Fylde coast cricket review: Fleetwood bowlers set up a welcome win

The visitors were put in and opener Declan Clerkin was their top scorer, hitting six boundaries in his 20-ball 31.

Clerkin’s opening stand of 36 with Jeremy Davies was Fleetwood’s best as nobody else scored 20.

Hareen Buddila kept them in check with 7-23 from 12.3 overs, though Fleetwood had more than enough runs for victory in reaching 139.

You wouldn’t have thought so as Matthew Smith set about the Fleetwood attack with 51 from 41 deliveries, including 10 boundaries.

However, the other members of Fulwood’s top three failed to score and Smith’s departure triggered a collapse from 61-2 to 74-7.

The Preston side were all out for 104 in 32 overs as Rizwan Patel took 5-15 from eight overs.

A first win since June and sixth of the season leaves Fleetwood sixth ahead of Saturday’s home clash with bottom club Eccleston.

Blackpool were beaten, however, going down by seven wickets at leaders Chorley.

Having been asked to bat first, Blackpool were all out for 116 as Will Moulton claimed 4-28.

They had been 57-6 at one stage before Jake Muncaster led some late resistance, top-scoring with 36.

Chorley’s reply saw them reach 117-3 inside 29 overs, largely thanks to a third-wicket stand of 86 between Alfie Dobson (49) and Joshua Pistorious (45 not out).

Defeat keeps Blackpool fifth in the division going into Saturday’s home game with Penrith.

Chorley are 14 points ahead of defending champions Garstang, who beat St Annes by six wickets on Saturday.

It was the champions’ sixth successive victory in league matches not lost to rain and they made light work of a struggling St Annes side dismissed for 101.

St Annes’ top three scored only 15 between them before captain Nathan Armstrong showed the way with an unbeaten 36.

However, the six who followed him in added only 13 and four were out for ducks as Ian Walling took 4-38 and Joel Derham 3-11.

Garstang were in a spot of bother at 5-2 but then Mark Walling steered them to victory with an unbeaten 53.

He put on 78 for the third wicket with wicketkeeper Matthew Crowther (33) as Garstang wrapped up the win at 104-4.

The top four all gained maximum points, meaning Garstang are still a point ahead of Kendal before visiting them on Saturday.

They face St Annes again at Vernon Road on Sunday in the quarter-finals of the league’s 40-Over Cup.

St Annes stay 10th but are a reassuring 33 points clear of the bottom two with five to play.

On Saturday they host leaders Chorley, who have lost only once all season.

Lytham beat Bootle by 42 runs on Saturday, with another milestone for their league’s top wicket-taker, Avinash Yadav.

The club’s Indian professional passed 50 wickets for the season in the Liverpool Competition First Division with 6-42 from 14 overs: his seventh haul of five wickets or more.

Avinash’s victims included Hermann Rolfes, who had looked like powering Bootle to victory with 11 boundaries in his 57.

Rolfes steered his side to 107-4 in pursuit of Lytham’s 164-7 but Avinash ensured they could add only 15 more.

Lytham had declared after 38 overs, having been put in, as Tom Jefferson led the way with 42.

He put on 60 for the fifth wicket with Joshua Holden (29) after Matthew Wood set a platform with 28 at the top of the order.

The win leaves Lytham fifth ahead of Saturday’s visit to fourth-placed Liverpool, though the gap between the clubs is 33 points

Kirkham and Wesham lost by 121 runs at Moore and Smalley Palace Shield leaders Euxton, who piled on 247-9 from 38 overs.

K&W’s target was revised up slightly to 250 but it made no difference as they were all out for 128 in 28.1 overs.

Kirkham put their hosts in and took a wicket without run being scored, though their second success came 111 runs later as captain James Bone made 76 and opener Ben Houghton 51.

Bone was then joined for a stand of 57 by Jack Shovelton, who scored 50 of his 63 in boundaries. Andrew Hogarth dismissed him en route to 4-57 from 11 overs.

Wicketkeeper Sean Bovington then led the K&W reply with 57 from 50 balls but, once he was fifth out at 106, the innings soon fizzled out as Chris Pearson wrapped it up with 3-13 from 4.1 overs.

K&W, who host Preston on Saturday, remain just one point clear of second-bottom Torrisholme in the Premier Division, with Euxton 38 clear at the top and looking unstoppable.

Thornton Cleveleys lost their Palace Shield derby at home to Great Eccleston by a single wicket.

The hosts chose to bat and reached 149-8 from 41 overs, their best scores coming from openers Kai Collinge (30) and Joshua Sackfield (28).

The only other player to reach 20 was unbeaten number nine Greg Tirrell as Nisanth Nithian took 3-44 from his nine overs.

Anthony Ellison then removed Great Ecc’s top three to return figures of 3-42 from 14 overs but Mohammed Fazil kept the visitors on track with 33.

Daniel Howard also kept TC in the hunt with 3-51 from 11 overs but Great Ecc’s victory was sealed at 153-9 from 40.3 overs, with Jon Jeffries unbeaten on 21.

Defeat sees Thornton slip into the lower half of the premier division, a point behind Great Eccleston, ahead of Saturday’s visit to second-bottom Torrisholme.

Great Ecc host Morecambe this weekend.