Thread by @TomEvansEcho

Trafalgar Road looking pretty, pretty good. Leigh have won the toss and chosen to bat against Southport & Birkdale.

Tight start from the bowlers produces an early breakthrough - Paul Farrar flashes at one from Dinuka Dilshan and is caught behind. 2/1.

Chris Firth has leaked one run from each of his three overs so far; Dilshan none from his two. The S&B fielders are very noisy.

Tom Grundy hits the first boundary of the innings, trying to leave one alone. Sun is out and the pitch from here looks flat and true, but the bowlers are on top so far.

Big wicket: Mattie McKiernan couldn’t get Firth away and ended up top-edging a sweep to the deep square boundary, where Basil Sultan clung on. 11/2.

Karl Brown is the new man; bit of a counter-attack as he lofts Firth over mid-on for a single then cloths Dilshan behind square for four. 17/2.

Dilshan is giving Grundy mid-off and pitching it up - it nearly pays off, but two balls later he crunches one through the covers for four. 24/2 from 13 overs.

Brown starting to find, and use, his feet - he takes two fours off Firth over mid-wicket, then rocks back and crunches him through point. Dilshan looking slightly weary as he begins his eighth over and a misfield gives Grundy four down the ground. Leigh getting into the game.

50 partnership up between Grundy and Brown. Bobby Wincer replaces Dilshan. 62/2 from 22.

The players have #drinks after a decent first couple of overs from Wincer - a couple dropped short, but a couple passing the outside edge as well. Since the first 45 minutes or so, Leigh have been going very nicely. 76/2 from 25 overs.

Usually about 110; 20 in the last hour, which starts about 6.15. Batting side stop earning points after 55 overs and only keep them after a win if they declare at or before 55.

https://twitter.com/paulframe85/status/1401155899625029634

Quiet after drinks. Firth round the wicket to Grundy with three catchers on the leg side: Leigh 85/2 from 29 overs.

Brown runs Wincer down to third man to bring up his 50, then celebrates with a punch down the ground. 106/2. Partnership worth 95 - S&B need a breakthrough.

100 partnership up. Brown has been reprieved a couple of times and will be looking to cash in here, as Leigh aim to kick on. He’s on 60, Grundy 47. 112/2 from 40 overs.

Stung by my “looking to cash in here” comment, Brown attempts a weird kind of ramp shot to Wincer and is bowled for 64. 117/3 and S&B have opened up an end.

Grundy squeezes a single into the leg side and moves to 50. Struggled at first against Dilshan but has looked comfortable since; he’ll need to find another gear now, as the set batter. 124/3 from 42.

The new batter, Adam Shallcross, is a similar build and stance to Grundy. Petition to make him shrink a bit and wear a Lancashire helmet, or failing that just send Brown back out. 135/3 from 45.

Shallcross (who is actually a fair bit shorter than Grundy, when you see them next to each other) collars the first six of the day back over Wincer’s head.

Grundy carves Firth through the covers to move on to 70, then picks out mid-off from the next ball. Batted nicely but Leigh would have wanted either him or Brown to stick around until the end. 157/4 in the 49th. Still only three bowlers used.

Darren Low belts a couple of fours then goes, smartly stumped by Jack Carney off Wincer. 180/5 in the 52nd. They’re batting like they’ll declare.

And another for the same combo, Shallcross lunging forwards and edging to Carney. 181/6.

Someone ought to write about 1600 words on why left-arm spinners will always pick up a lot of wickets in this format.

Matty Hurst reverse-sweeps Wincer and is caught; all of a sudden the young spinner is looking at another five-for. 190/7.

And there it is - Wincer bowls Finn Hulbert. 195/8, end of the 54th over.

Classic end-of-innings antics here. Firth shells a return chance, during which the batters take two; then gets his revenge by having Alex Mason stumped. And the declaration follows - 200/9. S&B need 201 to win. Honours about even so far.

Leigh going through their paces on the outfield. Laying down a marker - we don’t even NEED the last bit of the tea break, they seem to be saying. Now someone has rung a bell, and the umpires and batters have come out.

Patrick Allen - fairly rapid, from where I’m sitting - starts with a maiden to Isaac Lea.

Zac Donohue is the other bowler, so seam from both ends for the first time today. JJFielding gets the innings off the mark with a single.

Fielding has been trying to get on the front foot - but he chips Allan to mid-on. 1/1.

Jack Stanley is the new man. On paper, this is a strong but largely inexperienced line-up - S&B need someone to go big.

Couple of boundaries get Lea up and running - one through the slips, one beautifully timed through point. 9/1 from four overs.

Moral victory for Allen as Stanley slices one through the vacant gully. 15/1.

Now Lea has broken his bat digging out a Donohue yorker. It’s all* happening here.

Allen is testing Fielding outside off stump. Lea is fussing about his bat. 19/1 from 9 overs. 201 the target.

*Stanley. Fielding is already out.

Lea seems to like his latest bat - he uses it to break a tense little spell by hitting a couple of boundaries off Donohue. 29/1.

But as I tweet, Allen’s battle with Stanley ends with some splattered stumps. Dinuka Dilshan next in. 29/2.

Lea is furious with himself - he cuts Adam Shallcross’s first ball for four then plays the same shot to his second and nicks it to the keeper. He was looking good there. 33/3. David Snellgrove comes to the crease.

Bit of spin now, McKiernan into the attack to replace Allen, who’s been excellent.

I’m sat near where Allen is fielding and while his bowling spell has finished, I can confirm his spell of shouting YES SHALL YES SHALLY GO ON SHALL GET US ANOTHER BACKING YOU BUD is only just getting started.

The shouting pays off as Dilshan chips Shallcross to mid-on. 48/4. Still a long way to go. Basil Sultan next in.

Sultan scored 84 against Bootle last weekend - S&B need something along those lines now.

What they didn’t need was for him to be stumped by Matty Hurst off McKiernan. 57/5, Charlie Byrne joins Snellgrove. Massive task ahead now.

Alex Mason into the attack with his left-arm spin. Someone should etc etc. 67/5, 134 needed.

Byrne edges to slip off Mason. Well held. 68/6.

Over after drinks, Mason gets Snellgrove as well, top-edging a sweep. And that’s probably the game. 71/7, still 130 required.

Jack Carney can bat, we know that from last summer. He looks very correct. But with number 9 Bobby Wincer at the other end, it’s a lot to ask.

Wincer goes, LBW playing back to McKiernan. 75/8. Chris Firth to the crease.

Umpires seem to have signalled last hour, which is earlier than I’d expected.

Carney and Firth have negotiated the first two overs with few alarms, so it’s time for some pace - Shallcross back into the attack.

Mason gets Firth lbw - well forward but these days... 82/9. Skipper Chris Cunningham is the last man.

Cunningham put down at slip off Shallcross. 8 of the last 20 gone. 84/9.

66 balls to go. 1 wicket for Leigh to take. Carney edges past the keeper for four. 65 balls to go.

Now nine overs to go. Shallcross continues.

Carney untroubled. Mason still on from the other end - reckon they’ll try pace from both ends soon if they don’t get this wicket.

Big shout for both lbw and a catch but nothing doing... six overs to go. Rather than pace from both ends, McKiernan replaces Shallcross.

Seven overs to go, I should say.

A Carney late cut gives S&B a batting point. 14 gone in the last hour, 102/9.

Shallcross has changed ends.

But to no effect. Five overs to go. Carney on strike to McKiernan.

Four overs left.

Three overs to go; McKiernan to bowl this one, Cunningham on strike.

AND HE GETS THE WICKET, Cunningham given lbw, again on the front foot... Leigh win by 91 runs.

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