With all the excitement and drama of the national competition behind us, all eyes turned to the SMJCL Cup. It'd been a successful group stage with three wins, and an abandoned game (with us posting 194/3 before the rain came!) meaning we were undefeated and clear at the top. Accumulating massive scores of 194/3, 174/3, and 228/2, our batters were flying high with confidence. Going in as defending champions, having won it two years in a row, it was off to South West Manchester CC to take on Whalley Range, Timperley, and Lindow for SMJCL U13 Finals Day 2024…

Our fantastic hosts had provided breakfast and hot drinks, and it was needed, as the day started as quite a chilly one. With a heavy presence of dew on the floor and a pitch we were quite unsure about, we made the sensible decision to bowl first in our morning semi-final. Our opponents in Whalley Range were young, but full of talent with a couple of their county players in the age group below playing up. As great as it is to provide those opportunities for younger players, it almost certainly robs someone from playing in their own age group cup final, which I think is a massive shame. We had a strong side, but missing valuable players such as Albert and Nate, who had provided a lot of match winning contributions. It would be two of our finest up front with the ball in hand in captain Milan and Harry. Both would start with a maiden to give us an outstanding start and then Archie brought about the first wicket, getting one to skid through onto the stumps. Harry, not to be outdone by his twin, also picked up a wicket in his third over, equally castling the stumps. Patrick would pick up two wickets, bowling the batter off his first ball, and later finding the edge to be taken happily by Ibby behind the stumps. At 31-4, Whalley Range were wheeling after 9 overs. With our arsenal of spinners still to come, it looked like we’d restrict them to a low total. However, to Whalley Range’s credit they went on the counterattack. Putting our spinners under pressure they rattled up to 74 quite quickly, before Milan brought himself back on to bring things back under control, a good catch by Abu to gain him a wicket. The good thing about the SMJCL bowling restrictions is that you need a lot of depth in your bowling attack, and that's exactly what we have. Lads who had not bowled much in the National Cup were suddenly needed, and more than delivered. Patricks 3-1-8-2 a great example, and Isaac going for just four in his solitary over. Wickets and runs both came at a steady rate as Milan would pick up his second (3-1-7-2) and Ibby would run-out a player taking a run to the keeper (an early indicator of things to come…) brought WR’s innings to a close at 106/7.

Always tough to chase over one hundred in U13 cricket, but we’d already chased bigger totals than that this season and the batters' confidence was sky high after some blistering performances in the last couple of weeks. Krishav and Ibby opened up as per usual. Although Krishav settled early nerves with a flourishing drive through the covers, Ibby departed off a good catch at midwicket to bring them back. Abu, who was carrying an injury to his hand, started tentatively but would heroically bat through it to retire off 34 balls as his fine form continued. Krishav would fall just one short of his retirement, but his innings contained an exquisite array of shots, and included the biggest six of the day. A calm and collected performance from the captain (Milan, 20* off 20, supported by quickfire runs by Harry and Archie, saw us home with two and a bit overs to spare. A comfortable victory, and a good performance to give us a lot of confidence going into the final. Everyone had contributed something, with bat, and ball, and in the field, with Julian and Dylan patrolling ably on the boundary for most of our first innings. Just what you need from a semi-final. It’d be a low scoring affair in the second semi, as Timperley would lose to Lindow. The former looked a strong outfit, and so would be disappointed by their first innings total of just 72/8. Lindow chased it down slowly in the 18th over. It would be Lindow in the Final then, who we had an absolutely agonising final ball win over in the National Knockout… hopefully this time around it would be far more straightforward…

