2006. Tony Blair is Prime Minister. Justin Timberlake, Scissor Sisters, and Girls Aloud are on top of the UK music charts. England are pummeled by Australia in the Ashes 5-0.. and the vast majority of our U18s are still wearing diapers. It's safe to say it's been a long time since Didsbury have won the SMJCL U18s cup. We have gotten close several times but this particular cup has been the one we couldn't quite get. After this years incredible success with us winning the U11, U13, and U15 cups.. there was even more pressure on our U18s. After doing well in the league to qualify for the cup, our intrepid heroes first had to beat Bowdon in the semi-final..

With our players being off school for the summer, and with most having just finished their GCSEs or A Levels, the decision to play their semi-final at 11am was a questionable choice as most had probably not seen that side of midday for several weeks. With his bleary-eyed troops gathered, our auspicious young captain James "Bambi" Bidwell would win the toss and elect to bowl. It was far from a weak team, but we were missing several of our regulars, and so we had to rely on the depth of our squad. Rohan "Prohan" Aggarwal would open the bowling for the U18s and would get them off to the best possible start taking an early wicket and stunting any efforts to score quickly in the powerplay. Some excellent bowling by wicket-keeper-turned-bowler-extraordinaire "Super Finny Lowe" Finn Lowe, who also found a run-out amongst it all, saw Bowdon's middle order crumble. Superbly supported by Louis Rees, who's 5fer the week before brought his side victory, the U18s kept a talented Bowdon batting line up to just 138/9. With a few of our top order batters missing, it was up to those that remained to see their side home. Ben "Rugby (grrrr)" Renison batted with determination and grit knowing that if he could reach the 40 retirement it would set up his side for a straight-forward runchase. His partnership with Captain Jimmy was outstanding as they knuckled down. Ben reti red on 40(37) and James 40(20) after the latter planted several sixes onto the clubhouse. Some quickfire batting from Adam "Slats" Slater and Finn got their side home and through to the final.

The final, after the toss of a coin, was to be at Stockport Georgians, who have won the competition three times in the last five years and were, at least in their minds, favourites to win. After somehow dodging the torrential rain that battered Didsbury, Georgians had prepared a wicket on the edge of the square which meant there was a short square boundary to be paired with the incredibly short straight boundaries. With both teams in coloured kit, both umpires in coloured clothing, pink balls, and music blaring one could almost be forgiven for thinking this was a Vitality Blast T20. Only the half tucked in shirts, back-to-school haircuts, and late arrival of several players being a reminder that this was indeed an U18 game. The day was set. Jimmy won the toss. Didsbury would bat.

One of the key figures missing from the Bowdon game was 1st XI superstar Dan "Froggy" Ward who's heroics for the 1s on Saturday saw them take top spot in the league with them only one win away from being crowned champions. Dan would open the batting against a line-up that had ripped through our top order in the league game a few weeks earlier. First ball; Dan hits one firmly but in the air towards mid on; who only gets half a hand to it as he reaches upwards. Four runs. A cheer his teammates and a sigh of relief from the Didsbury faithful that had gathered to watch. From then, Dan decided that he had absolutely zero respect for the Georgians bowling attack, and dispatched them for boundary after boundary. Several absolutely outstanding cricket shots, including some staggering straight sixes meant Dan was racing away. His innings reading 4.141.112.46.61446 to retire on 45 off just 18 balls. Unbelievable. However, at the other end things had not been going so well. Ben was dismissed off just his first ball, and captain Jimmy was struggling to find the middle of the bat. With Dan retired, Adam continued where he left off smashing 17 off just 8 balls when a mix up with James caused him to be run out. Contributions from Didsbury's middle and lower order, in particular an important 22 from Raheem Tariq saw us post 151 off our 20 overs. Whilst a good score, and a high total to chase in a cup final, the small boundaries on three sides meant that it would be difficult to defend and Didsbury had to bowl and field extremely well in order to not let Georgians get away from them early. Opening the bowling would be the Spin Twins of Rohan and Dan who have both provided unparalleled control in their overs all year. Today was no different as they completely outwitted their top order with their combined overs at the start of the innings being 5-0-17-3 which absolutely killed any momentum that Georgians would have hoped for coming out of the powerplay. Finn, James, and Raheem would support them well in the middle overs as they continued to pick up wickets and stem the flow of runs. Luuk "The Marine" Hughes would continue the unbelievable performance he has had all year for the U18s going for just a little above 3s from his three overs whilst picking up two wickets. Joe "Rambo" Ramsden joining in the fun, castling the stumps of one of Georgians' middle order and capping off a brilliant season he has had for the U18s as well. Finn would find the final wicket, with a sprint-to-the-line run out to cap off his astonishing end to a season. Didsbury win by 50 runs, and become cup champions.

Whilst perhaps not the most thrilling of ends to a final, with Georgians spluttering under our incredible bowling and fielding efforts, it was perhaps the end the U18s deserved. Their bowling has been the highlight for me all year, as they have opted to bowl first in almost every game because the strength in depth they have as bowling unit is brilliant. Where most other teams have suffered at having to bowl 7 bowlers, as per the league regulations, we have not. It has perhaps been the performance of the unsung heroes of the players who have come in and out of the side and have performed admirably against strong opposition that has been the greatest reflection of our strength as a club. I have been lucky enough to play cricket with or captain all eleven of our cup winning team, and the vast majority of those that have played any game for the U18s this year, and it was an immensely proud moment for me to see them win this cup. Not only is their ability astounding to me, but their attitude towards the game, the people that coach them, the parents that ferry them around, and each other is exemplary. Well done. I look forward to seeing them defend their trophy next season. I hope to see many of you at the junior and senior presentation evenings later this year.