Darlington eased their relegation worries in the Darlington Building Society NYSD ECB Premier League and put Seaton Carew in a perilous position after victory in the big relegation match at Hornby Park.

The home side set the visitors a difficult target as they scored 177-5 from their 50 overs.

Matthew Skirving made 55 from 120 balls, as Paul Braithwaite scored 53 from 91 balls, both openers making good contributions.

The Quakers target was slightly reduced as the D/L method came in, and their openers got them off to a positive start as well with James Sutton (53) and Paul Freary (41) putting on 75 runs for the first wicket.

Tom Hewison scored a match-winning 69 not out from 65 balls, which included eight fours, finishing on 176-4, to claim 20 valuable points from the match, to give themselves a 13-point cushion above the relegation zone.

Barnard Castle came up against an in-form Benjamin Smith, as he claimed a brilliant 6-43 in their match at Hartlepool. They were in trouble, but skipper James Quinn then made 36 and Finn Usher 32, to get them up to 134 all out, with Doug Mulholland chipping in with 3-40.

Hartlepool were then set a revised target of 76 to win, under the D/L method and reached their target thanks to James Lowe, who hit 49 not out from 64 balls, finishing on 79-4.

Richmondshire were beaten by the rain, as their home match with Middlesbrough was abandoned, without a ball being bowled.

Only one game started in the Dukes ECB NEPL Premier Division, as Sacriston travelled to Chester-le-Street and asked the home side to bat.

The Cestrians made a decent start as skipper John Coxon made a patient 55 not out from 78 balls, but Andrew Smith was in fine form, scoring 102 from just 60 balls, which included 13 fours and five sixes, in a declared total of 204-2 from 28 overs.

The visitors batted reasonably well from the off, with all the top six batsmen getting into double figures, top scorer Will Gidman making 34. The home side mixed up their bowling attack, trying to find a winning formula, but Sacriston held out on 161-7.

In the Readers Durham Cricket League, Easington powered their way to a 52-point lead at the top, after defeating Esh Winning by five wickets. Esh made 160-7, thanks to a magnificent century from Khasif Naveed. Even though they lost three early wickets, the home side had David Tarn to thank as he made 71 not out and Jason Moses 37, to guide their team to another victory.