Fylde coast cricket review: Siddall's superb again as Blackpool close gap at top

Blackpool Cricket Club's  man of the moment Matt Siddall performed another derby demolition job to lift his side closer to the Northern Premier League summit.
Matt SiddallMatt Siddall
Matt Siddall

Siddall followed his magnificent 8-23 in the nine-wicket win at Fleetwood with 6-31 from 10.2 overs at Stanley Park on Saturday, when Blackpool made similarly short work of St Annes.

And with champions Netherfield again dropping points, Blackpool trail the leaders by just four points with five matches left.

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St Annes chose to bat only for Siddall to spearhead a staggering collapse from 94-3 to 97 all out in 36.2 overs.

A third-wicket stand of 53 between Mohamed Nadeem (44) and opener Andy Drake (18) gave no hint of the carnage to follow.

Top-scorer Nadeem then put on a further 32 with Amar Ullah (19), but the six men who came in after the St Annes professional mustered only three runs between them and there were five ducks on the card.

St Annes had a glimmer of hope as two wickets apiece from Tom Higson and Ullah reduced the hosts to 79-4, but a second collapse of the day did not follow and Josh Boyne’s unbeaten 27 from 39 balls steered Blackpool to a six-wicket win at 100-4 after 23 overs. Ciaran Johnson contributed a useful 24 at number four.

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After their surprise defeat by Barrow, Netherfield had to settle for a winning draw with Morecambe, for whom Luke Jongwe scored 113, setting up a nailbiting title race between the top two.

St Annes slip from third to fifth, a point behind Chorley and Leyland, who cruised to an 80-run win at Fleetwood.

Skittled out for 69 by a Siddall-inspired Blackpool, Fleetwood this time managed only 78 in pursuit of Leyland’s 158 at Broadwater.

The visitors’ total owed everything to opener Henry Thomas, who hit 15 fours and three sixes in his 103. Only one of his team-mtes reached double-figures.

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Alex Ryder removed all of Leyland’s top four on his way to a season’s best 5-53 from 13.2 overs.

Opener Jeremy Davies did his utmost to hold the home reply together with 31 but again only two players reached double figures (skipper Mat Clark was the other with 13 batting nine) as Fleetwood were dismissed in 28 overs.

Will Jacques took 3-12 off eight overs for a Leyland side who host Blackpool next.

Lytham Cricket Club experienced their first abandonment of the season in the Liverpool Competition at Bootle, where the hosts reached 85-1 from 25 overs in reply to 178 all out from 57.4.

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Lytham were put in at Wadham Road and the highpoint of their innings was a fourth-wicket stand of 59 between Tom Jefferson (47) and Matthew Taaffe (41).

But having reached 165-5, Lytham were able to add only 13 more as Bharat Tripathi took 4-32 from his 13 overs.

Bootle’s Will Hale was 41 not out when the rains came, having shared an opening 66 with Michael Farrell (33).

Bootle and Lytham remain fifth and seventh respectively in the ECB premier league.

Moore and Smalley Palace Shield results

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Premier division: Croston 123 (C McIlveen 30, T Davis 4-50, N Ashford 3-50) lost to South Shore 223-9 (D Jardine 71, J Driver 4-36, C McIlveen 4-79) by 50 runs, Great Eccleston 188-8 (P Booth 36, S Yardley 3-29) lost to New Longton (262, M Modhi 63, A Walsh 61, B Simpkins 48, P Whittle 6-71) by 42 runs (revised target), Kendal 103-3 beat Eccleston 102 by seven wickets, Lancaster 87-3 beat Penwortham 85 by seven wickets, Longridge 148-7 lost to Vernon Carus 256-9 by 108 runs, Torrisholme 162-6 (J Stewart 38, J Sackfield 3-62 ) beat Thornton Cleveleys 161 (D Howard 52, J Stobbart 4-21, J Heap 3-33) by four wickets.

Division 1A: BAC/EE Preston 167 lost to Tarleton 193-9 by 26 runs, Fylde 74 (D Fisher 5-45, A Hogarth 3-10) lost to Freckleton 180 (E Fiddler 59, A Ellison 6-49, A Churchill 4-41) by 106 runs, Hoghton 112 lost to Rufford 113-3 by seven wickets, Kirkham and Wesham 235 (M Brooks 87, S Bovington 68, N Trengove 4-60) beat Mawdesley 134-8 (C Gibirdi 61, J Butcher 5-33) by 101 runs, Norcross 160-4 (D Swindells 53) lost to Grimsargh 161-7 (M Hitchen 44, S Perkins 4-56) by three wickets, Standish 162-4 beat Withnell Fold 205-7 by six wickets (revised target).

Lancashire Thunder head into Tuesday’s Kia Super League Roses clash in Blackpool on the back of a nine-wicket hammering by Loughborough Lightning.

Second-placed Loughborough booked their place in finals day as they reached their target of 137 with 33 balls to spare. England’s Amy Jones led with the way with a sparkling unbeaten 66 off 39 deliveries.

The Thunder stand fourth with three wins from eight games going into the Stanley Park clash with Yorkshire Diamonds (2.30pm start).