HARDEN captain Paul Quinlan led from the front as his side overcame Tong Park Esholt in a crucial Aire-Wharfe League Division Two relegation battle.

With the visitors going well at 147-3, Quinlan bowled Saqib Mir for 38 and in his next over produced a hat-trick as Tong Park crumbled to 151-7.

Danny Groom, who made an unbeaten 65, stopped the rot with a stand of 47 with Lyle D’Razalio, but Quinlan stepped in again, ending the innings on 205 by taking the final two wickets in successive balls.

Not satisfied with his afternoon’s work, Quinlan then hit a half-century as his side got home by six wickets, Isaac Murray (42no) rounding things off.

That lifts Harden 16 points clear of their opponents, who remain in the bottom two.

The other relegation spot is held by Green Lane, after a points deduction, but they took a step towards safety by chasing down Illingworth’s 266-8 with six wickets in hand. Waleed Akhtar (69), Tony Cornwell (61), Andy Lee (52), and Jake Agar (31no) led the way.

That was a vital win because Thackley eased their relegation fears a little by beating Ben Rhydding in a thriller.

Struan Connor (42) and Dickie Bolton (40no) were the main contributors as Ben Rhydding made 186-9, with Jonathan Rudge taking 4-46.

Rudge (55) then teamed up with Sidhant Adhatrao (90) to put on 113 after Thackley struggled to 53-5 and they reached the target with two wickets in hand.

Iqbal Khan (34) and Kevin Owens (48no) headed Skipton’s 205-7 before Khan (3-40) and Richard Nichols, who took the last three wickets in five balls, kept Knaresborough close to the relegation zone by bowling them out for 171.

The win put Skipton up to third, only 11 points behind long-time leaders Horsforth, who crashed to a second successive defeat.

Only No 8 Mahir Ali (31) challenged the Adel bowling and the visitors eased past Horsforth’s 122 with seven wickets in hand.

Colton took over top spot with a win over Pool, who dropped to fourth but under the bonus-points system made up four on Horsforth.

David Amos (5-39) and Sam Wilkinson (4-39) looked to have given Pool a golden opportunity when they restricted Colton to 167 but Pool crashed from 42-3 to 45-7 in 16 balls and were eventually dismissed for 83.

Burley probably ended any hopes Kirkstall had of snatching the Division One title when they crushed them by 201 runs.

Sami Rehman (115) and Nick Brook (56) put on 118 and Ed Brown contributed 44 in Burley’s 276-6 before Brook tore through the first three Kirkstall batsmen in five balls on his way to a 5-9 spell.

James Davies (4-27) and Sam Blake (4-32) dismissed Steeton for 107, and Ben Morley (42) and Jamie Pickering (42no) clinched an easy win for leaders Otley.

But with no chance of batting points, their lead over Beckwithshaw, who took maximum points against Foolifoot, was reduced to eight.

A sixth-wicket stand of 123 between Andrew Duckworth (54) and Ryan Gladwin (99) was the foundation of Rawdon’s 88-run win over Guiseley, who are only five points above the drop zone.

Ilkley remain bottom after Collingham overtook their 175 total with three wickets in hand, despite the efforts of Chris Quaife (4-40).

The pack at the top of Division Three reshuffled but it remains a wide-open race with only 27 points between top and seventh.

Calverley won their fifth match in a row, knocking Addingham off top spot, mainly thanks to Jatinder Singh and Naveed Panesar.

Laurie O’Connor (41) and Henry Barrow (40) helped Addingham recover from 43-4 to 208-9, with Singh taking 4-36 and Panesar 3-66.

Panesar then hit 63 and Singh 44 not out as Calverley got home by two wickets.

Jonathan Postle (4-36) and Denis Rock (3-23) skittled Bolton Villas for 76 to set up an eight-wicket win for Hall Park.

Tom Burton (5-34) and Charlie Parker (3-38) restricted Olicanian to 156 but Menston’s batting could only manage 98 in reply.

Majid Inayat scored 88 for Silsden but New Rover’s 269-4 was far too much for the bottom club.