Morecambe bounce back to win Bank Holiday derby clash

Morecambe bounced back in style from their defeat at Barrow on Saturday by taking the maximum 15 points in the derby game verses Lancaster on Bank Holiday Monday by eight wickets.
Wicket for Morecambe's Uzair ShahWicket for Morecambe's Uzair Shah
Wicket for Morecambe's Uzair Shah

Winning the toss Lancaster captain Ben Simm had no hesitation in batting first on a pitch which had offered a significant amount to the bowlers on the Saturday afternoon.

Despite this fact Lancaster made a good start through Lee Sparks (17) and Jamie Heywood (17) who with despite the former taking a few risks enabled Lancaster to reach 36 before Sparks was trapped LBW by Saeed Anwar jnr.

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Charlie Swarbrick looked to come and play his shots early however he could only find Luke Pearson in the gully thanks to a handy deflection from the boot of Lewis Edge.

Big hit from Lancaster's Lee Sparks.Big hit from Lancaster's Lee Sparks.
Big hit from Lancaster's Lee Sparks.

Izair Ullah (4-36) began to settle into his rhythm as he removed Kieran Moffat (11) and Jamie Heywood in quick succession.

Lancaster were in a spot of bother when Brendan Hetherington (2) drove Jake Smith (2-21) straight to cover and Lee Marshall soon followed picking out Adam Derham in the deep again from the legspin bowling of Jake Smith.

Lancaster professional Abhimanyu Khod looked to be running out of partners rapidly.

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However, he and skipper Ben Simm (27) battled hard in the face of some excellent Morecambe bowling.

Big hit from Lancaster's Lee Sparks.Big hit from Lancaster's Lee Sparks.
Big hit from Lancaster's Lee Sparks.

Saeed Anwar Jnr extracted some turn from the dry surface as Khod drove straight to Luke Pearson.

Simm continued to see his partners come and go as Reuben Orr (2) was run out by Steven Fisher and Callum East was the 9th man out run out by Izair Ullah from the final delivery Lancaster making 153 from their allotted 50 overs.

In response it was crucial that Morecambe didn’t lose early wickets.

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Skipper Josh Dixon and professional Saeed Anwar Jnr looked to take no risks early on as Liam Moffat and Charlie Swarbrick fresh from six wickets against Kendal looked to pile the pressure on the Morecambe openers.

Moffat (0-29) started with successive maidens, and when Anwar Jnr drove straight to Lee Sparks at cover on zero only to see the chance go begging Lancaster were already staring at an uphill battle.

Dixon and Anwar Jnr moved the score pat the 50 mark for no loss as Dixon’s opposite number Simm brought himself into the attack.

Simm, looking to break the partnership with his offspin, was only disappointed as Dixon advanced to strike him back over his head for a maximum and any short offerings were met with the treatment of the square leg boundary.

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As the score passed the 100 mark Dixon looked to sweep Simm hard into the legside, only to see the ball trickle into his leg stump for a well-made 30.

Matthew Derham (8) rotated the strike as Anwar Jnr passed 50 and looked to be well set to win the game.

When Derham was out, trapped LBW by Callum East (1-36), Lewis Edge made the job look easy, striking three boundaries in this 15 not out ensuring Morecambe made it home to win by eight wickets.

Saeed Anwar Jnr finished on 82 not out, a wonderful match winning innings.

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