Harrogate CC lose out to defending champions Castleford as Sessay's winning run ends

Roosters skipper Will Bates won the toss and elected to bat first, his side then making their way to 192/9 from their allotted 50 overs.

Isaac Light struck a solid 47 at the top of the order, but 'Gate's failure to pass the 200-mark owed much to a number of their middle-order players making starts without managing to go on and convert them into big scores.

Mat Pillans (25), Arjun Ramkumar (24) and Jordan Sleightholme (24) all looked in decent touch before being dismissed, leaving Castleford fancying their chances at the halfway stage of proceedings.

And, although it took them until the penultimate over of the match to reach their target, the hosts did eventually complete a three-wicket success.

Pillans, Henry Thompson and Sri Lankan spinner Ishan Abeysekara all bagged a couple of wickets apiece for Harrogate, who remain ninth in the table but well clear of the bottom-two following what was their eighth defeat in 12 outings this term.

Sessay's three-match winning run was ended in emphatic fashion by league leaders Driffield Town.

Tim Hall took a couple of scalps, but none of the home bowlers were really able to make much of an impression as the high-flyers posted 274/6 from their 50 overs.

Opener Matthew Till hit 39 when Sessay responded, though their reply did not progress any further than 158.

Saturday's result leaves the Thirsk outfit in seventh position.

Division One West leaders Thirsk made a return to winning ways when they entertained Studley Royal.

James Wilkinson's team bounced back from what was just their second loss of the campaign last time out having bowled their visitors out for just 129.

Jonny Harding scored 37 for Studley, however they collapsed from a position of some strength at 103/3 and went on to lose their last seven wickets for only 26 runs.

Tom Spence shone with the ball for the title-hopefuls, bagging 5-22, while Ben Crewe claimed 3-23.

Tom Scott (50 not out) then struck a half-century to steer Thirsk to a comfortable five-wicket triumph in 37.2 overs.

Second-placed Knaresborough remain hot on the league leaders' heels following their derby success over Harrogate 2nds.

Harry Stothard weighed in with 52 for the Roosters' second-string, though he received little by way of meaningful support and the home team were dismissed on 155.

Andy Ward led the way for Knaresborough, helping himself to 5-38 alongside Greg Pickles, who helped wrap up the innings with an impressive 3-4.

Kevin Owens (62) and skipper Pickles (62 not out) then put on 106 for the opening wicket to pave the way for the most routine of nine-wicket victories.

Sessay 2nds slipped into the relegation zone as a result of what was their 10th loss in 13 games.

James Easton (4-61) and Ben Scaling (3-53) worked hard with the ball in hand, but were unable to prevent Dringhouses from putting an imposing total on the board.

Chasing 264/9, Sessay's response got off to a decent start, openers Stuart Clark (35) and Ferdinand Rex (30) contributing useful runs.

But, although Scaling hit 42 not out at number nine, the strugglers were all out for 176, well short of where they needed to be.

Knaresborough 2nds secured a vital win in Division Two Galtres, upsetting local rivals Pannal to climb off the bottom of the pile and out of the drop zone.

Chasing their fifth-placed visitors' 257/6 from 45 overs, Graham Dodds' team eventually made it over the line with nine balls to spare.

David Artindale top-scored with 76, though he received excellent support from Ben Ward (53 not out) and Joe Reynolds (52) as the home side reached 259/5.

Earlier, Rob Ellis (73) and Matthew Firbank (57) had also hit half-centuries for Pannal, while Moses John added 36.

That result lifts Knaresborough two places and up to 10th position, where they now find themselves just six points shy of ninth-placed Ripon.

The men from Studley Road suffered an afternoon to forget when they visited Osbaldwick, going down by eight wickets after being skittled with only 86 to their name.

Mike Ainsley scored 30 from 39 balls, however his innings was the one bright spot in an otherwise disappointing display.