South North eye back to back wins

John Graham's side has struck form at just the right time and they moved into pole position when previous incumbents Blaydon again failed.

At present, there seems to be no stopping South North.

Adam Heather, who only just failed to make a century in the previous game, contributed 106 with 11 boundaries and one six and his opening partner James Miller added 78 as the pair laid firm foundations for a big total.

The declaration came after just 50 overs with 241-3 on the board which also included 32 from Chris Hewison and in reply, Newcastle laboured through 40.1 overs for 131.

Their top performer with the bat was Durham County's Gary Pratt who stroked 11 boundaries out of 65 but, throughout, the batsmen were well contained by the pace of West Indian Reon King and the spin from local lad Richard Brook.

King claimed seven wickets for 54 runs in 15.1 overs while Brook conceded a miserly 15 runs in ten overs, half of which were maidens, taking three wickets.

Only six runs and two wickets separated Blaydon, who have led the table for several weeks, and Tynemouth.

Runs were at a premium throughout and Blaydon struggled through 47 overs for 138 which included an unbeaten 31 from Ray Marshall.

They did not help their cause, however, by having four of their batsmen run out.

In reply, Tynemouth were allocated 39 overs during which time they posted 132-8.

Wayne Falla looked as if he might steer his side to victory but after contributing 54 with a five and seven fours, he became one of Johnny O'Neill's five victims taken at a cost of just 27 runs in 15 overs.

Chester-le-Street maintained their challenge for the title but despite defeating Philadelphia took only 20 points from the match at Bunker Hill and therefore fell behind in the pecking order.

Following a delayed start, Phili were all out for just 80 as the former Durham County player Ian Hunter produced another exhilarating performance of pace bowling capturing seven wickets for only 28 runs in 15 overs, seven of them maidens.

Former Murton player Joe Dodd weighed in with 3-20 and at the halfway stage, the result appeared a foregone conclusion.

But the Cestrians also found the conditions difficult and the result was on a knife edge until Quentin Hughes ended unbeaten with a matchwinning 24 after going in at number three.

He partnered Ian Hunter in the unbroken ninth wicket stand as Glen Read and Ian Potter almost snatched an unexpected victory sharing six wickets in the home attack.

Sunderland's title hopes almost certainly ended with defeat by Benwell Hill at Ashbrooke.

Robin Weston (39), Alan Mustard (37) and Greg Applegarth with 35 led the home side to 169-9 declared with James Taylor producing season-best figures of 8-48 for the Hill.

Although the visitors suffered a couple of early blows, skipper Phil Nicholson (34) and Phil Mustard, with an excellent unbeaten 68, formed the partnership which was the backbone of a seven-wickets victory.

The local derby on Teesside went firmly in Stockton's favour.

Alex Roberts and Richard Waite shared seven wickets as Norton were bowled out for only 91, a target which the home side achieved losing just two wickets as Guy Darwin (42 not out) and man-of-the-match Roberts, with an unbeaten 46, were involved in an undefeated stand for the third wicket.

The game at the Racecourse Ground between Durham Academy and Gateshead Fell ended in a draw with just 15 runs and three wickets between the pair at close of play. Moneeb Iqbal made 75, Paul Cummins 81 and Ben Harmison 47 propelling the Academy to an impressive 232-4.

Gateshead Fell, who until recently were bottom of the table, belied their lowly rating responding with 217-7.

Ben Young, Ian Pattison and Nicky Phillips all made useful early contributions before Mark Brown (46 not out) and Chris Taylor (34 not out) threatened Durham with an unbroken partnership for the eighth wicket.