Fylde coast cricket round-up: Fleetwood share top spot after derby victory; county cup wins for Blackpool and St Annes; Steven Croft can't save Lytham; Palace Shield league and cup action

Fleetwood moved into a three-way tie at the top of cricket’s Northern Premier League with a convincing derby victory over St Annes, while champions Blackpool had to settle for another winning draw.
Declan Clerkin was in fine all-round form for the Fleetwood team that defeated St AnnesDeclan Clerkin was in fine all-round form for the Fleetwood team that defeated St Annes
Declan Clerkin was in fine all-round form for the Fleetwood team that defeated St Annes
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Alex Davies back in Lancashire squad after impressive comeback at Blackpool

Winless St Annes chose to bat at Highbury, where the hosts dismissed them for 143 in 40.4 overs en route to a five-wicket victory as Declan Clerkin enjoyed an outstanding day.Number one Tom Higson gave St Annes a solid start with 41 from 64 balls and shared in a second-wicket stand to 53 with Mohamed Nadeem.But after that pair had steered St Annes to a highly promising 80-1, they then succumbed to 111-8 before a late rally.Clerkin instigated the collapse with 6-27 from 11.4 overs, his best return for Fleetwood and his first six-for in league cricket, Alex Ryder chipping in with 3-39 off 12 overs.Fleetwood then required just 36.3 overs to polish off their fourth victory in seven games at 145-5.Rana Signh got the reply off to a positive start with 57 (seven fours and a six) and put on 83 for the second wicket with Keegan Armstrong (28).As with the St Annes innings, the fall of the second wicket triggered something of a slump, the hosts stumbling from 95-1 to 106-5 as Amar Ullah took 3-40 from 11.But James Gregson came in at seven to steady the ship with an unbeaten 23 from 26 balls and Clerkin also stood firm to complete his fine day at 18 not out.It meant Fleetwood bounced back in style from the previous weekend’s defeat at Fulwood and Broughton, who are another of the clubs sharing top spot on 77 points after hammering Barrow. The third are Netherfield, who suffered a shock first defeat of the season at home to Leyland, who skittled them for 59.St Annes are the only team in the NPL without a win but they have increased their lead over bottom club Barrow to three points. Leyland’s stunning win at Netherfield saw them replace Blackpool in fourth spot after the Stanley Park club recorded their third winning draw.In a match reduced to 42 overs a side by rain, Blackpool set a target of 193-8 only for struggling Penrith to survive quite comfortably at 146-6.The hosts were put in and opener Sam Dutton top-scored with 73, passing 50 for the third time this season and finding a durable third-wicket partner in Josh Boyne. But the next three in for Blackpool managed just one run between them, all removed by Greg Hall on his way to 5-58 from 16.The Blackpool total looked like being sufficient for victory as the Cumbrians lost their top three for a combined score of three, two of them falling to Matt Grindley on his way to 3-43 from 13 overs.But Penrith, with just one win to date, then dug in for the draw thanks largely to the outstanding Hall’s unbeaten 59 at number six.Other results: Barrow 53 lost to Fulwood and Broughton 55-1 by nine wickets, Garstang 196-8 drew with Chorley 176-5, Netherfield 59 lost to Leyland 150-8 by 91 runs

Blackpool and St Annes were both convincing winners in the second round of the Lancashire Cricket Federation Club Knockout yesterday. Blackpool defeated Woodhouses by 80 runs in Manchester, where they were inserted and reached 220-9 in their 45 overs. Wicketkeeper Craig Brown led the way with 51 at number three, while professional Lahiru Madushanka added 40. The Greater Manchester League club were this dismissed for 140 in 41.1 overs. Matt Siddall took 3-32 from nine overs but it was Madushanka who Woodhouses found unplayable, scoring just one run from his five overs. The Sri Lankan also took two wickets.Another pro in form was Tim Smithies, who scored his maiden St Annes century in the 84-run home win over Woodbank.The South African made 108 out of a total of 246-6, sharing a second-wicket stand of 124 with Mohamed Nadeem (58) after the hosts chose to bat at Vernon Road.The Bury club were hopeful a they passed 100 with two wickets down only to slip from 142-4 to 162 all out in 35.5 overs as Amar Ullah took 5-12 from is 6.5 overs.Blackpool will visit Leyland, while St Annes are at home to Barrow in two all-NPL third-round ties on June 23.

