STOCKSFIELD II’s title charge was dented as they succumbed to 10-man Stamfordham who continue to turn the corner this year.

Embroiled in relegation battles in years gone by, they have shown a marked improvement this year round and added the scalp of Stocksfield to make it six wins for the campaign.

And they earned the unlikely victory one man short, an excellent 80 run partnership between Ian Donkin and skipper Graham Adamson cementing their spot in sixth place.

Stocksfield, missing players through holidays and the like, batted first and looked tidy throughout.

A patient 50 from youngster Luke Donethy anchored the innings, while a quick fire 50 towards the end of the innings from Ali Thirlwell pushed the visitors up to an innings total of 169.

Stamfordham’s bowlers performed well throughout the 42 overs, spinner Richie Gledson particularly catching the eye.

Stamfordham were without their main man Alex Gray, and their reply started poorly.

Aamir Riaz edged the opening delivery to wicketkeeper Paul Newton, and opening partner Angus Patterson fell shortly after without troubling the scorer.

But old head Donkin held his nerve while wickets dropped around him, steadying the ship.

Adamson came to the crease with the score at 89-5, and he and Donkin took the game to the bowlers to quickly catch up with the run rate.

Donkin remained at the crease with 89 and Adamson reached his half century as they steered their side over the line with two overs spare.

Stocksfield‘s defeat saw them slip five points off the top three, but Wylam were to be frustrated in their pursuit of maximum points.

Up against bottom club Prudhoe , they would have expected to pick up all 12 points but could not break the visitors’ stubbornness as they kept their innings intact against some good bowling.

Choosing to bat first, Prudhoe were in real danger at 42-4, but it was again over to the experienced pair of Gary Chamberlain and Gavin Howdon to show the way.

They defended everything to frustrate the home bowlers, only opening up and going for runs once it was a foregone conclusion that they wouldn‘t be bowled all out.

Wylam went into bat still gunning for the win which would keep them in touching distance of their challengers, and they knocked off the runs in the 21st over.

The dropping of David Teasdale proved costly as he went on to make a quick 32, as he, Alex Rayner, Rob Bergstrand and Andy Paton batted their side to glory.

Hexham Leazes went one point ahead of them after claiming maximum in a straight forward, seven wicket victory over Allendale .

With Allendale’s new-and-improved outfield playing fantastic, the home side‘s opening total of 131 seemed low. But they came up against some good slow bowling from Leazes which put them under pressure.

Dale opener Corey Hyde was in impressive form despite being dropped on five, but he lacked partners and the early removal of ex-Tynedale man Tim Raglan was seen as key.

Tom Elliott, who has been playing for the second team this season, came in and bowled spin to tie things off with four wickets.

The total was no trouble for Hexham’s top order, and a good partnership from Paul Newton and Andrew Whitaker saw them earn the points in the 24th over.

The rest are still chasing leaders Haltwhistle who extended their advantage by a point with an emphatic 105 run success over Humshaugh .

Opening the game, they were again indebted to their run machines Joe Barber and captain Dan Parker for getting them off to a great start.

When both departed with the score on 80-2, the scoreboard kept ticking along but so did the wickets as they were all out for 184 which included a good knock from the consistent Phil Thompson.

Things weren‘t looking good for Humshaugh in their reply as they lost two wickets without getting on the scoreboard, danger man Barber taking the two crucial wickets of Nick Reid and Hedley Renton.

Captain Allan Murray kept the end up and he was the last wicket, Humshaugh crashing out on 79 with John Armstrong claiming six wickets from his impressive 12 overs, which included five maidens.

Haydon Bridge were in free scoring mood as they thumped an off-colour Matfen Hall by 140 runs.

Matfen’s main man Hamish Kennett was feeling too under the weather to bowl and, more significantly, bat and his bit part appearance was a big contributory factor in his side‘s heavy defeat.

He did weigh in with a catch in the field but Bridge were realistically out of sight at that point, opener Chris Welton setting the platform with some lusty blows.

The top four all performed well, Ian Watson steady away with Robert Gibson back to his best by smashing a quick fire half century and Mark Elliott also racking up the runs rapidly.

Matfen were unable to live with some brilliant bowling from Jamie Taylor, who deserved more reward than his three wickets, as he removed James D‘Arcy first over with Max Stephens going to Gavin Boyd in the following over.

The experienced Eddie Scott fired a few boundaries to provide some resistance, while Ross Colesby and Kelly Withycombe stuck around at the end but they weren’t in danger of making 100 as a team.

The wicket favoured the bowlers in the match between Benwell Hill III and Newton , the away side digging in to record victory in a nail-biting finish.

Newton were in trouble 49 runs short of Benwell‘s innings with just one wicket remaining, but they had captain Jonathan Bennett and Chris Telfer to thank for earning them the success by seeing things through.

Bennett was the star of the show as he and Matt Scattergood saw off the dangerous Darshana Thiranga, allowing him to push on to secure the narrow victory which keeps them sitting pretty in fifth.

Benwell struggled for runs too as they opened the batting, Chris Wilkie turning the screw with five wickets as they were bowled out within 20 overs. Ben Hynes and Peter Smith combined well but it was not enough for Benwell.