Match Report
MICHAEL 'YOGI' BAER THE STAR
AS ST ANNES WIN LOW SCORING THRILLER
Blackpool 132
St Annes 135-7
Gerry Wolstenholme
On the face of it the track at Vernon Road on Saturday for the visit of neighbours Blackpool looked like it would ooze runs. And when St Annes won the toss and inserted the visitors it looked, at 78-1, that this was the case. But then came the spinners, Geoff Love and Michael Baer, and the game changed dramatically. Blackpool ended up being bowled out for just 132 in 53.3 overs, having reached 100 in 26 overs, and St Annes replied, after some early and middle order scares, at 135-7 to win by three wickets.
It was a disappointing crowd at the start on a gloriously sunny day but the number of spectators increased as the afternoon wore on. Those were there at the start saw Martin Pickles, in his own words, become a hooker at St Annes for the first time in his career and when he did hook the ball from Roger Banks in the direction of fine leg he only found the safe hands of Steve Twist. He was out for seven and Blackpool were 13-1.
Thereafter makeshift opener Steve Mercer and Steven Croft made hay against the bowling of Banks and Twist and they added 62 in 55 minutes. The scoring rate had already begun to slow down towards the end of the partnership as by that time Baer and Love were bowling in tandem. Croft was the first to go after he had made a fine 38 from 58 balls with seven fours. He played a half-shot at Baer and scooped the ball gently into the hands of Adrian Darlington at backward square leg and that was 78-2.
Mark Lomas joined Mercer who had raced to 21 and then struggled through the 20s and 30s and they had taken the total to 100 in the 26th over when Lomas, having already escaped one stumping chance, danced down the track to Love and found himself stranded as Duncan Whalley calmly whipped off the bails. He had gone for nine and Blackpool were 100-3. And it was at this point that one Blackpool follower announced that they would be 150 all out, a comment that was greeted with much scepticism by those around!
Mercer had made 39 from 103 balls with six fours when he was fourth out at 116. Baer surprised him with a quicker ball and he was bowled and then with his next ball the young spinner accounted for Blackpool's professional Deon Kruis. He pushed tentatively forward and Gareth Evans at silly mid-off snapped up the catch. It was quickly 117-6 when Steve Metcalf, who had battled hard to get to 10, edged Baer to Love at slip. Prash Aga only made one before he was caught behind by Whalley off Baer and then Paul Danson, who was given two lives in the deep when not following through with his shots, and Martin Hackett took the total to 131 before the innings was quickly wrapped up.
Danson, who had caused amusement by coming out to bat with two right hand gloves, was smartly picked up at short leg by Evans off Love for nine at 131 and then Hackett and David Higham staged their own mini version of a comic opera that resulted in the latter being run out for one at 132-9. And it was all over soon afterwards as Hackett, four, drove Love to Banks at deep mid-off and Blackpool had lost their final nine wickets for just 44 runs to be all out for 132. Baer finished with a polished 5-51 while Love was his usual immaculate, parsimonious self and bowled 20.3 overs and took 3-22.
If St Annes thought it was going to be a cake-walk from then on in, they were mistaken even though they got off to a flying start as Darlington blasted a quick 16 before getting a ball that stopped on him and induced a return catch to Kruis with the total on 19. Twist also started well and had 10 to his name when he was dismissed in almost identical fashion to Darlington at 33-2.
Evans and Love put on 30 for the third wicket before Love, 12, got an edge to a rising ball from Kruis and Hackett took the catch and that was 63-3. Whalley made 10 before he fatefully went back instead of forward to Higham and was bowled at 86-4. Evans, who made a fine 37 from 88 balls with five fours, was next to go as he gave Higham the charge only to miss and be stumped by Hackett at 97-5.
Blackpool at this point thought they might be in with a chance of a surprise victory but Lomas then sprang a surprise and gave Croft an over of off-spin, and that with an experienced off-spinner in Danson fielding on the boundary! It was manna from heaven for Adam Cotton and he gratefully thumped three boundaries off the over. But Croft did get a modicum of revenge in the next over when Cotton, attempting another big hit, skied Higham to slip and he was gone for 20 at 114-6.
David Bartholomew's dismissal, leg before wicket to Kruis for nought, with only one run added gave Blackpool renewed hope but, with Russ Bradley at one end and Banks coming in strike a straight four from his first ball, St Annes were still in the driving seat. And so it proved as Bradley made 11 not out, and Banks, with another straight drive to the boundary, won the game with nine not out. St Annes were 135-7 thus taking the 12 points and keeping up their serious challenge for the title.
