Left-handed opener Simon Davies demonstrated his taste for the Pudsey Congs attack by guiding Baildon to a four-wicket win to cut Congs' lead at the top to three points.

It was crucial that Baildon won this top-of-the-table clash to keep the title race open.

Now the scene seems set for an exciting battle for the championship in the last six weeks of the season, although Congs have a match in hand of their rivals.

Baildon, who included Yorkshire and England fast bowler Matthew Hoggard, did well to restrict Congs' free-scoring batting line-up to 188 for six, even though even the home side added 79 in the last ten overs, Neil Nicholson adding much needed impetus to their innings with a 78 which included 12 fours.

Then, Davies got to work with a mature innings of 69, also including 12 fours, to go alongside the 40 not out he made at Jenny Lane to save a match Baildon looked certain to lose and the 95 not out in the third-round Priestley Cup victory at the Britannia Ground in June.

Davies and Colin Chapman gave Baildon a good start with an opening stand of 62, but they lost Neil Spragg, Richard Robinson and captain James Goldthorp cheaply before Davies and wicketkeeper Matthew Duce took charge.

They set Baildon on course for victory with a stand of 47 for the fifth wicket, which included 19 in one over from fast bowler Naveed Rana-ul-Hassan.

Davies was out at 153 with 36 still needed, but Duce, with one six and five fours in his 34, Azhar Abbas and Mushtaq Ahmed guided them home with two-and-a-half overs to spare.

Yeadon won the important relegation battle at home to Gomersal. They restricted the visitors to 153 for six with in-form John Roper taking for 35.

Opener Andy Pickering (73 not out) then guided Yeadon to their victory target, which they achieved with six wickets to spare.

The result leaves next-to-bottom Gomersal still ten points behind Bradford and Bingley - the club immediately in front of them - while Yeadon are now seven points above the safety mark.

Undercliffe are only three points in front of Yeadon after losing by 76 runs at Cleckheaton, although they almost snatched a point because there were only three balls left when skipper Paul Booth trapped last man Munir Khaliq lbw.

The wicket gave Booth four wickets for only ten runs in 14.3 overs, and paceman Matthew Brooke took four for 30 as Undercliffe, without injured Pakistan Test bowler Mohammed Akram, were bowled out for 104 in reply to Cleckheaton's 188 for six.

There was a tense finish at Spen Victoria, where the home side were left hanging on for point at 192 for nine, seven runs short of visitors Hanging Heaton's 199 for seven, of which opener Steve Bartle made 63.

Spen's chances of victory did not appear bright at 129 for six, but wicketkeeper Lee Goddard (56) and Ian Wood (29) put them in with great chance in a seventh-wicket stand of 48.

However, both were out, along with Ben Graham, and they had to settle for a point with their last pair at the wicket.

There was another tense finish at bottom club Brighouse, where East Bierley won by one wicket with seven balls to spare after an outstanding innings of 111 from Andrew Bairstow.

Chasing 215 for eight, they looked in command at 181 for three, but then lost five wickets for 14 runs to set up an exciting finale.

Zubair Raje was Brighouse's top- scorer with 88, while former Bierley skipper David Jay took five for 78.

Raje figured in an opening stand of 124 with Richard Nichols, who made only 34.

Paul Hemming took five for 75 for Bierley, and was there at the death on nine not out.

An unbroken third-wicket stand of 97 in 14 overs between Tariq Aziz (36) and Ian Fisher (79) enabled Pudsey St Lawrence to win a rain- affected match at neighbours Farsley.

Andrew Doidge held the interrupted Farsley innings of 148 for six together with 68 not out and, although Pudsey lost two early wickets, Fisher and Aziz hurried them along to victory. Fisher also played a key role with the ball, taking three for 34 off 17 overs.