Premier Division

SESSAY moved into second place in the table after a fine victory over Woodhouse Grange at Sutton on Derwent last Saturday.

Nick Harrison led the way for the Hambleton side with 74, while other valuable contributions came from John Flintoff (31), Chris Till (27) and Dave Johnson (28).

The home side's reply then got off on a high note as Richard Steele (55) and Nick Hadfield (46) posted an opening stand of 103. But the wheels then fell off with a vengeance as Stuart Peirse (5-65) and Matthew Till (5-27) captured all ten wickets between them for just 62 runs and bowled Woodhouse out for 165.

After they had logged century opening stands in both encounters against Sheriff Hutton Bridge last season, Easingwold's opening pairing of Martin Piercy and Jonathon Marwood may well have been disappointed when they only moved into the 60s before being parted.

The pair seemed to be on course for another big partnership until Piercy fell for 35 to Paul Oldfield's first delivery of the season. Marwood followed last season's scores of 88 and 110 with 95, while Tom Piercy made 66 as Easingwold battled through both a hailstorm and a sandstorm to make 246-6.

Ian Clish then made 32, Stephen Crowder 44 and Dave Gilbertson 25, but Gavin Rees took 4-30 to produce the first victory of the season for the reigning champions, who won by 92 runs.

Division One

Having fallen out of the premier division last season, Thirsk are now rooted at the bottom of division one and face a real survival threat.

With bowling stalwart Barry Petty again missing from their ranks, the Thirsk score of 131-6 in 33 overs was unlikely to be adequate and, with Steve Lawson making 27 and Chris Thornton an unbeaten 44, Carlton Towers cruised to a six-wicket win.

Only veteran Des Wyrill made any impression for Thirsk as he made 55, but ex-Whitkirk paceman Oral Blackford proved too hot for Wyrill's teammates as he grabbed 4-69.

Duncombe Park skipper Brian Leckenby was in fine form at Clifton Park, where he harvested 108 runs off the York attack. With Adam Rayner adding 25 and Paul Wilkie making an unbeaten 35, the Helmsley side were able to reach a formidable 254-6 despite a 3-66 return by Aussie Jason English.

After the break, Colin Humpleby's 3-21 blunted any York threat as the home side moved to a comfortable draw at 135-7.

Division Two

Bridlington posted a first innings total of 192-5 at Crayke due to the efforts of Simon Garton (45), Barry Rudd (66) and Nick Tennant (39). Richard Wentworth took 3-57 for Crayke, who eased to a draw at 116-7 via Peter Carr (65) and skipper Jon Wright (27) as Will Hall took 4-40.

Ripon triumphed by five wickets when they surpassed the Dringhouses score of 173-9 at Studley Road. John Crowe was top man for the York side with 77, while home bowlers Dirk Van Dyke (3-28) and Chris Waters (3-48) kept the home supporters cheerful.

The Citizens' reply was then masterminded by the ageless Peter Squires, who made 47 not out, while Stuart Clark (45) and overseas man Paul Reynolds (27) ensured their team's winning bonus.

A few hundred yards down the road, Studley Royal hosted Bolton Percy in a match which was severely threatened by flooding early in the week. But heroic efforts by the Studley club enabled the game to proceed and they gained reasonable reward for their efforts despite experiencing much frustration from the successful defensive action of Bolton Percy's last pair.

Chris Scatchard made a good 66 and teenager Rob Mackle 28 not out for Studley, who were eventually dismissed for 165. Jamie Rigby replied with 36, but Aussie Glen Carlton caused consternation in the Bolton ranks with 4-46.

But he was unable to make the final breakthrough as the visitors' last pair survived at 106-9.

Division Three

Easingwold II, who are building well on last year's success, gained a good 15-run win over their fellow promotion side, Londesbrough Park.

Youngster James Banks was the only player to show on the honours board in the first innings, contributing 31 to Easingwold's 152-9. In reply, Mark Tissiman hit 50 and Simon Dodd 33, but Alan Robinson claimed 4-41 and Andy Medcalfe 4-37 to send Park back home with a score of 137 all out.

Malton and Old Malton's misfortune with the weather continued when they suffered their third abandonment, although this latest call-off may have been tinged with a modicum of relief as Stillington had progressed to 75-2 in just 13.2 overs and Barry Milburn was in full cry with an unbeaten 43.

Division Four

The game at Bubwith was abandoned at tea when the ground was inundated with hailstones. Prior to the cessation, Bubwith had been bowled out for 124 by a trio of Huby bowlers with Dan Grainger taking 4-27, Paul Moore 3-35 and Tim Little 3-20.

Division Five

Thirsk II produced a remarkable performance when they entertained Huntington at Huby.

They recorded a seven-wicket win which was engineered by a trio of teenage bowlers whose cumulative ages totalled a mere 44 years.

Huntington were bowled out for just 104 with 14-year-old paceman Stuart Christon taking 5-22 in his permitted ten overs. Sixteen-year-old spinner Anthony Elder took 3-20 in 16 overs, while another 14-year-old, Tom Scaife, took 2-23.

Thirsk's batting department was in the more experienced hands of Jim McKendrie, who steered his side to the winning post with an unbeaten 62.

Division Six

Carlton Towers batsmen revelled at Sessay, where Richard Knapp made 70 not out, Jonathon Dilks 58 and Martin Denby 26 in a 43-over score of 194-3.

Dilks then followed with 3-21 and had support from R Martin with 3-35. Ian Watkinson's 24 was Sessay's top score as they drew at 140-7.

Two of Stillington's talented youngsters caught the eye in their game against Hovingham, but their side were still on the blunt end of a draw.

Fifteen-year-old Adam Patterson took 3-18, figures that were matched by Chris Borwell as the pair combined to dismiss Hovingham, whose Geoff Pears made 30, for 146.

Mike Hemmingway then showed his wicket-taking abilities with 5-54, but superb batting by 13-year-old Mike Whitwell saw his side to safety at 115-7, with the talented youngster battling through for an unbeaten 60.