BLAYDON and Chester-le-Street powered on at the top of the table, with the other contenders left trailing in their wake.

At the other end of the table, South Shields suffered a fourth consecutive defeat and they look like facing a grim battle for survival.

It was the home spinners who held sway at Denefield, where Blaydon maintained their flying start with a four-wicket win over the Academy.

Young leggie Chris Varley and the experienced Graeme Bridge formed a beguiling combination, sending down 37 of the 60 overs bowled and picking up eight of the nine-wicket to fall.

Bridge ended with figures of three for 69, and Varley bagged his maiden NEPL five-wicket haul as the Durham boys were held to a score of 240, South African Keaton Jennings making 88 of those from 133 balls.

Blaydon then lost six wickets in getting home, although the result was never in doubt, Allan Worthy again leading the run-chase with 72.

Chester-le-Street’s victory was utterly convincing, hosts Hetton Lyons beaten by a hefty 103 runs in a demonstration of power by the Cestrians whch showed their all-round strength.

Virtually everyone troubled the scorer in their total of 290-9, and then all five bowlers took wickets as the Lyons were bowled out for 187.

Down at the bottom there was joy for Gateshead Fell, but despair for South Shields, while Tynemouth moved clear of the danger zone when they recorded the shock result of the day by toppling South North.

The Fell bowlers took a pounding from Stockton, and after the Teessiders declared in the 57th over on 293-6 it looked like a backs to the wall effort was required from the home team.

However, Oliver Durrell and skipper Richard Steele were having none of it, and their opening stand of 137 provided the springboard for a four-wicket win.

Durrell made 80, while Steele shone with 17 fours in his 119.

Benwell Hill’s Pakistani ‘pro’ Zohaib Khan virtually did for Shields single-handedly – he hit 132 from just 113 balls faced and then grabbed four cheap wickets as the Hill won by 102 runs.

Phil Nicholson (70) and Peter Jones (3-26) were the home team’s other major contributors as they pushed their side into third place.

The Bulls’ second defeat in a row came when they failed to defend a below-par 145 at Tynemouth.

However, at one stage they had the home side by the throat – but an unbroken eighth-wicket stand between Anthony Turner (37no) and Phil Morse (33no) did for them.

Newcastle moved up to fourth place with a convincing six-wicket win at Ashbrooke where James Atkinson (75) and Michael Richardson (52) ensured Sunderland’s score of 183 was never going to be enough.

CHRIS WEST