Milan would win the toss and we’d be batting first, which suited both teams’ modus operandi, but the scoreboard pressure of chasing in a final is extremely hard to overcome. The pitch had started to deteriorate into the fifth innings of the day on it, and the day had quickly turned from a cool morning to a very warm, and muggy afternoon. It certainly felt it was going to be a grinding game for both teams, who had obviously already played once today already… and a grind it was. Krishav and Ibby fought hard against some tidy bowling, with us only scoring 8 runs off the first three overs. Finally the pressure was released by a stunning drive by Krishav but it was quickly piled back on as he was dismissed, the ball holding up in the wind to be taken by a good catch by the fielder tracking back. It’d be Abu and Ibby to carry on, the latter struggling to find the gaps and space. Coming out of his bunker towards the end of his innings he went over the top for some excellent boundaries straight, but would be caught going for another. Abu, still carrying his injury to his hand, showed his class. With boundary balls coming far and few between, he had to run between the wickets well. Retiring again, 31* off 33 to bring his Finals Day total contribution with the bat to a phenomenal 61* off 67 reaffirming his quality and importance to the team. His record in the cup games this year is staggering, with 327 runs at an average of 65.40 and a strike rate of 91. Another calming innings from Milan (22* from 24) kept us ticking upwards as we took ourselves past 100 to post 102/4 from 20. It wasn’t a lot, and certainly below a score we’d consider comfortable but felt like it would be enough considering the quality of our bowling and the dying nature of the pitch.

We needed a controlled and miserly start and our typical openers provided it. Harry and Milan went for just 14 from their opening salvo of four overs. It would be our return to spin that again would create issues for us, as pace off the ball seemed to be, quite rarely for us, a bad option. One of their openers accelerated quickly to retire, 30* off 28. He was momentarily caught on the boundary by Raco, who in taking the catch staggered back across the rope, right in front of the Lindow players and supporters. A clamorous and raucous bellowing to the umpires from their side was quite ugly considering we are talking about 12 and 13 year old boys playing cricket, but rightfully the decision was made for it to be not out. Unlike the semi-final our return to pace didn’t quite have the desired effect as runs kept flowing for Lindow. At 71-0 after just 11 overs, things were looking decidedly bleak for our intrepid cricketers. We needed some magic to get us back in the game. The obvious thing to turn to was the wizardly leg spin of Raco. With a flick of the wrist, he enchanted the batter into a heaving slog, the ball spiralling through the air, towards the waiting hands of Krishav. A roar of celebration erupted from the players and supporters. Welcome back, Didsbury. Through the gate an over later, Krishav darted one through from round the wicket. Their resilient opener was gone. An action repeated just two overs later, as their number five fell to the same trap. All that experience of being one of our only spinners in the age group last year came to the fore as he dragged his team back from the brink. Only 14 runs came for the loss of 3 wickets in their five over partnership as Raco and Krishav spun a web around Lindow. A tidy over from the returning AB saw us go into the final three. Krishav. Archie. Milan. The order was clear from the ends the lads had all bowled from, but the danger was that Lindow could finish it before the mastery of Milan could be used against them. In what was a horrifying repeat of our National Final game against them, Lindow were taking us to the very wire. They needed just 15. They were still only 3 down (4 if you include the retirement). Lindow were the clear favourites. Krishav to bowl the 18th. 1 Run. 1 Run. Dot. Dot. 1 Run. BOWLED! Another through the gate. A fantastic over. 12 to win. Archie to bowl the 19th. Dot. 1 Run. Run out! An unbelievable throw from Julian to take the stumps down with the batter short of his crease. 1 Run. 2 Runs. 1 Run. Another great over. 96/6 (with the retirement). 7 to win for Lindow. A tied game would result in a Didsbury win due to the number of wickets lost by both teams. Once again, it would be Milan in the final over. With a loud and raucous Lindow bench behind him giving him grief over his shoulder, not distracted but empowered, Milan charged in. With the ball under his complete control, it whizzed past the Lindow batters bat. Through to Ibby, and a scrambled single was attempted. Ibby, calm and collected, throws the ball long to Milan. Who makes no mistake with the receive, and demolishes the stumps. Run out. Their set batter was gone. Two new batters at the crease. 7 from 5. Milan in again. Almost a complete repeat, ball passes bat, into Ibby’s gloves, they try to scramble one, but this time Ibby targets the closer set of stumps. GONE! Another run out. Out without facing. 7 from 4. Didsbury stayed calm. Our experience of playing in these important cup games, and winning from these close situations, was self-evident. Our sweepers stayed out. A boundary would kill us, we had to back Milan to keep it tidy. Was it ever in doubt? In again, a wild swing, past the bat once more, Ibby throws long, Milan collects.. OUT. Three run outs in three balls. Panic and chaos as Lindow batters were scrambling to get their pads on. Didsbury instead looked calm and ready for the next ball. The pendulum had clearly swung their way. 7 from 3. Not out of the woods yet. Bat on ball, and anything could happen. The newest Lindow batter, the fifth to be on the pitch in this over alone, was at the non-striker's end. The striker had been at the other end of all the run-outs, and one can only imagine what was going through the young lad's mind. He just needed to get bat on ball. He did just that, but couldn’t get it wide of Krishav at point. No Run. 7 from 2. Improbable but not impossible. Milan in once more, a good length, but scythed into the air, spiralling over the covers into the deep. Landing and plugging, it was quickly swept up and thrown in. Lindow ran well, and scampered two. This was it then, the final ball. All of this game. All of this finals day. All of this season. Down to the last ball (No surprise there then… ). Five to win, four meant a Didsbury win. Milan in for the final time. The deathly silence as all eyes were fixed upon the drama unfolding in front of them. The scratch of spikes on the pitch. The sound of the ball hitting the surface. The swish of the bat. But silence again. He’s missed it. The ball fizzes past the batter. And the stumps. Straight into Ibby’s hands. The non-striker is already half way down, but his teammate is frozen after his wild swing of the bat. He only makes it a couple of steps down when Ibby, as cool and as calm as you like, throws the stumps down from his wicketkeeping mark. For the fourth time in the over. Run out.

