DAWDON were the major movers yesterday as they ended Boldon CA’s unbeaten record at the same time as leaders Burnmoor were being held to a home draw against Tudhoe.

CA racked up 169-9 in 43.4 overs, with Shashank Singh making a half century from 80 balls, but with Anthony Watson bagging 5-36 Dawdon felt they were in with a good chance of chasing down that total.

And so it proved as Stephen Gale hit 17 fours on his way to an unbeaten century which secured Dawdon the win with seven wickets and plenty of overs to spare.

Meanwhile Burnmoor were finding Tudhoe a tough nut to crack. A declaration in the 48th over on 189-7 didn’t leave the Moor too much time to bowl out their opponents, and they got nowhere near doing so as Tudhoe ended on 155-5 from 38 overs.

Paul Craig (64) and Stephen Meek (53) got the double act going for the Moor, but Dan Hardaker (47) and Simon Davies proved the stumbling blocks as the leaders picked up eight points, a return that saw their lead at the top of the table cut to 13 points.

Division Two leaders Durham City were also unable to force a win despite another century from Aussie Nick Maiolo, his second of the weekend after bagging a ton from 84 balls which enabled City to declare on 223-1 against Silksworth on Saturday.

Paul Moralee (4-36) and Danni Hazell (3-14) then flattened the Silks for 105.

Burnmoor had gained perhaps their most important win of the season in the opening round of the weekend’s double header, defeating close rivals Esh Winning in convincing fashion.

The match was a one-sided affair as the Moor pinned Esh down after the visitors had elected to bat when winning the toss. A steady start to the innings was totally undone by Ian Conn, who claimed 5-35 in a match defining ten-over stint which saw Esh eventually declaring on 103-9 after 34.5 overs, presumably to deny their hosts an additional bowling point.

The loss of two early wickets gave Moor a few anxious moments, but then South African Brydon Carse (36no from 76 balls) and Stephen Meek (49no from 107 balls) first steadied the ship before steering for home in a matchwinning unbroken stand of 85.

Dawdon held on to second spot with an eight wicket thumping of Hylton who were bowled out for just 66 in 19.1 overs. John Leslie (5-25) and Anthony Watson (4-18) were the men inflicting the pain, and it took the home side just 18 overs to secure a straightforward win.

Another team crumbling for unlucky 66 were Horden who were completely undone by Castle Eden’s Prateek Dabholkah who ran through them in an 11-over spell in which he claimed 7-26. Earlier the Castle had lodged a target of 161, and their fourth victory in a row kept them right on Dawdon’s tail in the table.

Danny Thexton was in top form for Tudhoe against his former teammates from Crook. Town declared on 181- 8 after 46 overs, but Thexton made a nonsense of the target as he crashed eight fours and seven sixes on his way to a rapid 96 that secured his team a six wicket win inside 32 overs.

Philadelphia at last showed their true batting colours as they overpowered Marsden by 145 runs following a first innings total of 233-5 in 43 overs. Stephen Robinson (4-15) added the finishing touches to an emphatic win as Marsden slid to 88 all out.

The most remarkable turnaround of the day came at Shildon where visitors Ushaw Moor were staring down the barrel on 85-8 before an unbroken ninth wicket stand of 105 took them to 189-8.

Stephen Hancock (67no) and Andrew Metcalfe (53no) were the saviours.