Fylde coast cricket round-up: Perfect starts to the season continue

Having started the season by defeating Penrith, they recorded a 98-run win over Kendal at Vernon Road yesterday.

After being asked to bat first, St Annes compiled 207-6 from their 50 overs.

Openers Tom Higson and Luke Jardine had added 51 for the first wicket before the former fell victim to Chris Miller for 26.

It kickstarted a passage of play in which St Annes lost all six wickets for only 66 runs.

Jardine (30) was run out before Yohan De Silva (10), Lukman Vahaluwala (0) and skipper Nathan Bolus (15) were all dismissed by Matthew Park.

Alex Bradley’s departure for 20 left St Annes at 117-6 but Andy Drake and Nathan Bend added an unbroken 90 for the seventh wicket.

Drake played the anchor role, hitting four boundaries and a six in his 37 not out from 60 deliveries.

It was Bend who provided the fireworks as he hit 63 not out from only 44 balls, an innings yielding seven fours and three sixes.

Park (3-36) led the bowling for a Kendal team who were 109 all out inside 31 overs of their reply.

Mitch Bolus (2-38) picked up a couple of early wickets as they slipped to 13-3 before Rongsen Jonathan and Tom Aspinwall led a recovery.

They added 53 before Aspinwall (14) became the first of three wickets for Thomas Bradley (3-22).

That saw Kendal slip from 66-3 to 109 all out, Higson also claiming 3-22, with Vahaluwala (1-21) also among the wickets.

Victory leaves St Annes as one of four sides to take maximum points from the first two games along with Chorley, Garstang and Longridge.

Blackpool might have fancied their chances of making it five teams on 30 points, only for their match at Netherfield to be abandoned.

The home team had opted to bat first but were dismissed for 159 with 11 balls of their innings remaining.

Openers Ben Barrow and Josh Dixon had started solidly, putting on 34 before the Blackpool bowlers set to work.

Richard Gleeson accounted for Dixon (17), while Matt Grindley sent back Barrow (16), Ashutosh Singh (2), Finlay Richardson (0) and John Mason (1) as 34-0 quickly became 38-5.

That was the signal for Bradley Earl and Daniel Bernet to frustrate the Blackpool attack as they added 66 for the sixth wicket.

Jamie Thomson ended the partnership, dismissing Earl for 38 before Arran Lewin set to work on the lower order.

He picked up the wickets of Lee Hogg (9), Samuel Medhurst (6) and Bernet (63) before Gleeson accounted for Matt Jackson (0) to end the innings.

That gave him 2-28 as Grindley claimed 4-40, Lewin 3-45 and Thomson 1-40 but Blackpool were unable to begin their run chase.

Fleetwood and Thornton Cleveleys also made it two wins from two at the start of the Moore and Smalley Palace Shield Premier Division season.

Thornton sit second, one point behind leaders Morecambe, after an eight-wicket victory at Croston.

The home team chose to bat first and completed their 45 overs on 165-7.

Ian Dickinson top-scored with 54 while fellow opener Max Harper added 36 in an first-wicket stand of 95.

Jeremy Newman (2-32) and Greg Tirrell (2-33) led the attack for Thornton, who claimed victory by reaching 169-2 in reply.

Jon Eade was 75 not out and Josh Sackfield 41 not out as they reached their target with nine overs in hand.

Fleetwood sit fourth, level on points with Thornton, after a six-wicket defeat of Kirkham and Wesham.

K&W batted first but lost wickets in clusters as they could only reach 124-8 at the conclusion of their innings.

Jeremy Davies (3-24) and Declan Clerkin (3-34) were instrumental in reducing them to 24-3 and then 72-6.

Opener Michael Brooks (24) had offered the main resistance before Liam Castellas helped K&W past three figures.

He hit an undefeated 59 as Zac Corcoran (2-19) took the last two wickets to fall.

Fleetwood’s reply saw them breeze to victory, posting 125-4 inside 22 overs.

Antony Wilson (2-31) and Justin Banks (2-36) claimed the wickets to fall but Clerkin followed up his bowling feats with the bat.

Eight fours and three sixes contributed to his 65 from only 44 balls in helping his team to victory.

Great Eccleston lost by three wickets to early pacesetters Morecambe.

Will Thistlethwaite top-scored with 31 in Great Ecc’s 172 all out before Morecambe responded with 173-7, Lewis Smith following up his first-day century with 86.

In division two, St Annes bowled out Gregson Lane for 106 and replied with 107-2, Norcross were 78 all out chasing Preston’s 127, while Wrea Green reached 116-2 after dismissing Vernon Carus for 115.

Lytham picked up their second victory of the Liverpool Competition thanks to a nine-wicket defeat of Bootle.

Their decision to field first paid off as they skittled the visitors for 101 one ball into the 37th over.

Having reached 31-1, Bootle then lost their last nine wickets for only 70 runs as the Lytham attack dominated.

Toby Lester picked up 4-42 from 14 overs, supported by Josh Holden (3-10), Tom Hessey (2-25) and Tom Jefferson (1-9).

The Lytham batters were similarly dominant in reply, reaching 104-1 after only 18 overs.

Jefferson (1) was the only man out as Ed Fiddler struck 13 boundaries in an undefeated 63, while skipper Matt Taaffe ended 20 not out.