YORK Cricket Club will be hoping to move up the table by teaching the county's top youngsters at lesson tomorrow.

Nigel Durham's team travel to the New Rover ground, near Adel to take on the Yorkshire Academy, who have been well led this season by former York skipper Ian Dews.

York and the Academy both have 90 points so it promises to be a close contest but the Academy have the distinct advantage of two games in hand.

The Academy should be at full strength, but York are missing young openers Stephen Piercy and Simon Mason. Both of them will be in the Yorkshire League's Under 21 XI which takes on the Huddersfield League in the re-arranged White Rose final at Elland on tomorrow (1pm).

Dave Catlow, almost a regular these days, deservedly retains his batting spot, while Andy Kay and Brendan O'Donovan take the places of the two young stars in an otherwise unchanged York outfit.

Second division Copmanthorpe upstaged their first division opponents Drax to win the York Vale League Guy Mitchell Cup with two balls to spare.

Copmanthorpe took just under three hours to bowl their 40 overs while Drax took even longer as the game finished in semi-darkness at 8.36pm.D

Drax, batting first on a wicket which, in the early stages, showed some uneven bounce but dried out nicely as the game progressed, were restricted to 47-4 at the halfway stage and 83- 6 after 30 overs.

Darren Hughes and R Sughanda both took three wickets and wicketkeeper Martin Hillyard snapped up four victims.

Brian Knight judged the short runs well and left James and Kelvin Brook to push the score along to 134.

Copmanthorpe's reply followed a similar pattern as they were 46-3 off 20 overs and 84-5 from 30.

While Kelvin Brook picked up three wickets Copmanthorpe found Paul Vickers difficult to score against and had Drax held their catches then the result could well have gone the other way.

A captain's innings from John Hughes steered Copmanthorpe to 116- 8 leaving the two youngest members of his side, Darren Hughes and Chris Hall, to forge out the 19 runs required to win with two deliveries left.

Askham Bryan were easy winners of the Scothern Construction Trophy, beating Tollerton Outlaws by 63 runs.

Batting first, Askam Bryan made 191-2, rattling up 104 runs in the last ten overs.

In replt, Tollerton were bowled out for 128.

Updated: 11:31 Saturday, August 31, 2002