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Steven Croft had blasted a century on his first Lytham appearance of the season at Formby but couldn’t repeat the feat at Leigh on Saturday, when the winless Church Road club fell to a 101-run defeat in the Liverpool Competition.Lytham hoped to have turned the corner after that Croft-inspired draw at high-flying Formby but Leigh set a target of 217-7 at Beech Walk which proved way beyond them. The hosts were 129-5 after being put in when Adam Shallcross was joined by Ryan Housley for a match-changing stand of 88.Shallcross finished unbeaten on 69 from 88 balls (six fours and a six) as Leigh declared after 60 overs, Housley contributing 37. Alex Mason claimed the final three wickets to finish with 3-61 from his 13 overs. Lancashire’s Croft sent down 17 overs for a single wicket and then hit five fours in his 22, a Lytham top score matched by Mason as the visitors could survive only 33 overs before being dismissed for 116.The proud claimant of Croft’s scalp was Finnegan Hulbert, who took 3-40 off 12 overs as Lytham fell from 56-2 to 71-6.. The visitors recovered to 109-6 but could add only seven more. Croft’s Lancashire team-mate Toby Lester (left) from Poulton captained the side in the absence of Ben Saunders but could contribute only five.There were also three wickets for Lewis Pearson and former St Annes all-rounder Toby Bulcock, whose nine overs went for only 19 runs following his earlier 39 with the bat.Leigh celebrated their second ECB premier league win, though Lytham remain second-bottom and are only a point above Colwyn Bay. It has been a disappointing start for Lytham, whose only win all season came in the Ray Digman Knockout and they have already exited three cup competitions.

The Fylde coast’s premier division clubs in the Moore and Smalley Palace Shield all lost on Saturday. Morecambe’s victory over Great Eccleston left them top, while Fylde slipped to the bottom with defeat to Lancaster. Fylde coast clubs are faring better in division one A, where Thornton Cleveleys dismissed Hoghton for 41 on their way to a fifth win in six games, leaving them just a point behind leaders Rufford with a game in hand.TC are the division’s only unbeaten side, while Kirkham and Wesham have lost only once and stand fourth after a win over Tarleton which closes the gap between the clubs to three points.Thornton Cleveleys had a 56-run win at Rufford in the Meyler Cup yesterday, though Kirkham and Wesham and Norcross lost their first-round games.TC will be at home to Torrisholme, who overcame Norcross, in the quarter-finals on June 23.

MOORE AND SMALLEY PALACE SHIELD RESULTSPremier Division: Fylde 102-8 (B Simm 3-24, C Swarbrick 3-27) lost to Lancaster 103-6 )L Atkinson 32no) by four wickets, Morecambe 158 (A Creech 48, J Procter 4-28, M Rigby 3-43) beat Great Eccleston 99 (D Baker 5-14, G Cassidy 3-32), New Longton 146-4 (P Haydock 63no, S M Nalbandh 46no, M Bolus 3-26) beat South Shore 143-8 (T Davis 50, P Haydock 5-24)by six wickets, by 59 runs, Croston 172-9 lost to Preston 174-6 by four wickets, Eccleston 140-9 lost to Vernon Carus 141-3 (M Hardicker 55) by nine wickets, Penwortham 141-3 beat Standish 137-6 (by seven wickets)Division 1A: Kirkham and Wesham 100-5 (C Wilson 33) beat Tarleton 97 (J Hogarth 3-43) by five wickets, Norcross 103 (C Quinn 37, P Brook 4-30, S Bajibhai 3-16) lost to Grimasargh 185-9 by 82 runs (M Gupta 76no, R Hilton 40, I Davies 5-59), Thornton Cleveleys 42-0 beat Hoghton 41 by (D Howard 6-16, C Chisholm 3-23), Torrisholme 106 lost to Withnell Fold 150 by 44 runs, Whittle and Clayton-le-Woods 151-9 lost to Rufford 153-2 by eight wickets.Meyler Cup: Croston 194-6 (S Marsh 81, I Dickinson 62 no) beat Kirkham and Wesham 141-9 (S Wright 56, A Cheema 5-26) by 53 runs, Rufford 169-9 lost to Thornton Cleveleys 225-6 (D Howard 71no) by 56 runs, Torrisholme 173-4 (K Hansson 43no) beat Norcross 171-7 (Z Gane 72, J Eccles 3-27) by six wickets, Vernon Carus 145-7 lost to Penwortham 150-7 by three wickets.