IN a rain-affected match at Lancaster on Sunday (May 10), Blackpool won through to the third round of the Abbot Ale Cup at the expense of their Northern League rivals.

Lancaster, who won the toss and elected to bat on a wicket expected to get steadily worse managed only 98-8 from their 45 overs and in reply Blackpool had scored 70-2 in 21.2 overs when heavy rain caused the game to be abandoned.

But Blackpool's superior scoring rate gave them the tie.

Blackpool's early hero was David Cresswell who bowled his nine overs straight off and took 3-8, all his wickets, Heywood, one, Welbourne, nought and Johnstone, nought, being caught by wicketkeeper Martin Hackett.

With Namajee dismissing Dennison for five Lancaster were an incredible 18-4 at the half-way point of the innings.

By then Luke Phillips had taken root and he stayed to the close when he had made 33 not out from 139 balls without once reaching the boundary.

Of the other batsmen only Brendan Hetherington made any progress as he managed 19, an innings which included two of the three fours scored in the innings. On a wicket very much in favour of the bowlers Higham finished with 1-11 and Namajee 2-21 as Lancaster ended on 98-9.

When Blackpool went in Paul Simmonite had decided that the best policy to score runs was to hit through the line of the ball and over the in-field. And in the process of a little cameo of 25 made from 30 balls he hit one six and two fours before he was undone by a ball which stopped on him, resulting in a return catch to bowler Dennison.

McDonnell was stumped for 12 and then Bracewell carried on where Simmonite had left off and he scored 27 not out with four fours in 32 balls to put Blackpool well on the way to victory when down came the rain.

But it could not prevent a Blackpool victory and a visit from St Annes in the next round.

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