Fylde coast cricket round-up: Blackpool dominate derby at St Annes, vital win for Lytham

Switching the match to their home ground (Stanley Park is not yet ready after major drainage work) and putting Blackpool in did St Annes no favours as the hosts piled up 214 before being dismissed with two balls remaining.

Tomas King (26) and Sam Dutton (27) put on 55 for the first wicket but the biggest partnership was between Ciaran Johnson and Shivam Chauhan for the third.

Johnson hit 10 fours in his 51– his third half-century of the season – while professional Chauhan scored his 45 from 39 balls (six fours and two sixes) as the partnership produced 88 runs.

A heftier total looked likely as the pair took the score to 157-2 but St Annes regained some control as Curtis Fletcher removed Chauhan on his way to 4-54 from 13 overs.

St Annes’ Nathan Bolus then took the fight to Blackpool, striking five fours and two sixes in his 60. But when the hosts’ number three was dismissed to make it 90-5 the game was up.

None of his teammates managed more than 10 and St Annes were all out for 115 inside 46 overs.

The league’s top wicket-taker Matthew Grindley added 4-21 from his 14 overs to move past 40 for the season.

Matty Siddall took 3-34 from his 11.5, while Jamie Thomson’s nine overs went for just 11 runs.

Longridge are again Blackpool’s closest challengers, winning at Morecambe to replace them in second spot.

Fulwood and Broughton, the only team to have beaten Blackpool, won by six wickets at Fleetwood, where Northamptonshire’s Simon Kerrigan stole the show.

Fleetwood’s decision to bat at Broadwater looked a good one as opener Charlie Clark made 57 (five fours).

Number five Declan Clerkin added 40 (four fours) but the other nine men in mustered 38 between them as Kerrigan ruled the roost.

The former Lancashire spiiner dismissed both top scorers and took all the wickets in the lower half of the order to finish on 7-60 from 12.5 overs, with Fleetwood all out for 156 with 8.1 overs remaining.

A solid team effort then saw Fulwood cruise to victory at 157-4 in 42.2 overs as Mark Smith, Matthew Smith and Kerrigan all topped 30.

Defeat sees Fleetwood slip a spot to 10th, just two points above second-bottom St Annes.

Other results: Kendal 86 lost to Netherfield 142 by 56 runs, Lancaster 99 lost to Garstang 100-1 by nine wickets, Leyland 145 beat Chorley 105 by 40

Lytham recorded a much- needed Church Road win to climb off the bottom of the Liverpool Competition first division.

They halted a run of five straight defeats with a six-wicket home victory over Northop Hall.

Professional Zia Ur Rehman Akbar had his best day yet for Lytham, the Afghan spinner taking 5-13 from 9.3 overs as Northop were dismissed for 134 after being put in.

Number three Jac Kennedy top-scored with 38 and wicketkeeper Ben Slater chipped in with 33, but the visitors’ best partnership was worth only 27 and their innings was all over after 38.8 overs.

The Lytham reply was looking rather precarious at 24-3 but then a stand worth 61 between Matt Taaffe and Myles Child (29) got them back on track.

Skipper Taaffe then shared in an unbroken fifth-wicket partnership of 51 with wicketkeeper Richard Staines (31), who had earlier taken four catches.

The captain recorded his second half-century of the season, ending the day unbeten on 52 after hitting five fours and a six.

The win lifts Taaffe’s side three places to ninth in the congested lower reaches of the LDCC’s second tier, with Northop Hall replacing them at the table’s foot.

Barrow have cut Vernon Carus’ lead in the Palace Shield to a single point.

Kirkham and Wesham lead the Fylde coast challenge in fifth place after their 49-run win at Croston, where Sam Oldfield scored a half-century and Jamie Hogarth took six wickets. South Shore and Fylde fill the bottom two positions.

Moore and Smalley Palace Shield premier division results: Croston 140 (J Hogarth 6-38, A Harrison 4-47) lost to Kirkham and Wesham 189-9 (S Oldfield 56, L Childs 4-13) by 49 runs, Eccleson 230-6 (MR Atkinson 60, J Maitland 55) beat South Shore 180 (T Davis 57, N Afsar 4-28) by 50 runs, Fylde 86 (R Patel 7-30) lost to Preston 222-7 (I Mehmood 52, N Ali 45, U Abrar 3-55) by 136 runs, Barrow 95-6 beat Penrith 94 by four wickets, Penwortham 125-5 beat Vernon Carus 121 by five wickets.

Division 1B: Chorley 2 167-5 (A Sarguru 45, I Dudhara 4-52) lost to Great Eccleston 2 168-9 (M Turnbull 37, A McCullagh 3-31) by one wicket, Longridge 2 193 (M Greenall 47, N Dixon 4-59, C Baines 3-40) lost to Blackpool 2 197-8 (D Henshall 65, S Howarth 56, J Durnell 3-38) by two wickets.

Division 2: Preston 2 261-8 (M Harish 83, M Tailor 57, I Baldwin 4-57, D Fortune 3-51) beat Norcross 62 (A Starkie 6-20, A Shah 3-31) by 199 runs, Thornton Cleveleys 2 210-9 beat Torrisholme 2 208 by two runs.

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