HARTLEPOOL saw off second-placed Barnard Castle as they strengthened their position in the NYSD ECB Premier League.

Barnard Castle were asked to bat first, and openers Finn Usher (55) and Ian Swinburn (53) put on 76 for the first wicket, with Rob West adding 43 not out, in a final total of 239-6. Harry Crawshaw claimed 3-53 with the ball.

Pools replied with a winning score of 242-5, including 30 from Yash Vagadia, 97 not out from Crawshaw and 74 from Gareth Shaw. Josh Bousfield took 3-42.

Struggling Marton were all out for 140 at Darlington, with Muhammad Saad and Liam Coates sharing eight wickets. Skipper Alex Wardell tried his best in reply, as he took three early wickets (3-33), but 29 from Coates, 49 not out from Saad and 21 not out from Andrew Peacock helped Darlington to a winning score of 144-6.

In the big game at the top of the table, Richmondshire made a positive start at home to Middlesbrough. Skipper Rob Carr made 63 and Thomas Dawson 92 as they put on 122 runs for the first wicket. They finished up with 213-6.

In reply, Middlesbrough got off to a poor start, reaching 19-5 before crashing to defeat with a final score of 98 all out. Cole Pearce, with 31, was the only scorer of note, against the effective bowling of Harvey Websdale (4-18) and Shafiqullah Ghafari (3-30).

Billingham Synthonia batted well at Stockton, with Tayyab Tahir scoring an impressive 133 from 136 balls, which included 19 fours and two sixes. Thomas Wing added 40 in a total of 264 all out, while Jamie Burke ended up with 4-62.

The home side got off to a poor start, finding themselves at 47-5. Lewis Beaumont gave them a little hope with a top score of 29, but the rot set in again and they ended up all out for 117. Wing (3-4) and JP Meade (4-17) shone for the bowlers.

Stokesley welcomed Saltburn to the SCG and made 226-9. Jonny Weighell made 77, Tom Preece 35 and Andile Mogakane 39, while Thomas Scriven bagged 4-39 with the ball.

The Seasiders lost early wickets to Mogakane, who took 4-65, alongside Harry Harding with 3-40. Scriven hit 41 and Tom Chisholm 51, but it was not enough as they fell to defeat with a total of 213-9.

Great Ayton took first knock at Thornaby, with opener Jon Grainge making 69, while Mohammed Mayet cracked 73 and Martin Philpott 31 in a final total of 264-6. Husnain Bukhari took 3-81.

The home side then built up a steady total with 57 from opener John Watson, 60 from Michael Burgess, 41 from Bukhari and 43 not out from Paul Allen, to give them a share of the points with a score of 248-5. Joe Marsay bowled well, taking 4-57.

In Division One, Bishop Auckland were put in to bat by visitors Normanby Hall and were all out for 198. Steve Chapman was their best with 66. Waleed Rehman (3-48) and Asim Akhtar (4-45) were effective with the ball.

In reply, Normanby could only scrape together a lowly 95 all out, despite Jordan Leech’s 47. Ben Roosenboom (5-37) and Chapman (3-7) took the wickets.

Darlington RA played host to Wolviston, and the Railwaymen declared at 257-8. Adam Hickey hit a fantastic 107 in 83 balls, including eight fours and six sixes, ably assisted by Henry Blackett with 51. Tonius Simon did well for the bowlers with 5-82.

Wolviston fell well short of their target, being all out for 96, despite Simon proving effective with both bat and ball when he contributed 55 to his team’s total. Andrew Russell (5-15) did the damage for Darlington RA.