Durham and Northumberland both suffered defeat in their opening Northern Counties League matches as Yorkshire made a good start to their title defence with a 10-8 win at Cheshire.
Durham were beaten 11.5-6.5 by Cumbria at Hartlepool after trailing 4-2 in the morning foursomes. In the 12 singles matches, Durham had just three successes as Gavin Nesbit, Ben Willis and Mike Henson picked up wins and John Kennedy earned a half.
Meanwhile, Northumberland went down 10.5-7.5 to Lancashire at Whitley Bay. Lancashire led 4-2 after the morning foursomes before Morgan Blythe, Mark Wharton, Sean Heads, Craig Penny and Stewart Fell picked up wins and Paul Caldicott earned a half – the team falling short of a late comeback as Lancashire closed out victory.
Next up, Northumberland host Yorkshire at City of Newcastle while Durham face Cheshire at Wynyard, and Cumbria host Lancashire at Carlisle.
