Morecambe Cricket Club prepares for crucial weekend

Morecambe Cricket Club’s first XI has a busy weekend ahead with both a league fixture and a cup final on the horizon.

The team will make the short trip to Torrisholme on Saturday to play in their league, the Palace Shield Premier Division, then compete in the Meyler Cup final against Fleetwood in Thornton Cleveleys on Sunday.

It’s coming towards the end of the 2022 edition of the PS Premier Division, with only five more rounds of fixtures remaining.

With 17 matches played, Morecambe CC are fourth, two places off a promotion spot, and will visit local side Torrisholme on Saturday, who were in relegation form just a couple of months ago but now occupy seventh in a league of 12.

Morecambe captain Alex Briggs, speaking to Beyond Radio, believes that their fight to get promoted back to the Northern Premier Cricket League, following their relegation last year, is far from over.

“If we can push on and get second spot and get promoted, along with playing in the cup final, that’d be a great season," he said.

The cup final on Sunday sees them face off against current PS Premier Division leaders Fleetwood. Morecambe have beaten BAC/EE Preston, Euxton and Mawdesley to get to the final, and while the upcoming match will be a tough challenge, Alex and the rest of the team are confident.

“We trained last night and it’s looking good – everyone’s quite relaxed but looking forward to it at the same time," he said.

Playing two matches over a weekend is something that the group are used to and won’t be fazed by.

“Physically-wise, we’re a pretty young side; there’ll be a bit of stiffness but it won’t be too bad," said Alex.

There will be at least 50 Morecambe supporters attending the game on Sunday, and Alex says that over the course of the season, weather-depending, they’ve been quite well-supported.

It’s been a big season on a personal note for Alex in his first season as club captain.

“It’s been challenging to learn to be captain while on the job but I feel the season for me has been going all right, batting and scoring a good few runs. I’d like to score more but that’s just how most batsmen think.”

Merv Evans, a Lancaster city councillor and proud Morecambe man who had connections to the town’s cricket club, passed away last week and Alex said that it would be nice to get a victory in honour of him.

“It would be nice to get a win under our belts in memory of Merv, who was a club stalwart. If we were to get a result, it’d be for him.”

There was a minute’s silence in memory of him at their cricket ground, Woodhill Lane, last weekend before they won against Kirkham and Wesham.

Torrisholme v Morecambe gets underway at Boundary Meadow at 1pm on Saturday, while the Meyler Cup final against Fleetwood starts at 1pm on Sunday in Illawalla, Thornton Cleveleys.