A VEHEMENT appeal by all the Netherfield fielders was rejected from the final ball of the Northern Premier League game against St Annes at Vernon Road last Saturday.

And that signalled a drawn contest, after a match which St Annes had for the taking entering the final 20 overs.

Replying to Netherfield's 188-9 they had 98-4 on the board with professional Geoff Love still at the crease. But scoring a modest 91 with six wickets in hand was beyond them and they ended with four points instead of 12.

The day had began badly for them as Craig Walmsley started like a house on fire. And it was the surrounding houses that suffered as he peppered them with three sixes and, adding four fours, he had made 45 of the first 62 when he was stumped by Duncan Whalley off Mark Winder. Pieter Strydom carried on the attack, also hitting sixes into adjacent gardens, and only some superb bowling by Love kept the total within reasonable bounds. It was Love who then did the damage, dismissing seven of the next eight batsmen.

Tommy Prime was leg-before-wicket for 19 and Strydom was well caught off bat and pad by an alert Whalley for 38.

Ben Haddrick was caught at slip by Russ Bradley for nought, John Mason was caught and bowled for nine and then Grahame Clarke, who had also assailed nearby property with four huge sixes, rashly played back to a ball that hurried through and bowled him. Stephen Twist had Danny Welbourne stumped by Whalley who then completed two stumpings in successive balls when Stewart, a quick 21, and David Wheatman, nought, fell to Love. Scott Clement made three not out and Marc Hadwin one not out as Netherfield closed on 188-9 with Love taking a masterly 7-54.

St Annes in reply lost two early wickets as Adrian Darlington was caught by Walmsley off Clement for one and Jack Kelliher wafted at the same bowler to be caught in the gully by Strydom for four.

Twist and Love then added 50 for the third wicket before the former was bowled by Mason for 18 and, although Bradley only made nine before being caught behind by Prime off Strydom, St Annes were very much in the driving seat entering the final 20 overs.

But once Sean Bickerdike, 23, and Love, 64, were out, it was more a case of fighting for survival than striving for victory. Bickerdike was leg- before-wicket to Strydom and Love, becalmed after reaching his half century, was caught by the ubiquitous Walmsley off Clement after an innings lasting 148 balls and containing eight fours.

Duncan Whalley, 18, and Adam Taylor, 12 not out, tried to put St Annes back on track but once Whalley was bowled by Hadwin, who then had Winder leg-before-wicket in the final over, it was a matter of seeing the final two balls out. Fifteen-year-old Michael Baer, who had earlier bowled impressively during the Netherfield onslaught, survived, despite the loud appeal that would have been heard at Blackpool's Stanley Park.

St Annes 166-9 Netherfield 188-9

Mention of Stanley Park leads to the shock result of the day as visitors Leyland Motors won by two runs. Motors made only 115 with Ashraf scoring 59, Stephen Croft taking 4-32 and Oliver Newby 4-37.

But Blackpool had three ducks from the first four batsmen and only Croft, 33, kept them anywhere near reaching the target. It was 95-9 when the last pair, Martin Hackett, seven not out, and Marcus Sharp, 13, came together. But, needing six from the final over, a superb throw from the deep ran Sharp out and Blackpool had lost by two runs.

Fleetwood, meanwhile, defeated Lancaster in a rain-reduced contest. Paul Hague made his first senior half-century in Fleetwood's total of 116-8 and then some good bowling from Dave Fish, 4-26, Steve Hill, 3-21, and Hague, 3-31, saw Lancaster dismissed for 81 to lose by 35 runs.