Glossop CC 1st XI off to a Winning Start in the GMCL Championship
Glossop Cricket Club’s 1st XI kicked off their 2025 GMCL Championship campaign in style on Saturday with a confident 7-wicket victory away at Moorside. Chasing 126 for victory, Glossop reached their target in just under 30 overs, led by a composed half-century from Matt Sonczak
and a polished unbeaten 34 from captain Chris Gill.
The day heralded the start of a new era for Glossop with four players made their 1st XI league debuts — Owais Shah, Max Hatzoglou, Digby Evans, and Tom Lane
— all talented cricketers in their own right, signalling some exciting times ahead at North Road.
With the sun shining and conditions helpful for seam bowling, Moorside won the toss and elected to bat first. Glossop’s bowling attack, featuring a mix of youth and experience, wasted little time in making inroads. The standout performer was debutant Digby Evans, who bowled with excellent rhythm and control to finish with superb figures of 4 for 24 from 8.2 overs. Evans struck early and returned later in the innings to clean up the tail, showing maturity beyond his years.
James Eyre
chipped in with 2 for 18 in a probing 7-over spell, while William Hargreaves
supported brilliantly with 3 for 28. Fresh from a stint Down Under, Matt Sonczak
also claimed a wicket and helped dry up the runs in the middle overs. Tom Lane, also making his debut, bowled with genuine pace and was unlucky not to pick up a wicket, ending with figures of 0 for 27 from 8 overs — a performance that bodes well for the season ahead.
Moorside were eventually dismissed for 125 in 48.2 overs.
In reply, Glossop lost debutant Owais Shah early for 4, bowled by Saqib. Max Hatzoglou
also was adjudged LBW, although early days both players have a pedigree which means that they’ll settle quickly at this level. When David Wilde
was trapped lbw for 17, Glossop found themselves at 45 for 3, but any nerves were quickly settled by the experienced pair of Gill and Sonczak.
Their unbroken 81-run partnership saw the visitors home without further loss. Gill played the anchor role, guiding the innings with authority, while Sonczak took the attack to the bowlers with a fluent 51* off just 55 deliveries — striking seven boundaries and a six.
It was a commanding win for Glossop, underpinned by an excellent bowling performance and a calm chase under pressure. The debutants brought fresh energy and enthusiasm, and with such a strong team performance to build from, confidence will be high heading into the next round of fixtures.
The 1st XI return to North Road this coming Saturday vs Greenfield where they’ll look to continue their winning start in front of the home crowd.
Season 4 - Game 1 - Not even a Sight screen can stop the Vets
The cricket season is well and truly underway and its been great to see so many of you at the club last weekend showing your support. This weekend is the first bank holiday weekend of May and it's a cricket packed week ahead. Wednesday The club will be open from 5pm. The Under 13's start their 2026 GMCL campaign at home to Droyslden, 6pm start. The newly formed Under 18's team travel to Droylsden, also a 6pm start. Thursday Doors open 5pm. Col Taylor's Vets team take centre stage at North Road for their game against Charlesworth Vets, 5:30pm start. Bring your suntan lotion as it's going to be warm. Friday Doors open at 5pm, junior cricket training for Under 9's, 11's, and 13's starting at 6pm. It's going to be warm so don't forget hats, drinks, and suntan lotion. Saturday The in-form 2nd XI are at home to Droylsden (12:30 start), and the 1st XI make the reverse trip to Droyslden. At 5:30pm, Arsenal v Fulham will be shown live on the big screens. Sunday The cricket never stops with the Under 11's at home to Tintwistle in the morning. The 1st XI are back in action for the second time this weekend with an away trip to South West Manchester in the 1st XI Championship Cup. More live sport on the big screens at 3:30pm with Manchester United v Liverpool. Chip butties at half time - what's not to like! Monday Junior cricket on Monday sees the Under 15's away at Mottram (6pm), with the Under 11's at home to Mottram (6pm). The club will be open from 12 noon. Enjoy your weekend, enjoy your cricket, and we look forward to your support.
1st XI Glossop 185/4 (34.3) - Glodwick 184/7 (50) A very different weekend to last week with the weather! Glossop lost the toss and had a bowl. After an uncharacteristically loose start with Glodwick racing to 44-1 off 7 overs Glossop bowled with much more control to restrict Glodwick to 184 on a very good cricket wicket with lots of credit going to will and Matt . In the chase Glossop lost 3 early wickets rapidly to put some pressure on but Lee and Matt batted with great composure to have a strong partnership to score the bulk of the runs. Dan senior came into finish the job in style with some classy shots and Glossop winning by 6 wickets earning a bonus point win. Matt Sonczak 3-38 (12) Will Hargreaves 2-31 (15) Lee Dale 72* (86) Dan senior 48* (33) Matt Sonczak 45 (76) 2nd XI Woodley 122/10 (31.2) - Glossop 124/4 (27.1) Another excellent performance from the team on a soft & slow wicket. Glossop won the toss and chose to bowl. Despite an aggressive start from Woodley, Glossop’s bowlers were calm and disciplined ensuring wickets fell regularly. They were backed up by some excellent fielding, notably from Jack Stopford. Despite an early wobble chasing a modest total, another perfectly measured innings from Ollie Boothroyd was the difference. Good partnerships with Joe Bolton and then Dave Allen meant Glossop quickly silenced a vocal home side to win by 6 wickets and get the bonus point. Sam Dyson 4-42 (11) Joe Doody 3-23 (9) Ollie Boothroyd 56 (66) Dave Allen 19* (47) 4th XI Glossop 94/10 (21.2) - Dinting 97/4 (19) Glossop CC made a difficult start, slipping to 16–4 as Dinting’s bowlers dominated early. A vital 43‑run stand between Joseph Bolton (39) and Steve Marsh (11) steadied the innings, with Olly Boothroyd adding a brisk 11. But once the partnership ended, wickets fell regularly and Glossop were dismissed for 94, leaving their attack with a small but defendable total. In reply, Glossop fought hard. Nathan Allen struck twice to lift hopes, while Jonathon Kirk bowled an excellent spell of 1–15 from five overs. The pressure continued when Freddie claimed his first senior wicket, reducing Dinting to 66–4 and giving Glossop a genuine opening. However, Dinting regrouped and completed the chase without further loss, finishing on 97–4. Under 11's Hayfield 198 - Glossop 153 The Young Lions put in a gutsy shift despite the loss to a strong Hayfield side. We posted 153 with sharp boundaries from Jake and Elliott and great running from Arabelle and Max. Tight bowling spells followed, with wickets for Elliott and William, plus a brilliant, economical finish from Jake. In the field we stayed focused, and William — who stopped everything despite a sore hand — earned Player of the Match.