Roseberry Group North East Durham League: Wearmouth continue to put pressure on champions and current leaders East Rainton in and their latest success was against Medomsley who they reduced to 78 all out in 24 overs.

No fewer than 43 of the visitors' total was credited to Dixon who hit a couple of sixes and three boundaries but generally the batsmen were well contained.

Sab Dhillon claimed four wickets for just 28 runs in 12 overs and Stephen Hale had three for 26 from the 11 overs he bowled.

Replying Wearmouth lost two wickets and reached the low target in only 19 overs as Matthew Dench carried his bat for 36 with three fours. Dixon took both wickets to fall at a cost of 31 runs in ten overs.

East Rainton are still ahead at the top of the table and they had 164 runs in hand of Coxhoe who managed just 41 for nine as Roy Richardson picked up seven wickets for a miserly 17 runs.

In contrast, runs were plentiful when East Rainton made first use of the wicket and the innings was declared at 205 for two.

Neil Matthews opened with 55, Ashley Proud carried his bat for 72 and Wright was also unbeaten on 59.

Newton Aycliffe have also made a good start to the season and they are just four points adrift of East Rainton following their three wickets win against Coundon.

Batting first Coundon struggled early on but Murray raised his side's hopes with a timely innings of 44 which eventually enabled a total of 146 to be achieved.

Glen Williams was in good form with the ball for Aycliffe taking four wickets for just 24 runs and Gledhill had two for 28.

Responding Aycliffe were given a good send off by Stuart Mitchie (68) and Williams contributed 21 to a winning total of 150 for seven. Three wickets were taken by Tobin at a cost of 37 runs and Askew claimed two victims for 16 runs.

Washington are also handily placed and they had 39 runs in hand of Hunwick. When they occupied the wicket first, Washington found run making difficult until Fowle added a valuable unbeaten 42 which hurried the score along to 146 for eight. Three of the wickets were taken by Little for 38 runs and Fleming had figures of two for 17.

Hunwick too, made a slow start to their reply before Nevinson hit a valuable 35 but in the end they were all out for 107 as Wilkie returned four for 23, Alan Kitchen two for 31 and Lyall two for 28.

Simonside were just 13 runs short of a winning margin when their innings closed at Sunderland Hospitals. A total of 93 was posted which included 24 not out by David Connelly and in the Hospitals attack none did better than John Surtees with figures of four for 24. Duncan Forrester and Shaw each claimed two wickets.

Batting first Hospitals were indebted to Fred Sherriff for his 31 out of a total of 105 for eight with Thompson taking four for 34 and Bunker three for 12 in the Simonside attack.

Burnopfield lead division two and they overtook the Washington total of 99 all out with eight wickets in tact. Gray scored 45 and Johnson was 27 not out.

John Spark returned the excellent figures of five for 20 and Gray and Laws took two wickets apiece in the Washington innings.

Belmont moved into third position with an eight wickets home victory over Wearmouth who were restricted to 94 for eight in 40 overs. Richard Welsh took four for 27 in ten overs and captain Dale Peacock also sent down ten overs returning two for 16. Responding Belmont beat the weather as they hurried home in 19 overs, thanks mainly to the efforts of Ian Steel who hit three sixes and six boundaries in an unbeaten 51. He was partnered in an unbroken third wicket stand by Paul Doolan who after taking a couple of catches behind the wicket, remained unbeaten with 22 which included one six and two fours.

Benwell Hill are second and they had 19 runs to spare following a high scoring game at Whiteleas.

The Hill batted first and Barry Pearson finished undefeated on 56 after Bindman had departed after scoring 36. Whiteleas were given a good start to their reply by Brian Cauwood (49) and by Sowden (22) but eventually the Benwell Hill attack got to grips with their task following the introduction of Kilpatrick. He returned the amazing figures of five wickets for six runs to complement the work of Gregson (4-40).

Littletown found runs hard to come by when they entertained East Rainton and were all out for 70 as Ball took half the wickets for just 20 runs. Stephen Iley then batted through the East Rainton reply and his unbeaten 40 steered East Rainton to a match winning 75 for three.

After making 75 all out Kelloe sent Kibblesworth back to the pavilion with just 30 runs on the board. Hughes was the top wicket taker with the outstanding figures of six for 14 and both Pratt and Bowery claimed a couple of wickets.

Bowlers were also dominant when Kelloe made first use of the wicket. Bush had three for 16, Laverick three for 17 and Wilson two for 16 and the top score in the Kelloe innings was only 24 recorded by Pratt.

There was an exciting finale to the game between Bearpark and Tantobie which the visitors won with their last pair at the wicket. Required to score 115 they were given a reasonable start by Lodge (20) and later Bellamy added a similar total before Brown and Hindson secured victory with an unbroken last wicket partnership. When Bearpark batted first they totalled 114 all out with Carr scoring 38 and Parker 31 while for Tantobie Brown picked up three wickets for just 19 runs.

The only game which did not go ahead was that between North Bitchburn and Plawsworth. The ground was unfit following rain.

