Oakworth pulled off a dramatic last gasp win at Cullingworth to light the touchpaper under the championship race.
The Oaks are now just two points behind Embsay after rain prevented the top club collecting maximum points at Foulridge.
Rain stayed away from Cullingworth where the home side batted first and set a target of 190-7 with Adie Powis top scoring on 57.
Oakworth's reply was making good 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 led to a fair number of byes in the 40 extras conceded.
The game went into the last over, but Oakworth scored the winning runs off the penultimate ball of the match to win by four wickets and close the gap at the top.
At Foulridge the home side was dismissed for 96 in a 36-over game. Heavy rain during the tea interval prevented any reply from Embsay and condemned Foulridge to relegation.
Barrowford also avoided the rain and 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 M Arif took 6-44 in 14 overs.
Play stopped at Thornton in the 19th over when Long Lee had reached 69-3, Paul Stowell making 40 off these.
The point sees the Keighley side edge nearer to safety. They are five points clear of third from 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.
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. The Fence side's reply closed on 136 with Peter Mawdsley scoring 53 as Shaun Williamson finished with 5-52.
Leaders of the Second Division Haworth West End were emphatic ten-wicket winners over J Nelson's and now enjoy a six-point lead at the top of the table.
Denholme jump into second place after a fine six-wicket win over visitors Ingrow. The Keighley side batted first and amassed 216. W Exley scored 83, A Parker and I Roberts 44 each as S Haigh and Gareth Marshall took 4-42 and 4-66 respectively.
The home side's Rob Taylor (88) and David Wear (79) laid a splendid platform for victory by putting on 161 for the first wicket.
Sutton can count themselves very unlucky on being demoted to third place. They had Carleton on 29-9 at Ramper Park when the rains arrived to prevent any further play. B Bolland had taken 4-11 and Justin Holdsworth 4-8.
There were rain affected draws between Glusburn and Gargrave and Cononley and Chatburn.
Ingrow St John's dropped further off the pace as they crashed by nine wickets at Airedale. The Saints were restricted to 110 in their innings with Chris Walker top scoring with 32 as Mark Allcock claimed 5-16. Matthew Cox (68no) and Phil Loftus (32no) guided the homesters to their emphatic victory.
Third Division leaders Embsay still have the champagne on ice after they were unable to make a start at home to Glusburn.
Second placed Thornton closed the gap to eight points after a fine 29 run win over at Long Lee.
The younger players of Oakworth put some fine performances in as they trounced visitors Cullingworth by 108 runs. Drew Duffy (57) and Luke Scott (59no) were the stars with the bat while Adam Stell (4-18) and Liam Brunskill (4-23) shone with the ball. Mark Rendall scored 39 for the losers.
There was little play between Cowling and Bradley or Pendle Forest v Skipton CI.
Haworth went down by 18 runs at home to Barrowford.
Ingrow St John's have secured the Fourth Division title and gained promotion after their emphatic win over Airedale.
The Saints batted first at Morton and made a modest 101. M Hussain scored 40 as S Aslam claimed 5-34. The visitors were brushed aside for a disappointing 37, Imran taking 5-19 and Hussain 3-7.
Chatburn occupy second place after comprehensively beating visitors Cononley by ten wickets. They have one more victory than Airedale who have the same number of points.
The Ribble Valley side restricted Cononley to 112-8 in their overs with John Tatham making 63no. The homesters cantered to victory with Stuart Tomlinson top scoring 65no and Russell Braithwaite 36no.
Ingrow had H Packer with 46no to thank mainly for their total of 158-7 at home to Denholme. However it wasn't enough as the visitors charged to victory by six wickets. R Taylor making 54 and G Flanagan 46no.
Pendle Forest III slumped to defeat down at Rose Cottage. They made 88 as S Jobson took 5-33 and veteran John Pankhurst 5-25. Keighley TC romped to a fine eight-wicket triumph.
Long Lee II had reached 83-6 in 24 overs at Sutton when play stopped.
Gargrave conceded three points to Foulridge when they were unable to raise a team.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article