Yapham finally took the field after three division three total washouts but had to be content with second place in a draw with divisional leaders Pickering.

Nigel West took 6-60 for the villagers which caused Pickering to struggle to a fairly modest 147-9.

The Pikes' runs came from Chris Nicholls 39, Robert Aconley senior 31 and Jim Boyes 26. Barry Pearson replied with an unbeaten 60 to guide Yapham to a draw which was gained at 135-7 after Andrew Grayson's miserly spell of 15 overs earned him 3-12.

Bolton Percy recovered from a disastrous 41-8 to defeat Clifton Alliance in a bowler dominated game. Simon Corley 34 and Richard Hunter 24 were the only Alliance batsmen to make progress as Jamie Snewin 4-38 and Ali Rigby 5-57 denied them any batting points by dismissing them for 98. John Thornton 5-44 and Alex Renton 3-12 reduced the home side to 41-8 but failed to make further headway as Dave Randall 26no and Howard Hall 24no eased their side to an unlikely victory at 102-8.

New Earswick gained their first win when they surpassed Bubwith's 154-9 for the loss of six wickets.

Richard Hunter hit 50 and Neil Readman an unbeaten 42 for Bubwith as Andy Freeman took 5-56. Freeman then top scored with 38 in Earswick's reply with James Routledge chipping in with 31 to offset Cristian Smith's 3-39.

Acomb II relinquished top spot when they had to hang in for a tense draw at Malton. Chris Smith 34 and Lester Parkin 44 saw Malton to 156-9 despite 4-36 from Richard Clayton. John Webster responded with 34 but the decisive contribution saw Wayne Dawson grab 6-50 to reduce Acomb to an edgy 121-9.

More than 500 runs were scored at Wilberfoss for the loss of just four wickets as batsmen had an absolute field day. Home batsman Phil Stothard hit a best ever 146no as he and Geoff Room 54no shared a fruitful partnership which saw their side reach 253-2 against Stillington. Skipper Kevin Borwell then responded in kind by hitting an unbeaten 114 as he and Wayne Linton 30no finished off the job started by Khaquan Arsal, who made 85 on his debut.

Bottom-placed Woodhouse Grange had the worst of a draw when they entertained Heworth. Richard Winterburn made 45 in Heworth's 157-9 as Peter Nolton took 4-38. Dan Walton then took 4-29 in Grange's 125-7 which included a top score of 49 from Richard Sherwood.

Updated: 11:46 Monday, May 17, 2004