THE right place at the right time against the right opposition.

It was that combination of factors that enabled Burnmoor to claw back some significant ground near the top of the table as they destroyed bottom club Evenwood in double quick time while every other game in the top-flight fell victim to the weather.

The Moor did not show any mercy as they ended their own horrible run of form with an emphatic performance.

Only one man made it to double figures as the home attack ran riot, and with four batsmen going without troubling the scorer the innings was done and dusted for just 40 in a lethal 10.2 overs. Karl Bellerby was the harbinger of doom for Evenwood, bagging five wickets for seven runs in his five over spell, while Brydon Carse (2-21) and Craig Robertson (2-8) picked up the other four. 5.4 overs of batting was all it took for the Moor to claim their ten-wicket win.

The defeat left Evenwood 65 points short of safety, and their fate looks sealed, however Burnmoor’s success earned them 20 points, and with table-topping Tudhoe only having time to squeeze ten from a game at Dawdon they looked well placed to win, the pair are now separated by just five, with the Moor climbing above Esh Winning into second.

Tudhoe were cursing the weather after dominating at Dawdon. Kishen Kushen derailed the home innings with a 12 over spell in which he claimed 7-32, only Stephen Gale (46) managing to cope with the South African as Dawdon slumped to 114 all out in 32 overs. Tudhoe had rushed to 51-1 from nine overs, but they could not beat the advancing storm clouds which delivered the home team’s get out of jail free card with thunderous power.

Castle Eden were also denied the opportunity to go for glory after skipper Keith Bailey’s innings of 95 not out was accompanied by a selfless declaration on 178-9 against Hylton, the visitors making it to 24-2 before the rain arrived.

Elsewhere in the top flight, Philadelphia’s Mirza Baig had 4-38 from 11 overs at Crook, but only 25.4 overs were possible in all with the hosts 108-6 at the end, and Ben Popovski and Ian Male shared eight wickets for Boldon CA at Marsden, but with just 132 to chase, and Shashank Singh 38 not out, CA (70-2) were only allowed 10.4 overs of batting by the weather.

If Burnmoor were in the right place in Division One, the same could be said of Durham City in Division Two.

They were the only winners in the second tier after taking just 36 overs in all to defeat their hosts by nine wickets. Shildon were bundled out for just 72, Nick Maiolo picking up five for 41 and Paul Moralee claiming 3-26, and it took just 9.5 overs to secure the crucial win as skipper Jake McCann (27 not out) led the race to outpace the advancing storm clouds.

Leaders Bill Quay used 49.5 overs in reaching 199-7 against Ushaw Moor, John Newstead injecting urgency with an unbeaten 54 from 56 balls before the inevitable abandonment, while Whiteleas lost some ground after struggling to 105-6 at Langley Park where Dave Gladstone (4-6) holed their inning s amidships to deny them some crucial bonus points.