Leaders Boldon took another important step towards the championship when they disposed of bottom-placed Durham City.

With Burnmoor losing at Whitburn, the gap between the top two has now been stretched to 26 points.

Boldon's task at Durham was all the more difficult when they needed to score quickly and then attempt to bowl out the opposition. They swiftly moved into top gear when Geoff Houmark (68) and Grant Forster (42) added 98 before being parted.

Professional Orlanzo Jackson then played his usual part hitting an unbeaten half century which enabled his side to declare on 202 in good time.

City struggled initially against the pace of Gareth Smith (4-12) and then the spin of Jackson (3-16). The West Indian cleaned out the middle order and Boldon won comfortably.

The Burnmoor attack was severely depleted and occasional bowler Neil Young took the honours with 6-46 including Ashley Thorpe (39) and David Bell (34). A late 40 from Eden Elstob was to prove crucial and Moors were left to chase 168.

Losing five wickets for 78 runs placed Burnmoor on a precipice. Young (44 not out) held the innings together but Thorpe (5-49) and Ian Elliott (3-18) took full advantage of the helpful track to bring about Burnmoor's second defeat of the season.

Marsden always had the upper hand against Seaham Harbour. Dave Chamley (4-27) caused the Harbour's early downfall. They struggled through 47 overs for their end product of 73 runs.

Scoring was much swifter for Marsden. Chris Mann (38 not out) was the lynchpin and his side cruised to a seven-wicket victory.

South Hetton made their declaration after 45 overs against Felling and their skipper John Pendlington produced a great display with both bat and ball.

He added 66 for the fifth wicket with John Leslie and Pendlington's unbeaten 67 allowed South Hetton to declare on 183.

The Felling batting slumped to 17 for four wickets with Pendlington almost unplayable. He finished with 5-7 from his 15 overs. With David Wilkinson returning 4-32 Felling were dismissed for only 86.

South Shields also struggled for runs. Chasing Hetton Lyons' total of 200, Shields were never in the hunt. Gerry Strydom (73) and Marc Hopkinson (73) added 115 in only 80 minutes and put Hetton in early control.

Gary Adey (4-39) and skipper Steve Errington (3-11) proved too accurate for

Shields who defended bravely and only lost the fight with 19 deliveries remaining.

Eppleton's game with Horden was the only one drawn. Nadeem Khan (63) top-scored as Horden made their way to 217.

Then came an alarming Eppleton collapse as Andrew Robson and Carl Watson picked up three wickets each. With the batting in disarray Neil McKinney and Scott Borthwick managed to salvage a draw for Eppleton.