Darlington Building Society NYSD ECB Premier League champions Barnard Castle made it two wins from their opening two games, to lead the early table by 14 points.

They won the toss, inserted the opposition and in between the stops and starts because of the weather, they restricted Middlesbrough to 186-9.

Opening batsman John Watson made 56 from 93 balls, which included eight fours and Yash Vagadia made 32 from 64 balls, which included three fours, as they put on 85 for the second wicket.

Rob Dixon bowled well returning 4-49 from his 15 overs, and then Josh Bousfield and skipper James Quinn each took two wickets, as the home side batted through their 50 overs.

Barney in reply, were set 121 to win from 24 overs and met their target thanks to Hashan Dumindu who scored 44 not out from 39 deliveries, which included six fours and a six and there were useful contributions from James Wainman (28) and skipper James Quinn with (27no) to claim their victory.

Darlington’s game at home to Stokesley fell foul of the weather, as did Richmondshire’s match against Marske, without a ball being bowled in either match.

In the Dukes ECB North East Premier League, Chester-le-Street struggled with the bat for the second week running, as they only made 163 all out against Whitburn.

Mark Elliott, James Thompson, and Matthew Muchall, each took two wickets, but Kieran Waterson with 3-38 did the most damage. Liam Simpson with a cautious 36 from 52 balls dug in, as did Jacob McCann with 27 from 71 balls.

However, the Cestrians took three early wickets to leave Whitburn on 16-3, as Liam Simpson with a fantastic spell of 5-7 off 10.1 overs and Brodie Glendinning 3-17, bowling the visitors out for just 45.

Burnmoor travelled to Felling, batted first and made a healthy 225-8, thanks to opener Alan Worthy scoring 79 and Paul Craig made 86, as they put on 117 runs for the second wicket.

Marc Symington did the damage with the ball, as he took 4-21 alongside Graeme Bridge who took 3-4, to complete a convincing victory.

Eppleton entertained Benwell Hill at Church Road and visiting bowler Callum Harding made early inroads into the home batting. He took (4-37) while Tyler Easton (29), Josh Coughlin (29) and skipper Dean Musther (25) were top scorers in 163 all out.

The home side responded well once opener James Schofield was dismissed for 36, as Josh Coughlin with 3-25 and Dean Musther claiming 4-12, tore open the Hill batting line up and eventually bowled them out for 122 from 38 overs.

Burnopfield journeyed to champions South North and made 187 all out, thanks mainly to 56 runs off 37 balls from Stephen Humble, which included five fours and four sixes and 35 from John Oswell. On the bowling front, Sean Tindale followed up his five wickets last week, this time with 6-67.

The visitors struck two early blows, as Stephen Humble disposed of both openers Simon Birtwisle and Christopher Hewison cheaply. However, Jacques Du Toit with 34, John Graham scoring 88 not out and skipper Adam Cragg with 45 not out, saw them cruise to a seven-wicket win to maintain their unbeaten start.

Tynemouth were in impressive form with the bat at Hetton Lyons, as they racked up 246-7 declared.

Matthew Brown made 59 and George Harding 80no, alongside Andrew Smith who made 30. Chris Winn with (3-39) was the best bowler on show.

The Lyons started well with Karl Turner scoring 38 and then Chris Winn added 44 in the middle order, but they fell well short on 143 all out, Man of the match George Harding claimed 4-18 alongside Martin Pollard who returned 4-44.

Sacriston entertained Newcastle, lost early wickets and were 41-4. However, Nathan Hall made 42 not out and Ross Williams 21 not out in a partnership of 61, before the weather ended the game with the home side on 102-4, from 27.1 overs.

In the first division, Shotley Bridge visited Gateshead Fell and the home side batted first totalling 180-9, thanks to 53 from Steven Meek and 32 from Malik Javed. Michael Allan claimed 3-44 and there were two wickets each for Joe Gibson. In reply, Shotley cruised to victory thanks to 64 from Kieran Milburn.

In Division One of the Northumberland and Tyneside Cricket League, Lanchester went to Alnmouth & Lesbury and batted first, with openers Graham Brinton (32) and Dan Nicotra (87) putting on 142 runs for the first wicket. They ended up on 259-4, as Kieran Gohery added 57 not out from 87 balls.

The home side then made a terrific effort, totalling 243-9 thanks to Tom Vickers scoring 100 not out from 122 balls, which included eight fours and one six. Paul Starker added a fine 76 from 101 balls, including eight fours and two sixes.

Annfield Plain welcomed Lintz and made 192-4, with Sam Stephenson scoring 49, David Maughan 47 not out and Sam Blake 34 not out. Johnny Forster then made 56 for the visitors, as they scored 155-8, with Shane Oliver taking 3-24.

In Division One of the Readers Durham Cricket League, Marsden travelled to Philadelphia and recorded a thumping nine-wicket win. The hosts were all out for just 99, as Steven Neilson and Shahid Kahn took four wickets each. Chris Mann, 59 not out, guided his team to an easy victory.

Horden entertained Tudhoe and the visitors batted first scoring 164-7, thanks to Daniel Thexton scoring a brilliant 100 not out, with Lewis Broom claiming 4-36. Horden were all out for 119, with Daniel Brown claiming 3-32.

Easington had a five-wicket win at home to Bill Quay, as the visitors made 129 all out, thanks to Josh Broom claiming 3-19 and Kavindu Kulaserkara returning 3-26. The home side lost early wickets, but Robert Atherton with 45 not out and Omar Shahid (28), steadied the ship and led them to the win.