Fylde coast cricket review: Fleetwood’s third league victory as St Annes get off the mark
Fleetwood CC made it three wins from as many division two games as they bid to return to the Northern Premier Cricket League top flight.
Victory number three came at Great Eccleston on Saturday, when they won by nine wickets.
Fleetwood dismissed their hosts for 85 with 13.4 overs left, taking the last six wickets for eight runs as Nathan Bend claimed 4-24 from his 10.2 overs.
A short interruption saw Fleetwood’s target revised to 81, but it mattered little as they needed just 17.3 overs to seal victory for the loss of Andy Drake (23).
Jeremy Davies batted through for a run-a-ball 35 not out with the Broadwater club one of three teams on maximum points, along with leaders Fulwood & Broughton and Euxton.
Euxton maintained their 100 per cent start with a 10-wicket thumping of Thornton Cleveleys.
Only opener Josh Borrell (22) reached 20 with TC 104 all out in 33.1 overs.
They did well to reach three figures from 51-7 as Nisham Peiris took 5-31.
Josh Tolley (59 not out) and Max Harper (38 not out) shared 20 boundaries as Euxton sealed victory in 17 overs at 106-0.
Division two also saw Lytham lose by 33 runs at Whalley in a battle of the NPCL’s new boys for 2026.
Lytham asked their hosts to bat first and saw them recover from 86-6 to 144-8.
Levi Wolfenden and Daniel Ainsworth both made 38 for Whalley as Sahaan Sahaan finished with 6-35.
In reply, Lytham lost a host of cheap wickets in being dismissed for 111, Ben Saunders (21) top-scoring with Wolfenden claiming 6-22.
St Annes could celebrate a first win of the division one campaign with victory by 76 runs at Settle.
Asked to bat first, St Annes completed their 50 overs on 169-9 as skipper Harry Birkman made 65 from as many balls.
Settle’s response saw them struggle to 77-5 before being dismissed for 93, Zain Abbas finishing with figures of 4-6 from 12 overs.
However, Blackpool lost both of their league and cup matches over the weekend.
They went down by five wickets against Carlisle at Stanley Park on Saturday, having posted 197-7 when they batted first.
Ben Howarth (47) and Ali Usman (44) added 50 for the third wicket, only for Carlisle to reach 198-5 with 11 overs in hand.
Opener Zephania Arinaitwe top-scored, taking the initiative with 45 from only 25 balls.
Then, on Sunday, Blackpool lost by 73 runs at Prestwich in the ECB National Club Championship.
Usman took 4-9 as Prestwich were all out for 138, but Blackpool were skittled for 65 with John Richardson claiming 5-34.
Elsewhere, Fylde were 11-run winners against Netherfield’s seconds in the Palace Shield Championship.
Dan Smith (50) helped Fylde to 175-8 before taking 4-39 as Netherfield were all out for 164 with 13 balls left.
Kirkham & Wesham were in league and cup action, starting with Saturday’s two-wicket loss to Tarleton in division one of the Palace Shield.
Ryan Galligan (41) top-scored in K&W’s 160-9 before Tarleton, chasing a reduced target of 143, reached 145-8 with one ball left.
However, K&W were nine-wicket winners over Longridge’s seconds in the Meyler Cup on Sunday.
Theo Cunliffe’s 5-18 helped K&W to dismiss their opponents for 140, with Tait Roberts-Hodgson’s 69 not out taking them to 141-1 in reply.