Match Report
BITTER BLOW: ST ANNES' INTEREST IN CUP DISAPPEARS
Morecambe 268-5
St Annes 223-9
Gerry Wolstenholme
With their third defeat in the competition St Annes interest in the Thwaites Smooth Bitter Cup vanished on Saturday at Vernon Road when they lost to Morecambe by 45 runs. Morecambe won the toss, batted and posted an almost impregnable 268-5 to which St Annes replied with 223-9 in their 40 overs.
It was a good start for St Annes too as they dismissed the prolific Mark Woodhead for three in the sixth over when Roger Banks bowled him with the total on 18. And by then it could even have been better for Geoff Love dropped a regulation slip catch off Phil Dennison when the batsman had made only four. He certainly made St Annes pay for he went on to add another 98 runs and in fine fashion too. He drove, pulled and cut some ordinary bowling to all parts of the ground and one of his sixes left it as flew into an adjacent garden and caused some slight amount of panic as another orange ball was searched for!
He and professional Ramesh Powar added 158 runs in 26 overs before he lofted Banks to Steve Twist at mid-on and was gone for a scintillating 102 made from only 100 balls with four sixes and 11 fours. Phil Thornton then made his presence felt with a quick-fire 30 but he fell at that score when he tried once too often to hit Love straight and was bowled. That was 258-3 in the penultimate over.
Gareth Pedder, two, fell in the chase for quick runs when he was caught by Gareth Evans off Twist and Powar was run out when trying to keep the strike but he had made his best score of the season with 105 made from 107 balls with two sixes and seven fours. Faruk Patel finished on one not out and Tommy Clough, who hit the final ball to the boundary, was five not out when the Morecambe innings closed at 268-5. The St Annes bowling was nothing to write home about and Roger Banks with 2-39 was the best of the bunch.
In reply St Annes, mainly in the shape of Adrian Darlington, had 21 on the board by the sixth over but the Darlington was caught behind by Lewis Edge off Powar for 20. Adam Cotton was promoted to keep the score moving and he succeeded with some lusty blows but he lost Evans, 10, at 58 in the 12th over when he was smartly stumped by Edge again off Powar.
Twist only managed one before Edge earned his third dismissal by catching him off Stephens and it was 65-3 in the 15th over. And then in the 21st over one of St Annes best chances of winning went when Cotton, 44 from 41 balls with one six and seven fours, skied Patel to Dennison at mid-on and that was 81-4. It was 87-5 in the same over when Duncan Whalley was bowled but then Love and Russ Bradley set about a recovery.
Although falling behind the required rate, they did well and added 95 runs in 15 overs before Dennison bowled Bradley for 37. David Bartholomew made only two before Andy Bird bowled him and that was 186-7 in the 35th over. Love did his best to keep the scoreboard moving and at one point he moved along only in boundaries as he hit five in succession. But when he had made 72 he got a top edge to Bird and Clough at third man dived forward to take a good catch. Love's runs had come from only 85 balls and his innings contained two sixes and seven fours.
Dave Taylor was caught and bowled by Dennison for one and when the overs ran out, Banks had 17 not out and Michael Baer one not out in a final total of 223-5 with the wickets being shared by five Morecambe bowlers.
The result means that the final two group games for St Annes do not have anything riding on them but there is still pride to play for and wins against Blackpool on 27 July and Chorley on 3 August will do much to restore cup confidence.
