Darlington Building Society NYSD ECB Premier League

WITH just three games remaining, Darlington can put the champagne on ice as they move closer to their first title win for 24 years.

An easier than expected victory at Great Ayton gave them their seventh 25-pointer of the season to extend their lead over second-placed Richmondshire to 32 points, and with two of the lightweight teams to play next, the head to head with the Dalesmen on the season’s final day looks less like the decider many expected.

It would now seem that the fight for the runners-up slot will command more of the limelight with Stokesley having cut Richmond’s lead to two points as the pair prepare to meet next Saturday at the SCG.

Darlington’s 14th win of the season may prove to be one of their most crucial as they recovered from the loss of their first four wickets for only 22 to reach 178-9 before bowling out Great Ayton for a modest 84.

The village side, eight days from being in the TV spotlight as they compete in the national T20 finals day, seem to have caught a dose of the jitters having now scored just 112 runs in two innings.

That included their record low score of 28 at Hartlepool over the Bank Holiday.

Their latest batting flop provided Liam Coates with career-best bowling figures of 8 for 36, a 10.4 over spell of sheer brilliance which even outshone the wily Jonny Barnes, so often the Quakers’ match-winner.

Bowling in tandem, Barnes took one of the two other wickets, with Coates grabbing even more glory as he claimed his share in a runout.

But Barnes did have his chance to shine with the bat as he shared a 73-run fifth wicket partnership with Doug Mulholland, who hit 65 from 115 balls with seven fours to dig Darlington out of their early black hole. To complete the recovery, Colin Biglin followed with an unbeaten quickfire 35. In Ayton’s disappointing reply, Lewis Harper (24) and Steve Pennock (20) got more than half the runs between them.

After being unbeaten for three months, this second successive defeat could not have come at a worse time.

Richmondshire thrashed a lacklustre Marton, but the 20 points they took allowed the Quakers to squeeze five points further in front and third-placed Stokesley, who also took 25 points in a nail-biting win at Saltburn, trimmed five points off the pre-match advantage the Dalesmen held.

Marton were bowled out for 113 in 40.1 overs as Shani Dissanayake (3-26) and Craig Marshall (3-28) sliced through their shaky batting.

Gary Pratt (77) and James Clarkson (33) remained undefeated as Richmond won by ten wickets in 18.3 overs with the hosts’ skipper taking his season’s run making to within ten of the 1,000 landmark.

Stokesley had a few scary moments before bowling out their relegation-threatened opponents, Saltburn, from the penultimate ball of the game. James Beaumont (5- 31) was the star in a tense finish in which the Seasiders managed 134 in response to Stokesley’s 180-9. A half century from James Weighell also proved a match winner.

Sedgefield became the first to be relegated after defeat at Seaton Carew left them stranded 88 points from safety with a maximum of 75 points remaining. Danny Evans (7-34), Sanjaya Rodrigo (80 not out) and Martin Skirving (70 not out) sealed Sedgefield’s fate.

Guisborough enjoyed their first win for six matches as they beat Barnard Castle by a stinging nine wickets with Roshen Silva (71 not out and 5-37) the match-winner. Marske’s final two batsmen survived three overs to prevent Redcar taking the honours in the seaside derby. But their old enemy gained 17 points from the draw after scoring 225-6 with Tyler Easton (72) and Mohammed Zahid (68 not out) starring. Marske struggled to 145-9 against Sam Berry (4-60) and Zahid (3-30).

Hartlepool stunned Middlesbrough after being set a mammoth 270 runs with Whalid Ghauri unbeaten on 140, his second century. He faced 141 balls and smashed 19 fours and four sixes, sharing an opening stand of 119 with Paul Johnston (76) before Pool replied at a breakneck speed to win by three wickets. Jonathan Rickard (84 from 78 balls) and Neil Coverdale (79 not out from 76 deliveries) led the run-fest.

In Division One, Blackhall had their lead trimmed by five points to ten in the race for promotion against Norton with Normanby Hall just further point behind. All three won but the Colliers took 20 points against the 25 by their rivals.