Kirkby Stephen were made to work hard to achieve victory over Staffield at Kirkoswald on Saturday in their Eden Valley League match, but the Upper Eden side eventually emerged with maximum points and are now six points clear of Edenhall, who have a game in hand.

Staffield batted first and a third -wicket stand of 82 C. Tuer (36) and Stan Lane, who went on to make 55 not out, looked ominous for the visitors until the brakes were applied by Bryn Davies (3 for 34) and skipper Mike Bell (ten overs for 28 runs). In fact, Staffield hit a lot of balls in the air, but they did not go to hand and they eventually made 149 for 6 in their 40 overs.

Chris Scarr made a bright start for Kirkby in reply. He got 30 and Duncan Rose survived, being dropped in the teens, to make 40 before being caught in the deep. But when Bryn Davies lost his wicket quite cheaply a little later in the innings, Kirkby were facing a bit of a crisis. They still needed 36 runs for the win and their cause was then rescued by David Simpson and Mike Bell. Simpson added a rapid-fire 14 before losing his wicket and Bell went on to make 21 not out as Kirkby achieved 150 for 5 with three overs to spare.