Lions are the cat’s whiskers
MACC Lions crowned a fantastic year for Macc Cricket Club’s U9s when they won the Cheshire League on a sun-blessed evening at Alvanley CC.
This year, Macc’s U9s have won all four festivals they’ve entered (Warrington, Hyde, Poynton and Haslington) and capped it all off with their most experienced side, the Lions, winning the Cheshire League – the first time Macc CC have ever won it at this age group.
An unprecedented level of success for an age group.
Having gone through the league season unbeaten the Lions were many people’s favourites as they entered the playoff phase. They were undaunted by this and actually the more mean- ingful the game the better they played. This culminated in a cup final which on toss of a coin was hosted by Alvanley CC, a team the Lions had beaten in the league format.
After the game was abandoned after an over when the heavens opened on Monday, the Lions returned on Thursday, this time with perfect weather conditions.
The Lions were asked to bat.
From the league fixture they were aware that Alvanley were a talented group that excelled in the field. They didn’t disappoint in the final. However, captain Alfie and Leo got the Lions off to a solid start despite losing a couple of wickets to a fine catch and delivery. Then Tom and Freddie accelerated well before Reuben and Brandon consolidated. This gave Luke and Ben the opportunity to add the icing, which they took. Having amassed 305 runs with just the 2 wickets lost (wickets cost runs at this level) the Lions were confident they had enough.
This was confirmed with an outstanding performance in the field.
Alvanley couldn’t live with the relentless accuracy and pace of the Lions attack meaning they regularly lost wickets. As they fell behind the rate they took too many risks which left them at the mercy of the Lions fielding, which was relentless, too.
In all the Lions took 16 wickets, 8 bowled, 6 run out and 2 caught as they slumped to a score of 246 to give Macc the perfect end to a superb season.
The team of Brandon Brennan, Leo Burns, Freddie Hehir, Alfie Hughes, Reuben Johal, Luke Mottram, Tom Neal and Ben Wilshaw would like to thank squad members Rory Horne for his contribution in the league matches and Benji Hand despite his limited availability.
They’d also like to thank all the coaches, players, ex-players, staff and committee at MCC for providing an environment in which they can thrive.
From senior coaches passing on tips or conducting one-to-one sessions, senior players and ex-players doing the same and allowing them to share facilities and the staff, and the committee for providing a wonderful platform.
We have an exceptional age group with a thirst to improve and excel.
Our task in the years ahead will be to continually ensure we provide the best possible environment to enable this to happen.