Sheriff Hutton Bridge was the scene of some remarkable hitting by the home batsmen and some consternation on the part of the Ripon captain in relation to the conditions towards the end of the game which resulted in a draw in favour of the home side.

Having been put in to bat, the Bridge had moved steadily to 67-2 when the rain brought about a lengthy delay which reduced the game to 30 overs per side.

With both teams eager to continue, the home ranks were left with a mere nine overs to increase their score to a challenging total.

This resulted in some prolific hitting, particularly by Paul Scaling who cracked an unbeaten 73 off just 32 balls. Skipper Paul Oldfield played his part with 51 and then Peter Crowder cracked 26 off just nine deliveries as 122 runs were rattled off the available nine overs.

Further interruptions occurred in the second innings but eventually the full 30 overs were bowled with Ripon making 103-6 thanks to a good innings from Howard Wooding who made 63 not out.

Mike Smith claimed 5-50 in 15 overs to help the Sheriff side increase their lead to 13 points.

Goole Town were the sole winners in division one when they beat both the weather and Stamford Bridge to notch a six-wicket victory.

Bottom-placed Bridge's batsmen fared poorly as Dave England claimed 3-35 and Gautam Sharma 4-25.

The job was then finished as Bridge succumbed to 67 all out when 18-year-old Richard Mann grabbed three wickets without conceding a run.

After the interval, Graham Tipping struck back as he claimed 3-34, but Anthony Gibbins made a handy 24 and Goole claimed victory at 68-4.

Second-placed Hull Zingari had to thank the weather for saving them from defeat at the hands of third-placed York.

Richard Carroll's 4-28 had Hull rocking at 87-9 with only Adam Boasman, who made 33, showing with the bat before the game was called off.

Driffield's Martin Dean missed out on a century when he was dismissed for 98 as the east Yorkshire side batted first against Tadcaster Magnet.

However, Chris Chapman with 37 and Paul Sellar 31 gave good support as the home side made 220-9 despite the efforts of Paul Downey 3-53 and John Hill 4-50.

Tadcaster had made a promising start to their response, having reached 58-1 when the rain had the final say.

It was a much briefer affair at Crayke where Whitkirk's lengthy trek was rewarded with just four overs during which time the Leeds side had made 2-0.

The game at Helmsley between Duncombe Park and Pocklington was a non-starter.

Updated: 10:45 Monday, May 19, 2003