For North-East cricket statisticians, Saturday was another day for counting abandoned matches rather than runs scored.

The 152 complete washouts took the season's tally to an incredible 1650, making 2012 officially the worst on record.

With virtually nothing being played in Northumberland, and very little to follow in South Durham, the Teesside area came off best with two thirds of the matches that actually started taking place there.

The whole of the NEPL, Durham Senior, Durham County and NTSL senior programmes succumbed, but two games beat the elements in the Durham Coast League and the winners enhanced their championship aspirations significantly.

Dawdon put on a powerful display to hammer Seaham Harbour by 114 runs and move into second place in the table, 12 points behind marooned leaders Murton.

Remarkably, with so much weather inflicted carnage in the surrounding area, hosts Dawdon managed to get their ground fit for play and their hard work paid rich dividends as the derby turned into the Shoaib Akhtar show.

The home team declared in the 41st over once they had made sure of their fourth batting bonus point on 176-8. And as others struggled to score at a decent rate Akhtar had no such problem, his 92 runs coming from just 95 balls and including 15 fours and a six. After a brief rest he then blew away the Harbour top order, and after that there was no way back as Mark Ewart wrapped things up, Seaham slipping to 62 all out. Both Akhtar and Ewart returned identical figures of 4-18.

Easington again squeezed a game in while others were waterlogged, and their seven-wicket victory over a depleted Bill Quay side moved them to within striking distance of the leading trio of teams above them in the table.

Quay were unlocked for 113 inside 41 overs as Jordan Wilson (3-22), Andrew Price (2-30) and Michael Robson (2-7) combined effectively in bowler friendly conditions. The winning target was then halved by an opening stand of 57 between Dave Tarn (31) and Ben Wicling, and despite Sam Wraith picking up three wickets Wicling's half century came at a crack with eight fours and two sixes to rush the home team past the winning post.