DEFEAT for the leaders Hartlepool, for only the second time in 17 games, has given a new dimension to a championship fight which had looked in danger of slipping away from the chasing pack.

Now second-placed Richmondshire, and possibly at least four other clubs - Marton, Barnard Castle, Great Ayton and Darlington - could finish in the mix to provide an exciting run-in.

Hartlepool saw their lead drop from 25 to 12 points as a result of their shock three-wicket reverse at Darlington, where seven wickets shared by Peter Armstrong and Doug Mulholland, and another magnificent innings by Liam Coates, provided the match-winning formula.

Pool posted a more than useful 179, with Kasun Bodhisha (74) and Adil Asif (52) sharing a stand of 100 for the fourth wicket, but Armstrong (4-59) and Mulholland (3-48) kept the Quakers in the game.

After losing their first five wickets for 91 runs, Coates (77) and Colin Biglin (41) staged a fightback to force the win with just two overs remaining. It ended a run of 15 games for the leaders without defeat.

Richmondshire had the brilliant Mike Layfield, currently in the best batting form of his career, leading the charge in a runaway win over bottom side Bishop Auckland.

He was unbeaten on 89, sharing an unbroken second-wicket stand of 148 with Shani Dissanayake (67no) to enable their side to win by nine wickets.

Bishops would not have expected such a crushing defeat after their 50 overs had produced 192-8, with decent knocks from Ryan Nicholson (40), Phil Holdsworth (35) and Craig George (33).

Marton held on to third place but are now just 29 points behind the leaders after plunging Marske into more trouble near the foot of the table. Upul Indrasiri (5-50) starred as the Seasiders managed just 161, and then Neil Russell (80no) and Lee Hodgson (56no) produced a match-winning stand of 101.

Barnard Castle moved on to the edge of the title race with a massive win at Northallerton, where Gary Pratt made a swashbuckling 132 not out and James Quinn an equally entertaining 92.

Between them they hit 34 boundaries as Barney declared on 269-2, with the Pratt-Quinn partnership worth 197 runs. Then James Finch (6-58) and Richard Borrowdale (4-50) bowled out their hosts for 158 to celebrate victory by an impressive 111 runs.

Great Ayton also stayed as outsiders for the championship after a hard-earned win over Guisborough by four wickets, despite looking likely at one stage to throw the chance away.

Ryan Murray, with two wickets in two balls, including Lal Kumar (43), put the Priory side back in the game with Ayton still needing 43 runs to win with six wickets in hand.

But David Grainge took control and his unbeaten 45 gave them the victory.

Middlesbrough and Stokesley were the other clubs celebrating victories and they eased their worries in the bottom half of the table.

Boro moved 27 points clear of the relegation zone with a nail biter of a finish at Billingham, where the game also had the most unusual of starts.

Tom Hodgson, given out caught behind from the first ball, was brought back by a sporting gesture from his opponents. He subsequently hit a half-century as Boro totalled 141.

Mark Davies showed his growing fitness with four wickets at a cost of 15 runs and had the chance to become the match-winner with the bat.

But James Lowe (5-35) took over that mantle for Boro as Billingham, needing 13 for victory with two wickets left and Davies, unbeaten on 25, fell short of the target, Boro scampering past the winning post by seven runs.

Stokesley won for the first time in nine, avenging an early season defeat by Normanby Hall, who they bowled out for 113, with James Beaumont (4-28) and Clive Dowson (3-31) on target. Jonny and Andy Weighell hit 71 from the first 46 balls to set up the six-wicket triumph.