Fylde coast cricket review: Northern League, Lytham, Palace Shield

St Annes won the Fylde coast derby with Fleetwood by three wickets to go third in the Northern Premier League, while Blackpool ended their three-match losing run in emphatic style at Barrow.
James Wilson batting for FleetwoodJames Wilson batting for Fleetwood
James Wilson batting for Fleetwood

Having been put in at Vernon Road, Fleetwood were all out for 158 with three deliveries to spare, Joseph McCluskie the mainstay of their innings with 54.

The wickets were shared among the St Annes attack,though Matt Grindley led the way with 3-35 from 17 overs, including eight maidens.

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Grindley, the competition’s leading wicket-taker, became the first bowler to pass 40 victims for the season.

Fleetwood pro Neels Bergh took 3-60 to ensure a few scares for the hosts during their reply but they reached their target with over 12 overs to spare as Atiq Uz-Zaman led the way with 75.

Matthew Derham contributed an unbeaten 40 as St Annes sealed maximum points at 161-7 to climb above champions Leyland in the first division.

Blackpool stay fifth, one place above Fleetwood, after stopping the rot with an eight-wicket win in Cumbria.

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Chopping and changing their substitute professionals since the injured Anurag Verma returned to New Zealand has not been conducive to consistency for the Stanley Park club, though they hit the jackpot with Saturday’s special guest.

Chris Williams from Pennine League club Middleton CC took 7-34 from 15 overs to blast Barrow out for just 83 after 40.5 overs at Windsor Park.

Home captain Toby Mowat made an unbeaten 50 but watched the carnage from the non-striker’s end as none of his team-mates scored more than eight.

In fact, the other 10 Barrow players could score only 24 between them the six who followed Mowat to the wicket contributing only five as four of them fell without scoring.

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Opener Matt Houston then scored an unbeaten 42 to seal victory over the second-bottom visitors at 84-2. Fittingly, Williams was at he crease when the win was secured after 23.2 overs.

Blackpool may have welcomed more time at the crease for a fragile batting lining up – those previous three defeats had all come after being bowled out cheaply batting first – though this was a most welcome win for Paul Danson’s side.

Lytham came close to chasing down a mammoth target of 263-3 away to Northern but lost by 15 runs.

The Crosby hosts chose to bat and declared when Liam Grey was dismissed for 99 after 51.5 overs. He was clean bowled by Taylor Cornnall, who claimed all three wicket for 53 from 8.5 overs.

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Grey, who hit 13 fours, shared in an opening stand of 154 with Chris Laker (81, 11 fours) and a partnership of 83 for the second wicket with Stephen Lucas, whose 51 came from 44 balls and included eight fours and a six.

The Lytham reply was soon in deep truble at 31-4 but opener Cornall dug in with 77, his eighth half-century of the season including 13 boundaries.

Cornall put on 68 for the fifth wicket with Ben Saunders and 64 for the sixth with Ryan Maddock, who went on to make 71 from 100 balls.

But after Cornall was sixth man out, Maddock couldn’t find partners to stay with him and his dismissal ended the innings at 231 after 52.3 overs.

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The outstanding Grey dismissed all Lytham’s top four on his way to 5-37 from 13 overs, while Tomas Sephton claimed 4-98 off 20.3 and wicketkeeper James Cole took four catches. The win lifts Northern to second in the ECB premier league as Danny Edwards’s Lytham slip to eighth.

There was no change at the top of the Moore and Smalley Palace Shield after the top four all won.

That included a six-wicket victory for third-placed Garstang away to bottom club Freckleton.

Fulwood and Broughton retained their narrow lead over Longridge at the top of the premier division after a comprehensive win at fifth-placed Great Eccleston on a day five of the six top-flight games were won by the visiting team.

Moore and Smalley Palace Shield results

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Premier Division: Croston (212-5, A Hogarth 54) lost to Vernon Carus (213-9) by one wicket, Freckleton (152-9) lost to Garstang (154-4, Mi Walling 50) by six wickets, Great Eccleston (153, A Swale 31,R Turner 5-42, C Brookes 4-42 ) lost to Fulwood and Broughton (238-5, R Turner 66no, A Patel 46) by 85 runs, Rufford (140) lost to Longridge (143-4) by six wickets, Thornton Cleveleys (212. R Jenkinson 84, D Howard 58, A Billington 4-37, T Wilson 3-35) lost to Penwortham (220-8, M Hewitt 59, A Tobutt 52no, J Beech 3-62) by eight runs, Torrisholme (166) beat Eccleston (96) by 70 runs.

Division One: Fulwood and Broughton 2 (120-9, C Ward 60no, D Smith 5-38) beat Fylde (119, K Patel 3-14, O Jackson 3-41) by one wicket, Garstang 2 (227-5, D Curwen 38) beat White Coppice (113, A Booker 3-18) by 114 runs, Longridge 2 (150-6) beat Hoghton (149-8) by four wickets, New Longton (232-6, P Haydock 89no, M Bavla 57, J Relph 3-60) beat Norcross (153, R Blampied 45, M Bavla 3-22, P Winder 3-32, S Steeple 3-37) by 79 runs, Vernon Carus 2 (126-6, H Pazeer 3-34) beat South Shore (122, D Gray 4-27, B Mashiter 4-32) by four wickets, Whittingham and Goosnargh (130-5) beat Witnell Fold (126) by five wickets.

Division Two: Longridge 3 (175-5, M Joyce 46) beat Kirkham and Wesham (171-7, A Griffiths 41, A Hough 3-60) by five wickets, Wrea Green (119-9, C Laycock 32, J Tobard 6-39) beat Tarleton (118, H Edmondson 54,S Laycock 3-22, G Brooks 3-41) by one wicket