Outclassed

On the day, they proved to be in good form and bowled Blackpool out for 163 when a total nearer 200 looked likely as Blackpool entered the second half of their innings at 75-1.

In reply, only Marcus Sharp of the Blackpool bowlers ever looked likely to take any wickets as a mixture of mediocre to poor bowling was served up at the other end as Fleetwood coasted to 166-2 to win by eight wickets with more than six overs remaining.

Blackpool started badly, losing Robin Bracewell for his second successive duck as he was well held at slip by Shawn Nicolson off the bowling of Neil Gregson.

Martin Pickles and Chris Cornall then fashioned a good partnership and put on 70 runs in even time with Cornall in particular playing some delightful shots all around the ground.

A drinks break at 75-1 seemed to be the catalyst for Blackpool disaster as three wickets went down immediately afterwards.

Pickles, 38, took a fresh guard and then swept Clinning straight into the hands of Dave Fish at backward square leg.

Croft perished leg before wicket to Fish without scoring and Crane fared just the same as he got the faintest of edges to Fish for Keith Riley to make the catch; Blackpool 81-4.

Cornall and acting captain Paul Danson then put on 57 with Cornall doing most of the scoring before they were both dismissed by the Riley/Fish combination.

Danson, 14, went first as he advanced down the pitch only for Riley to make an excellent leg-side stumping and the wicketkeeper repeated the dose, albeit with a much simpler stumping, as Cornall, a splendid 75 from 113 balls with 10 fours, rushed down the track.

That was 138-6.

Gavin Armstrong made 15 before being run out, Manajee made a wild swipe at Fish to lose his off stump for four, Hoggarth was run out for two and Cresswell was bowled by Gregson for nought off the last ball of the innings which left Marcus Sharp, surprisingly batting at number nine considering his recent run of form with the bat, not out four.

Dave Fish was the pick of the Fleetwood bowlers with a return of 5-48 as Blackpool subsided to 163 all out.

Fleetwood's reply started with captain John Wright looking in good form and he had done the bulk of the scoring when his partner Michael Dewhurst was bowled by the admirable Sharp for seven. Sharp struck again when he had Clinning leg before wicket for nine and Fleetwood were 65-2.

It could have been worse had John Crane held on to a fierce cut from Wright off Sharp when the batsman had scored only 34.

Departing professional Shawn Nicolson then joined Wright and from then on there was only one winner.

Sharp tried his heart out and bowled an excellent line and length but the offerings from the other end were far from spectacular.

Danson bowled three overs for 18, Namajee 3.4 overs for 30, Armstrong two overs for 14 and then Pickles was brought into the attack only for Wright to savage him for three fours in his only over.

The end came when Wright, 88, not out from 112 balls with seven fours and Nicolson, 54 not out from 76 balls with eight fours, had put on 101 in 77 minutes and it was merciful relief for Blackpool followers that the game was over with Fleetwood 166-2 and victors by eight wickets.

Professional Marcus Sharp, who has now taken 106 wickets in his two seasons at the club, has resigned for Blackpool for a third term.

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