When Richmondshire regained the leadership last weekend it was the fifth time in seven weeks that a change had taken place, proving the most open championship in years.

With only 34 points covering the top seven, every one of those seven will fancy their chances of emerging triumphant come mid –September.

The current pecking order could change again today with the new leaders set to be tested with a trip to Acklam Park where home side Middlesbrough are in their best form for several seasons.

Boro knocked Barnard Castle from their seat at the summit with victory at Vere Road last weekend, and are capable of doing the same to the Dalesmen given that they are currently enjoying a 12-game unbeaten run.

South African Steve Reeves has been a revelation, his man-of-the-match display at Barney taking him up to 712 runs and 27 wickets for the league season, and with Mike Cook and Mattie Connolly expected to return Boro have the ideal opportunity to enhance their own title claims.

Richmond will be missing Craig Swainston and take the opportunity to blood a youngster, with Joe Shields, a product of their outstanding junior set-up, handed a debut.

The Boro v Richmond game is just one of three top seven head to heads, with fifth-placed Marske entertaining Barnard Castle, and the rapidly advancing Great Ayton, now up to seventh, playing Hartlepool who are three places and 11 points above them.

The Windy Hill Lane supporters are likely to be able to acclaim the first man to reach 1,000 league runs this afternoon with Saeed Bin Nasir just 17 away from that milestone. A remarkable six centuries, plus three more 50s and an average of 82, should enable the Seasiders to be competitive again despite the loss of the holidaying Lee Hodgson and the injured Brett Roberts.

Barney, bruised by that league defeat which was quickly followed by elimination in the semi-finals of the Fifteens tournament, will be going all out to regain their momentum, although James Quinn is absent from their line-up, Mike Dixon earning promotion after some excellent form with the seconds.

In the third top seven meeting Great Ayton and Hartlepool are set for a dry run of their upcoming appearance in the Premier Fifteens final, both teams in good spirit following their semi-final successes earlier this week.

For Ayton in particular this campaign has been a summer of two halves – the first couple of months of the season marked by some internal issues and struggles in the relegation zone, the second marked by success in both league and cup competitions and, remarkably, they have a chance of pulling off an amazing triple success.

The rain gods smiled on them in the Kerridge final a few weeks ago - they get another crack at that next Sunday. And they have now added progress to yet another Fifteens final to a six-game unbeaten league run which has seen them claw their way to the fringes of the title race. With David Grainge working his place in the Leven Park line-up is taken by the returning Joe Marsay, while Pools welcome back Neil Coverdale.

Stokesley continue their title bid with a trip to Norton where their hosts have skipper Matty Thomas back at the helm, although Peter Armstrong is unavailable. The visitors make one change with Sam Wilson in for David Weighell.

Norton are amongst a group of five scrambling to avoid being in the bottom two by the end of the season, Seaton Carew’s recent resurgence adding to the feeling that, as well as the championship, the battle to avoid relegation will go down to the wire.

And that feeling is accentuated by the fact that those teams in the fight to avoid the drop have major players missing this week. Redcar, minus Usman Arshad who has returned to Pakistan, play a Darlington team missing Matty Brown, Marton have to reckon without Tom Urwin when they play at Guisborough, and Stu Lobb is absent from the Seaton dressing room when they host Normanby Hall.