Xavi and Usman. Xavi has produced some great spells, but his 10-3-37-6 are the 4s best figures of the year, and they were for the entire club for the majority of the year, and still remain 5th best. At only 16 and bowling the difficult art of left-arm wrist spin he’s had to take on some brutishly big batters and has won the battle more often than not. Rightfully promoted to the 3s on several occasions has meant he’s fallen behind his spin twin, as they were neck and neck at one point, but it’s Usman who has taken the crown as our leading wicket taker. With a fantastic tally of 32 wickets across the season for the 4s he's beguiled and charmed his way to the top of the division’s bowling charts. His two 5fors, including best figures of 5/11 vs Romiley were match winning, and compliment an array of performances that have brought his side multiple wins. Leading as the main senior of our bowling attack, he's taken pressure off his younger teammates by picking up steady wickets and holding up an end with miserly bowling. He’s also shown the importance of fielding off your own bowling, with 12 catches and the vast majority of them being caught and bowled. Not to take away from his fielding catches, his one handed grab against Brooklands is a great example! Speaking of fielding, it's been a fantastic season once again for the 4s on the field. Led by our extremely talented and athletic youngsters, we've taken 77 fielding wickets, with an outstanding 10 run outs. Harri leading the way in the field with 3 catches and 3 run outs. Our wicketkeeper have been as numerous as our captains, with five glovemen required. All five have been brilliant, with 17 wickets from behind the stumps. My only demand is we always field better than the opposition, and we certainly succeeded in that task again this year.

So, another season wrapped up. Another different collection of players making up the core of the 4th XI, and as always, despite the changes year to year, we continue to play some bloody good cricket. Two promotion finishes in three years, with this years second place finish complimenting our league win in 2022. Our second Sunday XI, competing against first Sunday teams, and some excellent Cheshire clubs who have their first and second teams firmly placed in their respective Premier and First Divisions, we continue to not only compete but put in individual and team performances that are far above our competition. Another crop of juniors have come through the team, and will hopefully continue their journey onwards and upwards, bringing the next bunch through next season. The highlight of the season has obviously been our run in the 3rd XI Cup, making it to the final and beating three Premier division teams on the way, including doing the double over Brooklands at their place on Finals Day. The brand of fun and fearless cricket we try to promote and play shining through all year. Hopefully it's been an enjoyable year to play in the 4s, and if we've entertained any of our superfans (Chris Ward) along the way then even better. See you all at our presentation evening where my captain's speech will be double the length of this. Bring on 2025.