Dringhouses II caused a major upset when they inflicted a first defeat of the season on Huby, whose lead in division four has now been reduced to 20 points.

Huby posted a useful score as Tom Piercy made 58 and Mike South 44 but good bowling by Tim Larmour (4 for 39) and Dave Todd (3 for 48) earned full bowling points for the home side as Huby were dismissed for 185.

Home batsman Matthew Hayter then produced the decisive innings of the game as he rattled up 89 and, with Larmour adding an unbeaten 36 to his bowling figures, Dringhouses gained their second win of the season by four wickets.

Yapham's experienced Clive Clark was a match-winner with the ball at Dunnington where his 6 for 36 in just under 12 overs had the home side all out for 137. Gary Andrew rediscovered his early season form to make 46 but the only other worthwhile contribution was 30 by Jim Fordham. Paul Barnes then made an unbeaten 57 and John Flint added 28 as Yapham increased the pressure on the leaders with a five-wicket victory. Steve Whitaker took 3 for 45 for the losers.

Carlton Towers II are looking increasingly like a relegation side after crashing to a home defeat against fellow strugglers Easingwold.

Carlton's batsmen had no answer to Gavin Rees, who took 6 for 17, and Adrian Leckenby, who captured 3 for 41, as the home side were sent reeling to 44 for 9. Peter Hoyle then found a last man ally in Steve Landers and the pair were able to give the innings a whiff of respectability with a stand of 31 until Hoyle was dismissed for 40 at 75 all out.

Easingwold then eased to their fourth win of the season with Kevin Smith making 26 in their 78 for 4.

Sheriff Hutton Bridge fielded a weakened side at Thirsk due to the wedding of skipper Craig Hunter but were able to give their leader a wedding present of 30 points with a 117 run victory.

Bridge had to thank three players for their success with Vic Klays hitting 81 and Chris Walls 58 in their score of 212 for 3 before Dave Ellis produced his best bowling figures since his 9 for 18 for Bedale v Boroughbridge in 1978. Ellis captured 7 for 23 to send Thirsk packing for 95.

Acomb's John Renshaw was another centurion when he made an undefeated 101 against Sheriff Hutton. With Nathan Weatherstone hitting 72, Acomb reached an impressive 245 for 7. Third placed Sheriff Hutton then made a fair attempt at matching their opponents run scoring with Ben Tompkins making 57, Paul Wright 30 and Kev Holder 33 but their efforts were hampered by John Beech (3 for 33) and Andy Thrall (3 for 42) and Sheriff Hutton's response ended at 196 for nine as Acomb just failed to net the jackpot 30 points.

Huntington's prolific wicket-taker Steve Beales was once again in devastating form as he produced the day's best figures of 8 for 52 to send Thorp Arch and Boston Spa en route to their seven defeat of the season. There was little hint of the mayhem to follow as Thorp Arch progressed to 72 for 1 through Andy Hawkswell who made 52, however, it was all downhill from this point as Beales sliced through the visiting batting line-up in ruthless fashion and included a three wicket in four balls sequence. Huntington's batsmen then had problems as Nick Ramsden claimed 3 for 31 and Caidon 3 for 20 but Chris Smith kept his hand firmly on the tiller to make 61 and guide his side to a two wicket victory.

Updated: 12:24 Monday, July 09, 2001