HARROGATE Cricket Club could not have enjoyed a better September as the St George's Road club pipped Sheffield Collegiate to the Yorkshire League title.

For them, it was a do-or-die bid to harvest the sweet fruit of a league title. Nothing less than victories would suffice at Driffield on Saturday and against the Yorkshire Academy at New Rover yesterday.

While their only rivals Sheffield Collegiate overcame the sea fret at Hull, Harrogate raced to beat dark, lowering Wolds cloud at Driffield.

And 24 hours later, Michael Stanford's first season in charge at Harrogate finished in glory as Yorkshire Academy were rolled over by 104 runs.

On Saturday, Collegiate did their job very effectively. Forced to bat first, their 164 all out was a decent enough return on a green wicket at the University ground. Then their own bowlers revelled in the conditions to scatter Hull for just 88.

By contrast, Harrogate won the toss at Driffield and skipper Mike Stanford gave his own quality first shy. The rewards were swift as Dave Pennett and Khaled Hussain seared through Driffield's top six with just 37 on the board.

Ian Winterbottom staged a brief, one-man 15-over recovery, but when he was trapped lbw by Chris Kippax, the last three wickets went swiftly through the threshing machine.

Then, despite the early loss of John Inglis, caught scrumping by Mark Woodcook in Gary Hodgson's orchard, Peter Hepworth and Alexis Twigg, mindful of the closing clouds, gorged themselves on some easy windfalls. Twigg over-indulged but Hussain was on hand to help Hepworth finish the job.

Against Academy, a sparkling 71 from Inglis, an unbeaten 51 from Ryan Bradshaw and 49 from Hussain laid the foundations for a solid 238-8.

And Pennett ensure that total would not be reached as he ripped through the Academy innings - finishing with 6-42 to dismiss Yorkshire's next generation for 134.

A crowd gathered at Scarborough for two purposes - for a party in honour of retiring legendary stalwart Chris Clifford and first to see if Cleethorpes opener Shane Deitz could get the 60 runs needed to eclipse the David Byas league aggregate record of 1,394.

Deitz failed totally, lbw to Ryan Swiers, but it didn't prevent Cleethorpes, 146 all out, from swallowing Scarborough (79) in sea fret conditions where a Davy lamp would have been a useful addition to any batsman's helmet.

Afterwards, to mark Clifford's four complete decades of service to the club, and a unique Yorkshire League record of more than 1,400 wickets, former team-mates journeyed from far and wide. A club presentation was made by equally revered North Marine Road and one-time Yorkshire pace-man Bill Foord.

York's season ended on a note of disappointment when they lost to Doncaster by seven wickets at Clifton Park. Only Stephen Piercy and Nash Stone made any impact as silver-haired Nick Cowan did the damage. York struggled on a seamer's paradise to reach 158-9. Things eased later in the day allowing Doncaster's Simon Widdup to pass his 1000 runs for the season and Peter Ellis to enjoy a champagne finish with an unbeaten 85.

Elsewhere, a late Castleford batting revival clawed all the points from a match that Rotherham must have thought they had won. Sheffield United were humbled by old stager Martin Ivill at Barnsley and Joe Sayers hit a century as the Yorkshire Academy were too good for bottom club Appleby Frodingham.

Updated: 12:13 Monday, September 16, 2002