Division One leaders Oakworth moved to within touching distance of the Craven League title after victory at home to bottom side Embsay.

They are now nine points clear with 12 to play for after winning a high-scoring game by 40 runs Oakworth rattled up 251-4 batting first, with Brannan Lawn (98) and Joel Gallagher (81) putting on 147 for the second wicket and Michael Scarborough chipping in with 43.

In reply, the Shires Lane side quickly found themselves 3-3 but they recovered well, with Duncan Ward (52), Ben Keane (42) and Ben Stockton (40) leading the way.

Last man Scott Robinson blasted 38 not out, which included 30 in one over from Jack Davison (four sixes, a four and a two) as the innings closed on 211.

Haworth dropped from second to third after a crushing defeat at Bingley Congs.

The Beckfoot Lane side batted first and posted a modest 114 as Damian Rowell finished with 4-30. The Bronte side were never in the hunt and collapsed to 41 all out, with Matt Roberts taking 7-23.

Haworth Road climbed to second after travelling to West Craven and beating Thornton by 139 runs.

The Baildon Bottom side made 252-9, with Illyat Ullah hitting 68, Danny Pearson 51 and Mansha Khan 41 as Chris Heald took 5-65 off 15 overs.

The Booth Bridge Laners were knocked over for 113, Kevin Pollard top-scoring with 24 as Danish Tariq claimed 5-38 and Mohammed Zahid 4-26.

The usually free-scoring Crossflatts batsmen were restricted to 149-6 in their 45 overs, with R Ayub making 65 as Aqeel Ahmed took 3-39.

Hosts Barrowford had an early hiccup as they were 10-2 before A Sharif (74no) and Nick Burton (68no) took them to the winning post.

Ingrow St John’s enjoyed a stunning 228-run win over Bradley at Street Lane.

N Ali (65) made the early running before Nadeem Safdar (40no) and Ali Khalid (36no) pushed the score to an impressive 265-8.

Bradley were hustled out for a paltry 37, with only Phil Binner (17no) making double figures. Safdar finished with 6-11 off 5.4 overs.

Cullingworth’s trip to Foulridge proved to be fruitful as they came away with the points by five wickets.

Batting first they made 134-9, Steve Welch leading the way with 46 as the wickets were shared.

The Noyna side were reduced to 65-7 before Kafeel Ishfaq hit 29 as the innings closed on 104 (Chris Welch 5-21).

Cowling now enjoy a four-point lead at the top of Division Two after they beat Oakworth II and second-placed Riddlesden went down to Denholme.

Oakworth asked Cowling to bat first and at the end of 45 overs they had plundered 268-3, with Graham Rishton (113no) and Steve Richardson (81) putting on 193 for the first wicket.

In reply, Oakworth were hustled out for just 102, Martyn Dalby finishing with 7-53 off 14 overs.

Riddlesden entertained a Denholme side who have been making steady progress up the table.

Denholme made 217-8 in their overs, with T Priestley scoring 58 and Matty Wear 40 as the wickets were shared.

Riddlesden made a determined effort to overtake that score but were all out for 187, with opener A Raza scoring 76 and M Qadeer 37 as Tom Greenwood claimed 5-43 and Neil Spencer 3-41.

Glusburn are seven points adrift of Riddlesden after they slumped to a 27-run defeat at Airedale.

The Bradford Road side had first go and made a moderate 145, this after being 124-2, with W Ismail making 49 and Matthew Cox 46 as James Tillotson claimed 4-17 and Mark Pickles 4-69.

No Park Field batter got to grips with the bowling and they closed on 118 as Joe Milner took 5-31.

Fourth-placed Barrowford II also suffered defeat, losing at Sutton by 39 runs.

K Brooker made 36 and Craig Thornton 35 as the Royd Hill side posted 146. Z Tariq took 4-12 and M Iqbal 4-50.

The Bull Home side then ran into Rob Walker in fine bowling form. He claimed 8-52 off 11.5 overs to set up a fine victory.

Ingrow’s Ian Roberts took 3-18 as nine-man visitors Pendle Forest were knocked over for 95. Then Mark Price (44) saw his side to the spoils by eight wickets.

Chatburn still head Division Three by seven points after featuring in a close encounter at Wagon Lane.

A Dobson’s 78 helped Bradford & Bingley to 138 in their innings as Andy Booth took 7-56 off 22 overs.

Then Dave Critchlow (5-16) and Neil Smith (4-72) reduced Chatburn to 123-9 before John Lockley (24no) helped them crawl over the line in the 29th over.

Second-placed Embsay II also made heavy weather of winning at home to nine-man Haworth WE.

D Peel made 34 as the Bronte side were restricted to 81-8 in their innings, with Jonathan Coward taking 4-32.

The Shires Laners struggled to score many runs – epitomised by the experienced Brian Hodgson being bogged down for 69 balls in which he scored just six.

However, Coward loosened the shackles and his 33 not out helped his side to a four-wicket victory.

Sandy Lane look to have recovered some of their early-season form as they saw off Cononley by 108 runs at the Coulthurst ground.

Mike Dennison (103) and Mark Oldfield (89) helped the Greenwood Park side to 244 with a second-wicket partnership of 167. Willie Naylor battled away with the ball to finish with 7-77 off 16 overs.

The home side had Michael Beer (59) and Naylor (28) to thank for their 136 as J Maghra took 4-48 and A Grace 3-5.

The other three games in the division were abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Mathematically, Skipton CI are still not Division Four champions – but it will be necessary for them to lose their remaining games and Cullingworth II to win their last four. That’s not impossible but highly unlikely.

Skipton were at home to Thornton II and, thanks mainly to Martin Seward (52), made 183 in their innings. The visitors were dismissed for 75, with John Drake taking 7-48 off 15.1 overs.

Cullingworth II demolished Riddlesden II by eight wickets. The Grange Road side were knocked over for a measly 34, with juniors Charlie Hall and James Rogers taking 4-9 and 3-11 respectively.

Third-placed Glusburn II went down by eight wickets at home to Airedale II. The Park Field side recovered from 15-5 thanks to Paul McCullough (62no) and Richard Parkin (62) to close on 166-9 as Giles Wilmore took 4-22. Nazam Hanif (62no) and Wayne Coppack (53no) put on a match-winning third-wicket partnership of 108.

Nine-man Ingrow II travelled to Pendle Forest II and went down by five wickets. Ben Pursey (63 and 2-1) was the main contributor for the Hainworth side, while A Ahmed (28) and B Ali (5-6) did the business for the Fence side.

Haworth II went down by 67 runs at home to third-bottom Bingley Congs II.

L Wright (51) helped Bradley II to 121 all out at home to Long Lee II as Steve Butterfield took 7-39. C Pullen (69no) saw the Golden View side to the points.

There is now a three-way tie at the Division Five summit, with Denholme II, Oakworth III and Foulridge II locked on 35 points.

Denholme II entertained Foulridge II and slipped up by six wickets. The home side were dismissed for 77, with Imran Khaliq taking 6-27. In a successful reply, Michael Gildea made 39 not out.

Oakworth III also suffered defeat at Chatburn II by 56 runs in a high-scoring game.

The Ribble Valley side went first and Paul Kenyon (121) and Damian Gupta (80) put on 172 for the first wicket. Ben Threlfall joined in with 41 to push the score to 264-6.

Oliver Hook (40) and Alan Fothergill (39) saw the Bronte Fields side reply with a creditable 208-8 as Threlfall took 4-59.

Haworth WE II and Sandy Lane II were unable to raise sides against Cowling II and Cononley II respectively.