The York & District Senior League Division One promotion conundrum may not have been solved on the penultimate Saturday of the season but the picture became considerably clearer with the equation now reduced to three teams chasing two places.

Goole Town CC First XI ended their 2019 campaign with a five-wicket victory over local rivals Carlton Towers CC XI at the Fishpond on Saturday, overcoming a mini-batting collapse to consolidate their position at the top of Yorkshire Premier League North – Division 1 with one weekend of fixtures remaining.

Goole won’t be in action on the final day of the season, having already completed their allotted fixtures, but they currently sit 27 points clear of second-placed Harrogate Town CC Second XI and 29 points clear of Welton CC First XI. A position of strength but one that guarantees nothing.

Upon winning the toss and electing to bowl first on a typically fine Fishpond surface, Goole captain Kevin Murphy knew the task for his side was simple; win the game with maximum points and let results elsewhere look after themselves.

Thanks to a brilliant five-wicket haul from spinner Ben Lamb and an opening partnership of 97 between Ben Shelton (50) and Murphy (41), Goole have did just that despite a few alarms in a run chase that had appeared routine for much of the second innings.

Richard Mann struck first blood for the visitors when pegging back Harry Bayston’s middle stump, but that would be the former’s only moment of cheer on an otherwise forgettable afternoon for the seamer who bowled poorly to Carlton opener Mark Holmes, the latter playing smartly for his 46, mixing power and aggression with some solid defence when required.

His stay at the crease ended when he became Lamb’s third victim, well caught at long off by Ashton Nottingham after Ben Copeland and Darren Graves had fallen in quick succession moments earlier.

Matthew Torn (23) and Nicky Holah (17) combined well for a stand of 43, taking Carlton to 119-4 and threatening something much bigger until Dave England’s introduction to the Goole attack saw him pick up both scalps in the same over.

Home captain Rob Holah (25*) did his best to haul his side to a competitive total but England (2-13) continued to prove metronomically accurate and when Lamb (5-22) returned for his second spell, he picked up two more wickets as Carlton crawled to 165-9 from their allotted 48 overs.

It was a total that appeared some way short of par and when Shelton and Murphy took advantage of some wayward bowling and an excellent batting surface, Goole looked set to enjoy a carefree run to the winning line.

However, a pair of wickets for the wholehearted Joe Romaniw (2-39) and Holmes (2-32) sparked the hosts back into life and when Nottingham – Goole’s most productive batsman in the last month of the season – was needlessly run out, Goole were suddenly rocking badly.

A previously sedate afternoon had quickly roared into life, Carlton sensing the opportunity to spring an upset with Goole wobbling in pursuit of 30 points that might yet seal their elevation to Premier League cricket.

Nevertheless, Neil Foster and Scott Thorpe kept their cool, riding the early storm and some unsavoury behaviour from the home side who ought to have known better than to crowd the umpire when appealing for a run out that was correctly ruled not out by virtue of the ball not actually breaking the stumps.

A few Carlton hands placed on the adjudging umpire in the moments after were regrettable scenes that made for grim viewing but Foster eased the tension with a trademark sweep for four and when Thorpe glided the winning runs behind point, Goole could breathe a sigh of relief at a job well done and a season with more highs that lows and one they can look back upon with pride. But for now, they must wait. And hope.

That result was mirrored at St George’s Road this time the home side coming out on top, Harrogate winning despite four wickets from Michael Kenyon (4-30). George Hampson top scored with 61 and it was his fifth wicket partnership with Mark Roberts (17no) worth 84 that set up a fourth consecutive victory, a trip to local rivals Knaresborough on Saturday now standing between them an d the title. Visitors Dringhouses had earlier profited from the good work of Chris Evans (33) and Liam Hancy (30) which paved the way for Tom Owen to hit 44 and boost their total to 186-7, a score which kept them in the contest for much of the afternoon.

An unbroken third wicket stand of 144 between James Windeatt (51no) and Ben Wilkinson (75no) secured the points against Hornsea to keep alive Welton’s chance of back-to back promotions, victory at Woodhouse Grange in the final game will see last season’s Holderness champions elevated to Premier division. Three wickets late on from Harry Nightingale (3-46) allowed the home side to take back control restricting the visitors to 209 following the efforts of Paul Clappinson (45), Adam Newington (46) and Mark Battye (43), and the target was easily chased down inside 27 overs.

Goole now have a nervous wait on Saturday to see if they finish the year in the promotion places. If Welton and Harrogate win their matches against Woodhouse Grange and Knaresborough they will leap frog Goole and leave Town in 3rd place, which will mean that they miss out on promotion by a single point. Any other result would probably see Goole promoted, but a high scoring draw for either side could see the final standings go down to the wire as there could be a tie for points between any of the three sides. Saturday, could be a fun day for all the teams involved and Goole must keep their fingers crossed!