Espaliering tends to be used for trees less vigorous than cherries such as apples. Cherries tend to be fan trained.
Usually you would start with a maiden or whip, which would be substantially thinner than the tree you describe. You will need something to train the branches on, horizontal wires are traditional but your mesh would do. Fan training properly is somewhat involved, but easy than an espalier. Notes there is a difference between simply planting a tree against a fence and keeping it trimmed back and properly training it: the former simply controls the space it uses and may result in poor fruiting, the latter aims to control vigour and increase fruiting. The following from the RHS describes the intial training:
Starting with an unfeathered maiden or whip (a one-year-old tree with no branches)
In spring, cut back the main stem to about 40cm (15in), leaving three strong buds
In summer, erect two canes at 45 degree angles and tie in two of the branches that should develop from the buds to form the ‘arms’ (one either side). Remove any other shoots if they develop from the trunk
In the second spring, reduce the ‘arms’ by two-thirds to an upward-facing bud. Again, remove any other growth from the trunk
Starting with a feathered maiden (a one-year-old-tree with some branches) or untrained two-year-old tree
In spring, cut back the main stem to about 40cm (15in) to two >well-placed branches to form the main ‘arms’
Erect two canes at 45 degrees and tie the two branches into them
Now reduce each ‘arm’ by two-thirds to an upward-facing bud
Starting with a part-trained tree (commonly sold in garden centres, trained against a structure of canes)
Part-trained trees will need their vertical, leading shoot removed; cut right down to strong, low, 45-degree-angled branches or ‘arms’. Leaving the leader will result in a congested bush, not a fan
Now reduce all the ‘arms’ by two-thirds, if they are weak, less if they are strong and already branching
You should now have a short, balanced tree with two strong ‘arms’ (or possibly more in the case of a part-trained tree). Now follow these instructions to produce a fan:
In summer, choose four shoots from each ‘arm’: one at the tip to extend the existing ‘arm’, two spaced equally on the upper side and one on the lower side. Tie them in at about 30 degrees to the main ‘arm’ so they are evenly spaced apart (using canes attached to the wires if necessary)
Rub out any shoots growing towards the wall and pinch back any others to one leaf
In the following spring, cut back each of the four branches on each side by one third, cutting to an upward-facing bud if possible
During the growing season, tie re-growth from the tips of these branches into the framework to extend the main branches
Any side-shoots that develop where there is space within the framework can be tied in
Future pruning of established fans varies according to the species.
