Morecambe CC stun Palace Shield pacesetters
Morecambe CC maintained their hopes of promotion from the Moore and Smalley Palace Shield top flight after stunning leaders Fleetwood on Saturday.
A weekend after beating them in the Meyler Cup final, Morecambe were 56-run winners in a low-scoring encounter at Woodhill Lane.
They had chosen to bat first, only to fall from 37-0 to 113 all out.
Luke Pearson (23) was first to go, out to Jeremy Davies, before Declan Clerkin took control of matters.
He dismissed Fazian Ghumman (0), Lewis Smith (23) and Shane Burton (1), while Joshua Heaney removed Ashton Ward (8) and Alex Briggs (12) to leave the score 80-6.
Clerkin then picked up the wickets of Michael Bland (13) and Lloyd Smith (0) before Heaney accounted for Reuben Orr (5).
It was Zac Corcoran who ended the Morecambe innings with the wicket of Stefan Dixon (14), leaving Dan Stanley one not out.
That meant Clerkin finished with 5-26 and Heaney 3-26, while Corcoran and Davies both took 1-29.
However, the Morecambe attack decimated the Fleetwood batting to leave them all out for 57.
The pacesetters were always up against it after initially being reduced to 4-4 and then 19-6.
Dixon and Lloyd Smith did the early damage, the former dismissing Harry McAleer (1) and Clerkin (0), while the latter sent back Atiq Uz-Zaman (0) and Joseph Davis (0).
Dixon also removed Callum Birtwell-Jones (8) after Burton had picked up the wicket of Adam Sharrocks (3) to leave Morecambe firmly in control.
Davies and Corcoran almost doubled the score in taking Fleetwood to 37-6, only for the next three wickets to fall without further addition.
First to go was Davies (4), run out, before Heaney (0) fell to Dixon and Burton saw off Corcoran (11) to make it 37-9.
The last pair of William Haddow and Keane McCann added 20 but Burton ensured victory by dismissing the latter for 11.
Haddow ended nine not out as Dixon claimed 4-21, Burton 3-19 and Lloyd Smith 2-16.
Victory keeps Morecambe fourth in the table, seven points behind second-placed Eccleston with three matches left.
The first of those comes on Saturday when Morecambe travel to Croston, the division’s bottom club who need a win to avoid any chance of relegation.