Guisborough, who experienced their worst couple of days for a long time when they were beaten by leaders Saltburn and by Barnt Green in the semi-final of the ECB National Knockout Cup last weekend, have a fight on their hands to retain the championship.

Despite their disappointments, the Fountains Garth club announce an unchanged side for the visit to Darlington RA where they will be desperate to close in on Saltburn's 31-point lead. An advantage to Guisborough is that they have a game in hand on both Saltburn and second-top Darlington.

Darlington RA, who field their strongest side, have dedicated last Saturday's outstanding result at Hartlepool to the memory of Norman Wilson who died last week. He was a stalwart for the club and played in the 1950s.

High-riding Saltburn, 21 points in front of Darlington, are engaged in a local derby with Marske. With Tony Bell unavailable, Saltburn bring in Ansar Mahmood while the visitors cannot call upon Carl Bramwell or Anthony Rewcroft.

Darlington were thwarted by the weather when their game with Saltburn was at an interesting stage last Sunday.

"We have not had the best of luck with rain," claimed Feethams official Steve Charlton.

The Northallerton match was a good example since we were almost there, but the weather cost us ten valuable points."

Darlington visit Blackhall with Paul Raine taking over from Kevin Mott and the Collierymen also keep alterations to a minimum, naming Dave Penman ahead of Craig Gilmour.

At the bottom, Wolviston made their exit from the National Village Cup at the hands of Elvaston last Sunday when they were just one step away from playing at Lord's. More disappointment could be on the way as they battle to avoid returning to Division One and they desperately need a victory over Middlesbrough today to keep alive their lingering hopes of survival.

Father and son Ken and Martin Jones come in for Ian Brooksbank and Mark O'Neil with Boro, who will play either Eppleton or South Shields in the semi-final of the prestigious Matthew Oswald Cup, lining up Raf Rashid for the unavailable Mark Foster.

Next week, Acklam Park will host the Second XI championship game between Yorkshire and Durham which starts on Wednesday. Hartlepool play Northallerton at Park Drive with Gary Tebbett and Martin Johnson included for Andy Carter and Ian Conway while the visitors welcome the return of captain Ian Gill.

Richmondshire need a good result against Normanby Hall to dispel relegation fears and a boost to their chances is the inclusion of Andy Mollett after a five-week absence. Spinners John Marshall and Robbie Barker are also listed with Andy Dade and Eddie Prentiss dropping into the seconds..

Thornaby are unchanged for their home game with Redcar who have Andy Hassack as the ideal replacement for Jason Robinson, who broke a finger while fielding last Saturday.