MORECAMBE'S winning run came to an end as Leyland and Farington bored the pants of the Woodhill Lane faithful on Saturday.

Leyland put Morecambe in to bat after winning the toss in this Surridge Northern league fixture - but may as well have shaken hands and settled on the draw to save the spectators from their tedium.

That boredom was nothing to do with adventurous Morecambe, who tried their best to claim another victory.

From the start Mark Woodhead and Mallie Mateka got on top of the Leyland bowling before professional Mark Orchard once again stole the show.

The Kiwi, who got off to a slow start after signing in for Morecambe, is now in the peak of form and will be sadly missed when he returns Down Under later this month.

Orchard was imperious making 95 cultured runs, never once did he lift the ball off the floor until he was bowled with just four balls remaining chasing his ton.

The pro's performance allowed Morecambe's other batsmen to flourish and Mateka made 43 before falling, while skipper Phil Dennison chipped in with an eye catching 35.

That set Morecambe up for 234 from their 52 overs - and with the best will in the world, Leyland were never going to make that sort of total.

And Alex Mercer made sure they were not going to even try and chase the target down.

Methodical is one way to describe Mercer - plain boring is another.

But whichever description is used, Mercer ground out 25 runs in 25 overs to frustrate.

In fact, the only Leyland batsman to make any sort of impact was pro Adam Parker. Parker blitzed his way to 55 as Tom Clough suffered.

Clough sent just three overs off spin down - but Parker got hold and despatched the all-rounder for 31

Gareth Pedder bowled 15 rapid overs - and his hostility landed him three wickets.

But Morecambe couldn't go through Leyland and the visitors closed on 163-7.

Meanwhile, Morecambe have signed Andrew McDonald to act as substitute pro for the games with Lancaster and Barrow.