A BAND of rain that stretched from Foulridge down to Sutton put paid to the majority of matches in the JP Mewies Craven & District Cricket League on Saturday.

Crucially this denied Embsay from collecting the spoils they deserved at Foulridge and allowed Oakworth to pull off a dramatic last gasp win at Cullingworth to add a twist to the Division One title race.

At Noyna, Foulridge batted first in a game reduced to 35 overs per side. They kept their visitors at bay until the 34th over, when they were all out for 96, but heavy rain over the tea interval prevented any reply from the leaders.

The defeat confirms relegation for the home side.

Meanwhile at Cullingworth there were no interruptions for the weather. The home side batted first and posted 190-7, with Adie Powis top scorer with 57. The Cure Hill side's reply was making fair progress when keeper Powis, standing up, was clattered on the head as the batsman played a late cut shot.

This undoubtedly affected his keeping which lead to a fair number of byes in the 40 extras conceded. Be that as it may, the second placed side got home by four wickets off the penultimate ball of the game to close the gap to two points at the top.

Barrowford, just outside the rain belt, saw off the challenge of Haworth with some ease. Ajmal Choudhry 59no and David Hartley 48no provided the platform for their 206-4 by putting on 120 for the fourth wicket. The Bronte side replied with 97 as Arif took 6-44 in 14 overs.

Play stopped at Thornton in the 19th over, at which point the visitors Long Lee had reached 69-3, Paul Stowell making 40. The point sees the Keighley side edge nearer to safety. They are five points clear of third bottom Cowling, who would also be grateful for the point gained when their game against Bradley was washed out, although they had started brightly, reaching 43-1 at stumps.

Pendle Forest are now second bottom after going down by ten runs at home to Skipton CI. The ten-man visitors batted first and made 146-8 in their overs. The Fence side's reply closed on 136, with Peter Mawdsley scoring 53 as Shaun Williamson finished with 5-52.

Second Division leaders Haworth were emphatic ten-wicket winners over Jimmy Nelson's. They now enjoy a six-point lead at the top of the table.