Fylde coast cricket review: Fleetwood CC open up a gap on their chasers in the race for promotion
It was a double-header weekend for clubs in division two of the Northern Premier Cricket League.
A double-header weekend in division two of the Northern Premier Cricket League saw leaders Fleetwood continue on their path towards an immediate return to the top flight.
They took maximum points from both games in beating Penwortham by 123 runs on Saturday and Thornton Cleveleys by 101 runs on Sunday.
Muhammad Hurraira shone in Saturday’s match, scoring 130 in Fleetwood’s 268 all out against Penwortham.
They were dismissed for 145 in response, Nathan Bend claiming 5-32.
Sunday’s derby with TC saw Fleetwood all out for 225, Harry McAleer another centurion as he finished 101 not out.
Matt Siddall then took 6-50 as TC were dismissed for 124 despite Richard Jenkinson’s 51.
TC had won another derby 24 hours earlier, beating Lytham by seven wickets at Illawalla.
Myles Child (36) top-scored as Lytham were skittled for 122 before seeing TC respond with 123-3, skipper Josh Sackfield hitting 62 from only 37 balls.
Lytham also lost on Sunday, going down by 101 runs as they visited Penwortham.
The hosts batted first at Middleforth Green, where Robbie Sumner made 70 in their 262-9.
Sabbir Patel took 4-70 for a Lytham team who were all out for 161.
Antony Mulligan made 34 and Ryan Norris 30 but Charlie Parker followed up his knock of 52 with 4-41.
Great Eccleston also won twice, starting with Saturday’s seven-wicket defeat of Barrow who were all out for 187.
Tyler McGladdery then hit 109 not out from 84 balls as Great Ecc responded with 188-3.
Sunday brought a four-wicket win over promotion-chasing Euxton, bowling them out for 138 and replying with 142-6.
There was only one weekend game for teams in division one, with Blackpool beating Chorley by four wickets at Stanley Park.
Having asked the visitors to bat first, Blackpool saw Chorley openers Miller Childs (20) and Harry Barclay (19) put on 39 before all 10 wickets fell for 72 runs as they were dismissed for 111.
Luca Doyle (20) and Amaan Sarguru (18) were the only others in double figures as Alex Ryder took 5-23.
Blackpool looked well on course at 73-2 in reply, but the dismissal of Joe Waterhouse (39) saw them lose four wickets for 25 runs in slipping to 98-6.
However, Dylan Henshall (22 not out) got them across the line at 115-6 in the 30th over.
Chorley are four points clear of second-bottom St Annes after Garstang left Vernon Road with a 50-run victory.
Joseph Pearson’s 127 highlighted the visitors’ 233-7, in which he shared a fourth-wicket stand of 125 with Lahiru Madushanka (55).
St Annes’ response saw them dismissed for 183 after Cory Cater (7-55) initially reduced them to 28-4.
Evan Dobson (68) led the fightback, putting on 54 with Adam Patel (29) and 58 with Rory Urquhart (26).
Elsewhere, Fylde lost by two wickets in their Palace Shield Championship clash against Vernon Carus.
George Dolan (78) top-scored in Fylde’s 197-8 before Vernons reached 199-8 with 13 balls left, Bob Bridges hitting 58.
Division one saw Kirkham and Wesham lose by six wickets to second-bottom Rufford.
K&W had batted first at the Woodlands, Liam Castellas’ 69 helping them to post a score of 200-6.
Rufford’s response saw them finish on 201-4 thanks to a stand of 134 between Gregg Ashcroft (73 not out) and Mark Golding (57 not out).