The joy. The hugs. The kneeslides. Brilliant.

What a fantastic win. That we thoroughly clutched from the jaws of defeat. Perhaps not favourites until the 117th ball really, with Lindow needing 7 from 3. However, it was an indomitable team spirit that kept us in the game. From the 11th over, when we finally took our first wicket, at 70-0, it felt that the lads still believed that they were in with a shot. We didn’t bowl poorly, under the incredible amount of pressure both the game situation and Lindow were putting the lads under, we only gave away 4 extras. We have certainly fielded better, we missed out on about 3 or 4 runouts early on, and had a couple of dropped catches. It was the experience though, of being in that situation before, and coming out as winners, two or three times this year alone, that was the difference in those final three overs. So reminiscent of the North Final vs Harrogate, where we defended just five in the final over. Where it was Milan and Ibby who again stayed cool and got three run-outs to win us the game. One can’t be surprised that they were able to repeat those heroics at this point! A special thank you to Milan in particular, who has been an outstanding captain this year across the whole season. A 16-1 win ratio is quite ridiculous, and has captained with great knowledge throughout, but also with a lot of kindness and empathy for both teammates and opposition as he embodies what it should mean to be a player at Didsbury. A great day out, as South West were fantastic hosts, and the weather was on our side. Well supported by the Didsbury faithful, and three good, but very different, games of cricket played.t’s a third consecutive win for the U13s in the SMJCL cup, which is a fantastic achievement. It reaffirms that our ethos and approach is working, along with the high number of player participation in games and training, and retention into next year will be as high as always I'm sure. Thank you to the players, parents, and coaches. All of you make days like this happen. The 2024 season nears its finale. The competitive side of the season is over with just over 50 games being played across the age group. There’s still a couple weeks of some fun friendlies and training sessions to close us out, with Junior Awards Evening (details to follow!) to celebrate the season afterwards. Well done U13s, you continue to make me immeasurably proud.