YORK increased their lead at the top of the Solly Sports Yorkshire ECB County Premier Cricket League with a comfortable victory at Cleethorpes.

The Chichester Road success saw skipper Daniel Woods take five wickets as the hosts were bowled out for 181, and then half-centuries from Duncan Snell and Oliver Hairs ensured the visitors cruised to victory with more than 20 overs to spare.

Cleethorpes chose to bat first despite opener and leading run scorer Bill Kirby being sidelined with a shoulder injury.

Kirby’s replacement, Rory Osmond, lasted six deliveries before edging a wide one from Jonathan Moxon to ’keeper Liam McKendry.

Matthew Hodsdon found the perfect yorker to bowl Yaniv Judah and the score was 33-2.

Inderjit Hayre and skipper Alex Osmond shared the highest partnership of the innings, adding 57 for the third wicket.

The game changed when Woods entered the fray as the York skipper soon rekindled memories of two weeks previously, when his 5-35 was instrumental in a League Cup victory over the same opponents.

Hayre was out for 32 to the final delivery of the spinner’s first over, the ball flicking a glove on the way through to ’keeper McKendry.

Osmond reached 50 from 68 balls and looked threatening, hitting Woods back over his head for six, but the bowler came out on top when his opposite number played on in his next over.

The captain’s departure began a collapse which saw four wickets fall for only 13 runs as his side slumped to 129-7, Ryan McKendry picking up two wickets as both Tom Keast and Callum Robinson failed to control sweep shots.

James Keast fell the same way to Woods, the league’s leading wicket-taker.

Graham Hume and Fred Lumby restored some semblance of order to proceedings with a ninth-wicket partnership of 37, to give the total an air of respectability at 181.

However, Lumby’s defiance was ended when Moxon knocked back his middle stump and Woods wrapped up the innings when Phil Hutchinson joined the list of batsmen caught attempting the sweep shot.

A rare failure saw Yorkshire youngster Jack Leaning dismissed for a duck when he edged Lumby and highly-rated teenager Tom Keast took a smart catch standing up to the stumps.

Hairs’ half-century marked a welcome return to form and contained glimpses of his raw power, but owed much to a more patient and watchful approach.

He took the lion’s share of the strike, scoring 54 out of a partnership of 71 with Snell for the second wicket.

Hairs was dismissed when he was run out by James Keast’s direct hit attempting a needless quick single.

It was the final success for the hosts as Snell (83no) and Liam McKendry (32no) saw the visitors home with an unbroken partnership of 87 coming at quicker than a run a ball.

Yorkshire Academy reduced York’s lead to 11 points with a six-wicket win over Harrogate yesterday.