COPMANTHORPE lost their 100 per cent record as Stockton & Hopgrove took command at the top of the HPH York Vale Cricket League.

The two unbeaten sides met at Barons Crescent where the visitors held Cop to 148-8 to win by three runs and open up a 17-point lead.

Top-quality Stockton bowling kept Cop in check despite 70 from Salman Syed.

Matty Clarke smashed 106 to lead Hemingbrough to victory against Wheldrake, whose teenage bowler Sam Ensor survived the carnage with 5-44. Chris Walker top-scored for Wheldrake with 76.

Ray Adamson’s 98 not out saw Burn to a comfortable seven-wicket win at Barmby Moor.

Scott Reeves grabbed 4-17 as Bishopthorpe bowled Ben Johnson out for 109. The Bishops’ reply was in trouble at 27-4 – all the wickets falling to Darren Snowden – but were pulled round by an unbroken partnership between Ian Holmes (53no) and Colin Markham (35no).

Nine-man North Cave were thrashed by ten wickets at Clifton Alliance, whose Francis Hawthorne (4-22) helped to rout the East Yorkshire side for just 55.

University of York Staff defied all the odds to record their first win of the season in division two.

They turned up at Wheldrake with only nine players but after being 4-2 were able to post 180-5 thanks to a brave 62 from skipper Mike Dusheiko. Kelfield were on course for victory until the departure of Neil Atkinson (40) saw them lose their last five wickets for only five runs as Staff won by 12 runs.

Leaders Ovington’s decision to promote lower-order batsman Craig Nicholl to number three against Selby paid off as he hit an unbeaten 103 in his team’s win which also featured 53 by Steve Tremayne.

Ben Alport cracked his second successive unbeaten half-century, his 63 guiding Woodhouse Grange to success at Heworth after team-mate Louis Smith took 4-41.

Westow bounced back from last week’s heavy defeat to thump Fulfordgate by eight wickets, skipper Mark Earle taking 4-26.

Hirst Courtney’s Sam Dunn followed a fine bowling performance in which he consistently beat the Askham Bryan batsmen with little reward to hit a match-winning 53.

Parag Mohite top-scored with 69 for Askham, whose Vikas Dangi was unable to bat because of a finger injury sustained while fielding.

Thorpe Willoughby went to the top of division three as Mark Seaman seized 5-31 in the win at North Duffield.

Opener Jason Littlewood’s 54 set up Acomb’s 71-run triumph against Goole and Nick Myers’ 6-36 earned Wheldrake II victory against Hemingbrough II.

There was a thriller in division four at Burn II where Geoff England bowled Heworth II’s Freddy Coughlan with the final delivery of the match to earn a tie.

York’s Deepak Selvaraj, who topped the league batting averages last season, hit 72 in a narrow win against Huntington whose Stu Ross smashed a rapid 87 in a total of 228.

Jed Vale, playing his first game in two years, scored a superb 117 not out as Pocklington hammered Dnnington in division five.