Fylde coast cricket: Blackpool seal second spot as Lytham promotion race goes to wire

The visitors chose to bat at Stanley Park but were dismissed for just 81 in 38.1 overs.

Having reached 38-1, Fulwood lost four wickets without adding to that total as Blackpool professional Ockert Erasmus took 5-10 from 14 overs and Jamie Thomson 3-18 from 4.1.

Last year's champions took just 12.5 overs to reach a matchwinning 84 for the loss of Tomas King, the game's top scorer with 31.

Kasim Munir (27) and Josh Boyne (24) saw Blackpool home with an unbroken stand of 42.

St Annes could also have overtaken Fulwood with victory away to Garstang but the champions finished on a high with a six-wicket win.

Openers Yohan De Silva (38 from 55 balls) and Tom Higson (28 from 19) got the visitors off to a promising start after being put in at Riverside.

However, only one other St Annes player reached double figures and five didn't score as they were all out for 99 in 26.1 overs, Ian Walling taking 4-50 from 12 overs and Danny Gilbert 3-13 from seven.

Number three Mark Walling's 40 then propelled Garstang to a 15th win of the season, sealed at 103-4 in 38.2 overs.

Blackpool finish second on 251 points, 22 above Fulwood but still 37 behind Garstang. St Annes are fourth on 217, while Lancaster have been relegated with Vernon Carus.

There's still a round of fixtures to play in the Liverpool Competition and Lytham's fight for promotion from the first division will go to the wire after they were held to a draw at Bootle.

Leaders Lytham were put in and declared at 232-7 from 52 overs but Matt Taaffe's side had to settle for nine points as their hosts clung on at 149-8, also from 52.

Wicketkeeper Richard Staines (33) and Guy Roberts (30) put on 53 for the second wicket but Lytham were 116-5 when Toby Lester came to the crease.

The former Lancashire all-rounder ensured his side doubled that total by scoring an unbeaten 72 from 59 balls with 11 fours and two sixes. Bootle's Jhangir Liaqat took 4-75 from 22 overs.

The visitors looked well on course for victory when Bootle's fop four managed just seven runs between them, Tom Hessey dismissing most of those on his way to 3-26 from 11 overs.

But from 44-5, captain Daniel Davies and Gavin Moriah frustrated Lytham with a stand of 90.

And although Moriah's dismissal for 38 triggered another slump from 134-5 to 136-8, wicketkeeper Davies stood firm for an unbeaten 76 (105 balls, 12 boundaries) as his side held on without further loss to earn five points.

Rainford moved within two points of the leaders courtesy of a 64-run victory over Caldy, who remain threatened by relegation and are Lytham's visitors to Church Road for next Saturday's decider.

The third team in the race for the two promotion places are Colwyn Bay, who are 14 points behind Rainford after a nine-wicket win over Highfield.

Rainford end their campaign at home to Sefton Park, while Colwyn Bay visit Ainsdale.

In the Moore and Smalley Palace Shield, Great Eccleston go into the final weekend with their slim hopes of winning promotion to the NPCL alongside champions Fleetwood still alive.

That follows Ecc's six-wicket premier division win at Kirkham and Wesham, who were dismissed for 89 in 32 overs as Phil Booth claimed 6-26 from his 11.

An even worse total looked likely as the hosts reached 18-4 after being put in, though a top score of 22 not out from number nine Richard Beesley improved matters slightly.

Ecc opener Matt Moat then lost three partners cheaply but stuck around for 31, and only eight more were needed for victory when his was the final wicket to fall. Wicketkeeper Will Thistlethwaite saw them home with an unbeaten 21 out of 91-4 from 27.4 overs.

However, third-placed Great Eccleston still find themselves 11 points behind Eccleston in the fight for the second promotion spot, with 12 points to play for on the final day, when the Fylde side host Torrisholme and Chorley club Eccleston visit fourth-placed Euxton.

Kirkham and Wesham remain preoccupied at the other end of the table and are 12 points clear of second-bottom Barrow, who won by 17 runs at Thornton Cleveleys.

The Cumbrians were put in and reached 138-9 thanks largely to an unbeaten 55 from captain Jack Singleton. Jeremy Newman took 4-35 from 13 overs but couldn't remove the skipper.

Thornton were then all out for 121 after opener Jake Holmes top-scored with 30.

Josh Rolinson's late 24 raised home hopes until he was last man out with eight balls remaining as Garry Collins took 3-25 from 12 overs..

Fleetwood weren't easing off after sealing the title and won by 97 runs at Penwortham.

The visitors set a target of 175-9 after being put in, number three Declan Clerkin leading the way with 30 (all but four of those runs in boundaries) before falling to Ashley Billington, who took 5-52 from 15 overs.

Clerkin took Fleetwood to 85-1 but that became 114-7 before William Haddow entered the fray for an unbeaten 25.

The Penwortham reply was soon in disarray at 46-7 and didn't improve much as Jeremy Davies took 4-47 from 10 overs and Jack Wilkinson 3-12 off five. The hosts were all out for 78 in 27 overs.

It was Fleetwood's 18th win out of 20 completed games in a season which ends with a home derby against Thornton Cleveleys on Saturday.

Fylde lost by six wickets at New Longton in division 1A, Only opener Will Smith (22) put up much resistance as the visitors were put in and then sent packing for 84, David Fortune taking 4-34 from 15 overs. New Longton reached their target in 27.3 overs, opener Adam Gillibrand the game's top scorer with 28.

Wrea Green won by eight wickets in division two pursuing hosts Penwortham 3's 155-9, which included wicketkeeper Robert Walsh's unbeaten 52 and 4-55 from Dan Hetherington's 15 overs.

Number three Ben Hall then led Wrea to victory at 157-2 in 32.2 overs. The captain shared stands of 72 with opener Ed Nickson (33) and an unbroken 71 with Tom Small (46 from 44 balls).

It means Wrea go into their final game at home to Whittingham and Goosnargh sharing the second promotion spot with St Annes 2, who hammered Ingol with Freckleton by 168 runs.

Gurman Bains fired an unbeaten 119 in St Annes 236-4 before Keith Reid claimed 5-35 and Thomas Bradley 4-8 as the visitors were skittled out for 68. Preston 2 have won this league.

Norcross are sixth with one to play after winning by five wickets at Longridge 3 (121), where Matthew Stewart took 4-40 from 12 overs and Lee Wilson carried his bat for 56.