Morecambe CC experience another weekend of highs and lows

Saturday saw them beaten by 31 runs when they travelled to a Kirkham and Wesham team in the bottom two of the Moore and Smalley Palace Shield top flight.

The home team chose to bat first and were dismissed for 138 midway through the 45th over.

Overseas amateur Shane Burton led the Morecambe attack, claiming 6-40 as the hosts lost their last five wickets for 18 runs.

Morecambe’s reply had seen them progress to 100-5, only for their last five wickets to fall for seven runs as they were 107 all out.

Skipper Alex Briggs made 31 but Kirkham and Wesham’s Jamie Hogarth followed up his knock of 42 by taking 5-32 to give his side the spoils.

Nevertheless, Morecambe remain second in the table, 22 points adrift of Fleetwood, going into Saturday’s home match with Torrisholme (1pm).

Twenty-four hours later, Morecambe were one-wicket winners at BAC/EE Preston in a low-scoring Meyler Cup round one match.

Morecambe’s decision to field first looked a wise one after they bundled out their hosts for only 84 inside 28 overs.

Irfan Qayyum did much of the early damage, dismissing four of the hosts’ top five with the wickets of Kit Patel (2), Rizwan Ali (4), Imran Zanghar (4) and George Thomas (6) to finish with 4-11.

Wasim Butt (5) fell to Dan Stanley (1-13) before Briggs and Stefan Dixon set to work on the lower order.

Dixon accounted for Craig Crook (25) and Kuldeep Singh (1) in his 2-15, while Briggs took the wickets of Kieran Gandhi (20), Joe Thomas (0) and Darren McCombs (1) in claiming 3-19.

In reply, Morecambe lost Fazian Ghumman (1) in reaching 24-1, only to be reduced to 44-6.

Ben Anderton (7) was first to go, followed by Luke Pearson (12), Briggs (2), Burton (0) and Ashton Ward (9).

Dixon and Qayyum added 26 before the latter fell for 11 and the former 22 as Morecambe reached 77-8.

Gullam Maje (9) fell with the scores level but Morecambe managed the one run required to set up a quarter-final with Euxton.