After five games in, Darlington remain undefeated and in sixth place, following an even and entertaining draw at leaders Middlesbrough.

Boro won the toss at Acklam Park, and decided to bat first, a tactic used quite frequently now, but they only managed 139 all out.

Skipper James Lowe was in good form again and he made 54, but they were in deep trouble at 92-6, thanks to some excellent opening bowling from Liam Coates (2-41), Jonny Barnes (2-24) and professional Muhammed Saad who took 4-31, off 8.1 overs.

Lowe dug in for the afternoon and made 54, off 103 balls, which included three fours and two sixes.

Quakers are still 23 points behind the leaders, as both teams shared 10 points each.

Batting second, they could not transform good starts from the batsmen into a match winning score.

Leigh Beaumont took 3-23 off his 15 overs and Steven Reeves was excellent for Middlesbrough, with 4-31 off his 15 overs, it was always going to be difficult for the Quakers. They finished just ten runs short, but Boro could not get the last wicket either, to force the win.

Richmondshire moved up to seventh and in beating Norton at Hugill Road - the visitors have now lost their first five games in a row, and are already 42 points from safety.

Norton made just 137-9 after being 21-4, with Sam Wood removing three of the top four batsmen for just 31 runs. Jonathan Kean made 38 off 44 balls, which included three sixes, but Alston Bobb kept things tight with 3-18.

Richmondshire knocked off the runs from just 18.5 overs with skipper Gary Pratt (58no) and Mike Layfield (63), putting on 99 runs together.

Champions Barnard Castle’s frustrations to the new season continued, with a losing draw at home to Guisborough.

The Priorymen made 209-9, when they decided to bat first, with in-form professional Shanuka Dissanayake making a quick-fire 48 and Daniel Allinson dug in for 33, with skipper James Finch the pick of the bowlers, returning 3-54.

Barney lost early wickets and sat 17-3 at one stage, they did well to make 193-8 in the end, with James Quinn making 60 and James Alderson saved the day, with 55 not out, with Dissanayake returning an excellent 5-59, with the ball.

Hartlepool also drew, at home to Marton who remain third. Pools batted well in reaching 223-4, with Neil Coverdale top scoring with 62, Jonathan Rickard 60 and professional Harsha Vithana making 59. Marton’s skipper Alex Wardell (2-37) and Faisal Hussain (2-57), were the only two bowlers in the wickets.

When Marton batted, they made 167-7, with Matty Perilli making 43 and professional Aamer Sajjad scored 54, with Doug Mulholland taking the bowling plaudits with 4-44.

Stokesley are six points behind leaders Boro and moved back into second place, when they won at Seaton Carew by seven wickets.

They won the toss and decided to field first and skipper Andrew Weighell led the way with an excellent bowling performance of 5-37 and professional Aubrey Swanepoel claimed 2-13.

Seaton’s skipper Paul Braithwaite made an entertaining 51 and Jack Stonehouse contributed with 31, to get them up to 151-9 after their overs were completed.

In reply, Stokesley’s Robert Foreman made 40 and Aubrey Swanepoel smashed 83 not out, to steer his team home, to take the 20 points. Seaton Carew are now a worrying 29 points adrift in second-bottom place.

Great Ayton slipped to fourth, when they drew at Marske, who were asked to bat first. Skipper Lee Hodgson made an excellent 90, including ten fours, off 107 balls, but Lewis Harper was bowled second ball, by Stephen Pennock against his old club, but Johnathan Pickard (29no) hit some boundaries near the end of the innings, to contribute to a total of 204-9.

Ayton had earlier lost their professional, Pitigala Jeewantha to a hamstring injury while fielding and although he would have batted with a runner if required, a fine 48 from opener Christopher Batchelor and 43 from Chris Allinson, ensured the draw, with their final score totaling 170-8.