Darlington Building Society NYSD ECB – Premier League

IN the Darlington Building Society NYSD ECB Premier League, Hartlepool have a 30 point lead at the top, as they entertained Thornaby at Park Drive. The visitors batted first and totalled 174-7, thanks to Harvey Spaxman (43) and Steven Purcifer (31no), as they put on a useful 65 runs for the seventh wicket, while Paul Braithwaite claimed 3-29 with the ball.

Pools then had opener Harry Crawshaw in superb form, scoring 108 not out from 89 balls, which included 18 fours and a six and Paul Braithwaite who made 56 not out, as they put on 179 for the second wicket, to win the game by nine wickets on 179-1.

Barnard Castle are second, following a 135 run win, following their decision to bat first at Great Ayton. Skipper James Quinn led the way, with 34, Samarth Seth added 44, Finn Usher 36 and Karl Carver cracked 89 from 88 balls in a total of 259-7, while Thomas Leng claimed 3-55.

Ayton in reply, only made 124 all out, with only Philip Holdsworth resisting on 32, as Richard Watson cleaned up with 4-23 and remain bottom of the league.

Richmondshire are third, after Billingham Synthonia decided to bat first at Hurgill Road. Opener Chris Atkinson scored a useful 79 from 107 balls, which included 12 fours and a six. Ajay Mandal was the pick of the bowling, as he took 3-27, as the visitors finished on 170-8.

The Dalesmen then had opener Tom Dowson in outstanding form, as he smashed 99 from 78 balls, which included nine fours and six sixes, while he put on 160 runs for the first wicket with skipper Rob Carr who on 62 not out, when they finished on 175-2 from just 26.3 overs.

Saltburn are fourth, after totalling 204 all out at Normanby Hall, thanks to Salinda Ushan who made 42 and Sam Parry 38, as Waleed Rehman returned figures of 4-39 and Usman Arshad claimed 3-54. The home side then collapsed to 51 all out, as Liam Crooks claimed 5-20 and Jack Almond 3-18, to complete a 153 run win.

Marton are fifth, after they decided to take first knock at home to Stokesley. They made a steady start as Jonathan Spillane scored 38, with Lee Hodgson adding 36, as they put on 69 runs for the first wicket. Johnathon Pickard added 40 not out late on and they eventually totalled 200-6, as Andrew Weighell claimed 3-38 and Joe Marsay 3-75.

In reply, the visitors lost early wickets, as skipper Alex Wardell claimed a brilliant 6-59, alongside Faizan Hussain who returned figures of 4-8, as they ended up 104 all out, allowing the home side to collect the maximum 25 points.

Marske made 213-8 against Middlesbrough, as opener Jozef Wing made 38 and Jamie Hood jnr 32, as they scored 73 runs for the first wicket. Tom Hewison added 44 and Sam Berry 52, while Matthew Bell claimed 3-58. Boro then had James Lowe, who made 84 not out, and Matthew Maloy (70) to thank, as they put on 125 runs for the fourth wicket, to win the game on 215-5.

Darlington Building Society NYSD ECB – Division One

Darlington are still second, after having tied their match at home to Bishop Auckland. The visitors made 220 all out, as Scott Oldfield scored 81 and Jack Rutherford 69, while Nathan Rimmington added 30. In reply, the Quakers lost early wickets, but Jonathan Barnes fired 52 and Oliver King 41, restored their chances, but Jack Riley was run out off the last ball, meaning they too finished on 220 all out.

Darlington RA are third, as they travelled to Sedgefield and in the end, had to settle for a draw. The home side totalled 195-8, thanks to Luke Henderson (33) and Kieren Latcham (45), while Carl McGregor claimed 4-45. RA lost regular wickets and finished on 145-9, as their last pair put on 27 unbeaten runs, as Connor Whitelock took 3-34.