By Abbie de Zwart
The annual Manchester Main tournament hosted 22 teams across three tiers at Wythenshawe Sports Ground on the weekend of 5-6 August.
Four teams travelled from Scotland, two were from the Midlands and one came from London, and at 9.00 am on the Saturday they were treated to a full-scale Mancunian downpour, the likes of which are unheard of below junction 15 of the M6, and have gained the tournament the nickname “Manchester Rain”.
Unperturbed by this, the teams played on.
Round-robin
The end of Day One saw Spittin’ Camels easily holding the top spot in the Gold or Comp ground.
In Rec, Silver and Bronze were combined and then split in two groups for the round-robin stage. Ex-Nottingham University friends Famille Casling led Group A, six points ahead of the opposition, while Glaswegian team Fockers led Group B.
Playoffs
On Sunday afternoon, Camels, Mavericks, and Meerkats from Manchester and the Midlands team Misfits headed to the semi-finals for the Gold Cup. Camels were on top form, beating Meerkats 10-4 in their semi-final and then smashing Mavericks 16-6 in their Cup final.
In Rec, the top four teams from both groups went to the Silver semi-finals and the remaining eight teams played for the Bronze Cup.
Famille Casling beat Tigers by a single run in their semi-final and the London team Game of Throws (sporting groovy purple kit) beat Fockers to reach the Silver Cup final. However, the Londoners were no match for Famille Casling, with the Midlanders winning comfortably by 14-4 to claim the Cup and finish the weekend unbeaten. Camels II took the Silver Plate.
Edinburgh’s Dalriada Demons battled Speeders in the Bronze Cup final, with Speeders winning 11-5. In a close Bronze Plate final, Drizzle beat Bolts 15-14.
Full results will be available on the MSL website for the next few weeks.
Thanks
A good weekend was had by all, with Game of Throws saying that it was “the friendliest tournament we’ve ever been to.”
Manchester Softball League would like to thank everyone who attended, wherever you travelled from, and thanks to everyone who umpired. We look forward to seeing you all next year.