This is the North East | Sport | Cricket

The Hetton Lyons game at Marsden fluctuated during the final hour and at one stage it appeared that Marsden were on the verge of an upset - before losing by two runs.

A quick-fire start saw Sean Birbeck (84) with 12 fours and two sixes and Marc Hopkinson (68) initially established superiority for the Lyons with an opening stand of 158. Tom Nixon with 32 off 31 balls continued the acceleration and a declaration was applied after 44.2 overs.

Marsden needed a recovery period after losing early wickets and they looked decidedly vulnerable when they required 105 from the final hour with five wickets left. They gradually eased themselves into a winning position when Andrew Doherty was on 45. But, with seven balls left Doherty went for a risky run, lost his wicket and the game.

Whitburn had both Durham City and the weather to contend with and eventually proved successful against both. The first interruption in the game came during the Durham innings when 25 minutes were lost. Opener Matt Houghton and Paul Price produced 69 together for City before Ashley Thorpe (3-38) and Neil Johnson (3-40) gained control. In the end Whitburn were left to chase 153 dismissing Durham inside 52 overs.

Two short breaks for rain caused further frustrations for Whitburn. Professional Thorpe hurried the score along and his half century came from 37 deliveries, and his innings of 70 included 11 boundaries. In the end Whitburn had 14 balls to spare when victory arrived.

South Hetton's inconsistent league form took a turn for the better when they were resounding winners against Felling. They needed just 35 overs to amass a creditable 193. Ashok Patel with 89 (17 fours and a six) and Bobby Steel (74) thrashed the Felling bowling to enable their very early declaration.

Felling's main resistance came from Daryl Warden. His half century was the only contribution of note and Felling were shot out in 26 overs. John Leslie's four for 17 was the main effort in the 98-run victory.

South Shields won handsomely at Seaham Harbour. After losing Lindsay Cullen and Mike Fishwick early it was Lee Whalley (87) and Paul Muchall (59) who delivered a rescue act. In the end though Shields were able to declare on reaching maximum batting points.

The Shields pace attack then made early inroads into the Harbour batting. Being quickly reduced to 68 for five the task became an uphill battle. Matthew Muchall with 4-36 proved the most successful of the bowlers with Shields needing just 28.5 overs to complete the 136-run triumph.

Burnmoor's seventh win keeps them on the fringe of the title race. Their match at Boldon saw runs a scarce commodity.

The home batsmen were never able to come to terms with Ian Conn. He took his wickets tally to 35 with a 5-27 return leaving Burnmoor to chase 97 to win.

Boldon then fought all the way. Chris Ellison and John Tindale were dismissed with only four runs on the board but Barry Dews (36) stood firm. Burnmoor were then grateful to a late unbeaten 20 by Martin Thursfield as his side won with four wickets intact.

Eppleton's opening pair were in devastating form against Horden. A century from Sean Ezzard and Jimmy Daley's 82 (14 fours) meant a declaration coming from 37.3 overs with 206-3 on the scoreboard. Matthew Jane's 11.2 overs provided him with an impressive return of five for 41 as Horden were dismissed for 161

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