George Peacock Memorial Trophy

Durham City reached the next stage with a 17 run-victory over Marsden. Dias batted City into a winning position when he contributed 47 of his team's total of 103 for three, while for Marsden David Stewart took two of three wickets to go down for just 14 runs. In reply Marsden kept up the challenge but when time was called they had made only 86 for seven.

South Shields went down by 27 runs to Eppleton. Saikat Sarkar bowled exceptionally well for the Shieldsmen and captured five wickets for a meagre 17 runs but even so the Eppleton total of 99 for six which included 31 by Matthew Hooper, proved too much as Shields replied with 72 for seven.

Gateshead Fell enjoyed a nine-wicket victory against Boldon who they restricted to 59 for seven. Richie Potter top scored with 38 for Boldon and for the Fell John Foster claimed three wickets for a mere ten runs.

Foster then took over with the bat and was unbeaten with 25 forming an unbroken second wicket stand with Richie Smith who ended with 15.

No play was possible in the game between Sunderland and Philadelphia at Ashbrooke.

Langbaurgh League

Kirby Sigston, East Harlsey and Maltby are joint leaders. Kirby Sigston secured a seven-wicket victory over Broughton and Kirby when they overtook the target of 141 thanks mainly to the efforts of David Thompson with an unbeaten 57 and Ian Rayner who contributed 38. Thompson struck four sixes and four boundaries while Rayner had three fours in his score. Victory was achieved for the loss of just three wickets in 36.1 overs after Broughton and Kirby had batted 39.2 overs realising 140 all out. Andrew White was their top scorer recording one six and five boundaries in 42 and Roger Briddock had one six scoring 33.

Dean Kendrew had a good day with the ball for Kirby Sigston returning figures of five for 34 in 8.2 overs and Kevin Clarkson claimed four wickets for 58 runs from an economical 20 overs.

East Harlsey visited Swainby and won by 79 runs. Batting first they posted 188 for four which included 84 not out by opening batsman Mason and 35 from Willey.

When Swainby went to the wicket they lost a couple of early batsmen before Kerr retrieved the position making 37 and afterwards Shinwell added 48 to the all out total of 108.

Maltby hosted Crathorne and had eight wickets in hand. Batting first Crathorne were given an excellent start by openers Mooney (42) and Marshall (63) and eventually a total of 157 for eight was realised. Close had figures of four for 37 and Hutchinson three for 41 in the Maltby attack. Close opened the Maltby reply scoring 23 but it was his first wicket partner Morrow with an unbeaten 75 who gave the innings momentum. Hutchinson added a valuable 38 and when victory was achieved Morrow was still there in partnership with Cowan.

Thimbleby reached 207 all out before reducing Chopgate to 48 as Allen captured four wickets for 16 and Thompson had three for 19.

In contrast, the runs flowed when the visitors batted first. Barningham and Middlemass both contributed 28, Adams made 25 and Ward 21 but the leading run maker was Daniel with 67.

The wickets were shared by two Chopgate bowlers. Stockton returned five for 57 and Cook was also in good form taking five for 87.

Ingleby Greenhow made 142 for four in their home game with Kildale. Flintoft opened the innings making 44 and Staples added a top scoring 59 before Jones weighed in with 21. Responding Kildale lost early wickets before Dan Doughty batted unbeaten for 71 and Sunley also carried his bat for 40.

Skelton Castle were sent back with just 90 runs on the board by Hutton Rudby. Hogarth was the top scorer with 23 and for Hutton Rudby Cook captured five wickets for 15 runs.

The home side did not have things all their own way and conceded six wickets before reaching the modest target. They were indebted to Alexander who finished with 44 not our.

Stafford Place totalled 164 for four and Scruton were 82 for two when the match ended. Barker top-performed making 38 for Scruton and Clews was still there undefeated on 25.

When they batted first Stafford Place had opener Simpson in top form and his 87 together with 52 by O'Donaghue propelled the home side to a good total even though Barritt claimed three for 82 in the Scruton attack.

The George Mann Cup

Wolsingham Club established themselves as favourites to land the Weardale Steel sponsored cup in its 75th year when they beat newcomers Stanhope Grey Bull in style. The Club batted first and made the biggest score of the competition so far when they ended on 138 for 8 when the overs ran out. Derek Elliott led the scoring with 15, whilst Malcolm Anderson added 19 with Stephen Peart and Neil Peveller contributing 18 each.

Stanhope showed their lack of practice and slumped to 7 for 5, with four of their players run out. However the later batsmen put up late resistance when Neil Page made 24, John Iley 11 and Vernan Iley 9. However the innings ended on 47.

Wolsingham All Stars relied on their middle order to amass a total of 112 all out against a severely weakened Wolsingham Teachers team. The Stars made a disastrous start as their openers were back in the pavilion for just one run. However the steadying influence of Dave Alderson 18, Mark Watson 21, Graham Walker 20 and Michael Watson 20 pushed them towards a good total, even the though their last wickets went cheaply. The teachers soon found they were missing their key batsmen as only Ian Lister got into double figures with 23 and they were dismissed for 55.

Eastgate Cross Keys against Tow Law All Stars and Wolsingham Mill Race against Weardale Steel were both victims of the weather.