Northumberland narrowly edged this year’s derby match with Durham in the men’s Northern Counties League – coming out on top at Westerhope with a 10-8 victory.
Durham’s hopes for an away win were high after a 3.5-2.5 win in the morning foursomes, but Northumberland took a grip on the singles with wins for county champion Andrew Minnikin, Joe Robson, Harrison Sewell, Paul Caldicott, Dan Wilson, James Conn and Zak Laws – along with a half for Cameron Thoburn – to secure 7.5 singles points.
Meanwhile, Cheshire are the surprise leaders after three rounds of matches following their narrow 9.5-8.5 win over Cumbria at Workington. Yorkshire are one point behind following their 9-9 draw in the roses clash at West Lancashire.