ANYONE of a nervous disposition should stay clear whenever Steeton and Rawdon meet in the Aire Wharfe League.

The pair played out a tense tie on the opening day of the Division One season and came to close doing it again before Steeton scrambled over the line by a single wicket.

Stephen Pearson’s 4-38 spell saw Rawdon go from 81-1 to 105-6 on their way to a modest 148 total which looked a comfortable target when Steeton passed the half-century mark with only two wickets down

But Rawdon started to hold on to their catches and with Andrew Doidge (3-34) and George Myers (5-48) making inroads they were soon staring at defeat at 99-8. When No10 Pearson was joined by last man Josh Gill, they still needed 22 but the pair kept their heads down and clinched a thrilling win

Harden continue to struggle at the wrong end of Division Two after suffering a 99-run defeat against promotion-chasing Skipton at Sandylands.

They were made to pay for a disappointing batting display which saw them bowled out for just 71 in reply to Skipton's total of 170.

Paul Quinlan was top scorer with 24 not out as Harden had no answer to the accurate seam bowling of Skipton skipper Richard Nichols (5-19).

Harden may well feel that they let Skipton off the hook after reducing them to 80-5. They gave top scorer Kevin Owens (65) an early let off in his innings and it proved costly. Matthew Hogg (4-43) and Phil Leng (3-37) bowled well for Harden.

Silsden are still searching for a first win after suffering an agonising one-wicket defeat against Bardsey in Division Three.

They looked to have given themselves a chance of breaking their duck when they posted a total of 243. Majid Inayat led the way with an innings of 88. Mohammed Waqas (38) and Sadir Khan (33) gave him good support.

Bardsey, led by opener Mick Ansell (118) edged home despite the efforts of Mohammed Adnan (4-41) and Joseph Sugden (3-60).

A weakened Steeton IIs lost by three wickets at Rawdon where they were asked to bat first on a damp track.

Steeton’s batting relied heavily on Matt Price (74) whose only effective support came from Julian Higginson (28) in a fourth-wicket stand of 79 as they were bowled out for 156.

Stand-in skipper gave Steeton hope as he removed the Rawdon openers cheaply, but the home side edged home with three wickets in hand.

Harden IIs were bowled out for 11 as they went down by 36 runs against Upper Wharfedale, while Silsden went down by eight wickets to Bardsey after being dismissed for 107.