It was somehow inevitable in a summer when rain has brought so much misery to cricket followers that it would disrupt the Sovereign Health Care Priestley Cup final just when the ingredients were in place for the best clash in years.

A heavy downpour forced play to be abandoned at 6.30pm with the match at Undercliffe between East Bierley - bidding for a record-breaking third successive cup triumph - and Bradford League champions Hanging Heaton interestingly poised.

Hanging Heaton were 70 for nought off 13 overs in reply to East Bierley's challenging score of 241 for seven which contained a masterful innings of 104 by Yorkshire batsman Anthony McGrath, when the umpires called a halt.

It means the match will have to be restarted tonight at Undercliffe with a 6.15pm start. But with 37 overs still to bowl and the weather unsettled, it is likely the match will stretch into tomorrow as well.

East Bierley were the more relieved side to see play halted. Having batted first in sunny conditions, they found themselves confronted by rain the minute they took to the field for Hanging Heaton's reply.

After Steve Foster had clipped Jaffer Nazir's opening delivery to the mid-wicket boundary with ominous confidence, heavy rain forced the players off the field. They returned about 30 minutes later but soon light rain began to fall.

The Hanging Heaton openers, Foster and Steve Bartle, had already shown they would punish anything short or over-pitched and when the Bierley bowlers found themselves having to contend with a greasy ball and wet footholds too they started to struggle.

Foster and Bartle attacked and nobody suffered more than left-arm spinner Andy Stothard whose one over cost 15 runs.

To win, Hanging Heaton have to make the highest total by a side batting second in a final since Yorkshire Bank scored 245 for four to beat East Bierley in 1989.

Foster, who took two for 46 and a catch in the East Bierley innings, was emerging as a man of the match rival to Anthony McGrath who played so faultlessly for East Bierley when they chose to bat after winning the toss.

Arriving at the crease with his side nine for one after John Carruthers had trapped Paul Carroll lbw, McGrath announced his presence by flicking his first delivery powerfully past square leg for four. It was the first of 14 fours and a six which he struck during an innings which demonstrated how much he has matured as a batsman since his earliest days in the Bradford League.

Anthony shared in a superb second-wicket stand of 130 with his older brother Dermot who overcame a slow start to play with great assurance.

They gathered runs slowly at first. The 50 arrived in the 18th over and the half-century partnership followed two overs later.

Dermot unleashed a number of searing off-drives as he grew in confidence while Anthony, despite a period of uncertainty against the teasing spin of Hanging Heaton skipper Simon Purdy, gathered runs all around the wicket.

Dermot posted the 100 in the 30th over when he lifted a rare bad ball from Javed Umarji over mid-wicket for the first six.

A searing square cut from Anthony off Elliott Noble raced to the boundary to bring up his 50 and the century partnership.

Minutes later Dermot reached his half-century to warm applause, but he had added just four more when Foster skidded a ball through his defences and bowled the Bierley skipper.

Richard Gould fell lbw to Foster for one as Hanging Heaton realised their medium-pace bowlers Umarji and Foster were finding the slow pitch more to their liking than pacemen Carruthers and Elliott Noble who failed to make their usual impact.

Their success, and the fact that McGrath lofted the skipper high for six when he returned to the attack for one over, prompted Purdy to turn to his seldom-used sixth bowler Rob Winter.

Overseas star Jaffer Nazir, promoted in the order to quicken the tempo, smashed one huge six off Foster before McGrath reached his century with his 14th four.

But McGrath didn't last much longer as Winter struck a decisive double blow with the score on 197

Nazir holed out to Umarji at mid-on and McGrath was beautifully stumped next ball by the lively Alan Mynett for 104.

Murphy Walwyn produced a series of big blows as the 200 was brought up with four overs to go, but at 219 Bairstow was trapped lbw by Winter who then had Walwyn caught on the mid-wicket boundary by Foster for 27.

Winter, who had bowled just 27.3 overs previously all season and taken six wickets for 114 runs, finished with four for 44. He was the best-rewarded bowler, though Umarji showed most control and bowled ten overs for 32 when the McGraths were together.