Coming in at No.3 Humphreys scored 53 including five fours and a six as Paterson posted 7/218 from their 40 overs.

He backed up with the ball taking 4-26 from his eight overs as Paterson dismissed Raworth for 133 in the 36^th over at Paterson Sports Ground.

Dungog was on the receiving end of a hammering as last year’s beaten grand finalists Windsor Castle Stallions continued their resurgence after a slow start to the season.

Only three Dungog batsmen made it into double figures as the Stallions bundled them out for 102 in the 21^st over after posting an imposing 9/247.

Paterson v Raworth

Paterson’s 85-run win against Raworth has kept a resurgent Windsor Castle at bay as the top four teams in the Maitland and District Cricket A-grade competition continue to jockey for ladder positions.

The top four has cleared out from bottom two Raworth and Dungog, with a top-two spot up for grabs in Paterson’s clash on Saturday against Windsor Castle. 

Kurt Humphreys led a strong performance by Paterson against Raworth scoring 53 and then taking 4-26, but skipper Rodney Faulkner will be equally pleased with an even contribution by the remainder of his team.

Openers Daniel Agland (50) and Chris Merchant (31) got Paterson off to a solid start.

Humphreys maintained the momentum as David Puxty (27 not out), Russell Presland (22) and Faulkner contributed valuable runs.

Raworth’s Ryan Threlfo gave the Paterson batsmen the most trouble taking 4-50 from seven overs.

Presland had Raworth on the back foot early taking the first three wickets. He was on a hat-trick dismissing opener Jason Bower for 10 and No.3 Tim Baker.

The score was 3-32 when Humphreys caught Threlfo for 11. 

Ryan Lacy (35) and Callum Gascoigne (29) offered the stiffest resistance with the bat for Raworth.

Dean Bridges, Steve Jenkins and Agland also picked up a wicket each.

Dungog v Windsor Castle

Dungog had a day to forget when they were trounced by 145 runs by Windsor Castle at Blackhill in Maitland on Saturday.

Damian Keating and Nicholas Barham were the only bowler to get on top of the Stallions batsmen, claiming 3-31 and 2-39 respectively.

Windsor Castle posted 9/247 at better than a run a ball. Leigh Williams smashed 11 fours and a six in his 53 and Jarrod Bailey’s 55 included nine fours to lead the Stallions’ scoring.

Only three Dungog batsmen managed to reach double figures as Windsor Castle dismissed the visitors for 102 in the 21st over.

Wicket-keeper Sean Hynes offered the stiffest resistance scoring 25 not out, with opener Jackson Bell and Daniel Rumbel the next best with 16-10.

Dungog sit at the bottom of the table with just one win from eight rounds.

Dungog v Fred Harvey

Dungog put themselves firmly back into contention for a finals spot with a 53-run win against Fred Harvey Memorial at Gresford Oval on Saturday.

While Dungog are now equal on 17 points with Fred Harvey, just two points behind third-placed Kurri Kurri.

Opener Michael Foote made a solid 55 as Dungog compiled 8/166 from their 35 overs.

He received strong support from the Hojer brothers Charlie Hojer and Tom who scored 37 and 21 respectively.

Fred Harvey opener Brendan Rose was holding his team’s batting together but when he was dismissed by Ben Osmond for 47, the resistance quickly broke and Fred Harvey were all out for 113 in the 27th over.

Osmond finished with 3-18 bowling big in-swingers and Edward Brooker found the wicket to his liking, turning his off-spinners a long way to claim 3-21.

Charlie Hojer and Andy Muddle both bowled well taking one wicket each and veteran David Jenkins cleaned up the tail to take 2-15.

Paterson v Lochinvar

Despite terrific individual performances by Travis Howard who claimed a five-wicket haul and a 50 to Adam Hicks, Paterson suffered a big loss to Lochinvar.

Howard was the standout bowler as Lochinvar compiled 9-185 led by skipper Will Bischoff with 63.

Opener Hicks scored 53 as Lochinvar shared the wickets to dismiss Paterson for 119.