DURHAM City baker Terry Wall, who led Morpeth Harriers to team silver medal position in last week's North of England Cross Country Championships, will be aiming to maintain his pole position in tomorrow's fourth Durham Pine North-East Harrier League fixture at Blaydon.

Wall, 16th at Heaton Park, Manchester heads the senior men's table with 28 points from his three runs, and is eight points ahead of 2001 North-East cross country champion Andrew Caine, who has a maximum 20 points from his two races at Chester-le-Street and Durham.

British Veterans cross country champion Rob Hand leads the over-40 table with 20 points from two wins, two ahead of Morpeth's Les Atkinson, who has also raced twice this season.

Sunderland Harriers, who have won the senior men's six-mile team races in the opening three fixtures, are attempting a grand slam of six victories in the series for only the third time in the club's history.

The Wearsiders have a superb record in the Harrier League, having won the men's team title 17 times, but they have registered a clean sweep of victories only twice, in 1989 and 1993.

The senior men's races are run on a handicap basis, with three packs of runners, two receiving five and 2 minutes start on the scratch men, to give all clubs a chance of winning the team races.

But so far Sunderland have made full use of their strength in depth, even though they have been without their star runner, Great Britain international Brian Rushworth.

He has won the regional individual title a record ten times but has only recently recovered from a serious ankle injury which has kept him on the sidelines for over a year.

Sunderland, with a maximum three points, head the team table from Durham City, who have six points, while Wallsend and North Shields Polytechnic share third place with 11 points.

In the women's events Durham City top the senior table by only one point from Tynedale, while three teams are level at the head of the under-17/20 table, Morpeth, Birtley and Sunderland. Gateshead Harriers, led by newly-crowned Northern champion Mary Ferrier, have won the first three fixtures in the under-15 section.

Tomorrow's meeting starts at 12.30pm and the course will be altered slightly because of the recent bad weather.

* Jonathan Edwards opens his 2003 account in the Norwich Union International in Glasgow tomorrow. The Olympic triple jump champion and world record holder is set for another head-to-head confrontation with the man who was his constant close rival in 2002 and deprived him of the European title, Sweden's Christian Olsson.

Whatever happens in the indoor season it will not disturb Edwards' plans to defend his Olympic title in Athens next year.

But, were he to have a bad outdoor season, Edwards - whose immediate target is the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham in March - would almost certainly call it a day.

Edwards, who has been developing a new career as a presenter of religious TV programmes, said: ''The competition this weekend is about getting my athletics head on. For the last three months, athletics has become almost a hobby again, but I'm in good shape."