Fylde coast cricket preview: Blackpool CC skipper aims to end the season with a final flourish at Chorley

Blackpool batsman Sam Dutton has been among the runs this season

The two sides meet in the elite level gold final for this year’s 40-over competition involving Northern League and Palace Shield clubs.

It will be the clubs’ second meeting in three weeks after Blackpool’s 77-run win, again at Windsor Park, on September 5.

Not that Danson is using that match as any sort of indicator for what might lie ahead tomorrow.

“I think we’ve earned the right to contest this final with Chorley,” he said.

“We had a slow start but we’ve come good and we know how difficult it’s going to be.

“Chorley are a decent team with a good blend of youth and experience.

“Windsor Park is never an easy place to go but, hopefully, with the weather we’ve had, it’ll be a good deck and a good game of cricket.”

Tomorrow’s final might be a different game from the group stage tie played a fortnight earlier but Blackpool can certainly draw inspiration from their victory.

Most of the top order might have fallen cheaply in their eventual score of 172-6 but Josh Boyne and Dylan Henshall came to the rescue with half-centuries apiece.

Then, in reply, the bowlers put their hands up in dismissing Chorley for 95 with Chris Baines taking five wickets.

Danson joked: “I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing that we gave them a good hiding!

“Josh and Dylan had a terrific partnership; Dylan is a good, young, talented lad who showed a lot of maturity.

“That set us up and we bowled well but I’m expecting a completely different game from the result two weeks ago.

“Form goes out of the window but we can take confidence from the fact we’ve been to Windsor Park and turned them over.

“We know we’ve got it in our locker to win on the road because we did it at Chorley and we’ve been to Morecambe and won (in the semi-final).”

Tomorrow is the big day in this year’s one-off competition with nine finals played.

Blackpool are also involved at level three with a gold final against Euxton, Thornton Cleveleys meet Lancaster in the silver section, while Wrea Green play Preston in the bronze final.

With Covid-19 meaning a delayed start to the season, as well as a one-off competition and all manner of safety protocols to observe, Danson has nevertheless enjoyed the 2020 campaign.

He said: “It’s been good because, at the end of the day, we just wanted to play cricket.

“I think the format and the adapted season the league has come up with has been tremendous.

“We started slowly and were beaten by St Annes, who were better than us on the day, but our preparation wasn’t good.

“Since then, apart from a couple of blips, we have improved each week and there have been a lot of good performances.

“The first team are in a final, the thirds are in a final, the fourths won their group and the Sunday side finished as runners-up.

“Considering, when we go back to week one, we only had 34 players for three teams and one or two came back into the fold that we didn’t think would be available, it’s been a tremendous season for us.”

Tomorrow’s finals (all 12.30pm):

Level 1 Gold: Chorley v Blackpool

Level 1 Silver: Kendal v Longridge

Level 2 Gold: Leyland v Mawdesley

Level 2 Silver: Fulwood and Broughton v Kendal

Level 2 Bronze: Garstang v BAC/EE Preston

Level 3 Gold: Blackpool v Euxton

Level 3 Silver: Thornton Cleveleys v Lancaster

Level 3 Bronze: Wrea Green v Preston

Level 4 Gold: Walton-le-Dale v South Shore