AFTER a particularly frustrating weekend for Gordon Rigg Bradford Premier League defending champions Woodlands, their skipper Brad Schmulian admitted that Jer Lane have to be considered as contenders.

And just a day after his words, following a second successive postponement at Albert Terrace - one in the ECB Club National Championship and one in the league (against the bottom club Cleckheaton) - Schmulian’s words came true.

While Woodlands were again left kicking their heels, Jer, who beat New Farnley by 82 runs in the league on Saturday, defeated Bradford & Bingley on Bank Holiday Monday in a match that was reduced to a T20 slog at Park Avenue to go top of the table by four points.

And, make no mistake, Jer, who haven’t had a rained-off game yet, intend to stay there.

Their captain Yasir Ali said: “I can’t predict things, but the boys are doing really well, I am loving the changing room, we are competitive, we are looking forward to the season and we will see how far that takes us.

“We have made some good signings, like Mosun Hussain, Abubakar Dawood, Hamza, our pro Bhusan Talawadekar from India, and I have come back from Methley as skipper.

“Mosun is batting brilliantly and has got four fifties and a hundred already and is the leading run-maker in the league (with 363), and Amir Hussain is the leading wicket-taker in the division with 15, so we have a few match-winners in our team.”

As for beating New Farnley by such a handsome margin, Ali said: “We should also have done them in the Priestley Cup, but we dropped a few catches that cost us the game, and it (the league win) was a big statement from us and the confidence is there.

“If we beat Woodlands we have a good chance of winning the league (they meet for the first time at Albert Terrace on June 29, while Woodlands also play Townville, Pudsey St Lawrence and New Farnley in a challenging June).

“They have been playing together as a good team for years, they are experienced and fight to the last, but I have a lot of faith in my boys, and we are looking forward to having a competitive match against them. However, we also fight to the last.”

As for the match against Bingley, the visitors batted and were 10-0 after two overs, with Jacob Slator making things look very easy, when the first rain arrived.

That was followed by two heavier downpours, but the patience of the players, spectators and umpires Tony Tennant and Richard Jones was rewarded with a contest that was reduced to 20 overs per side.

Slator and Callum Goldthorp both holed out in the deep and overseas Louren Steenkamp had a rare failure when a stump was sent cartwheeling, with all three wickets falling to Adal Islam, who finished with 3-21.

Spinner Cosmond Walters, who opened the bowling, bagged 2-19, skipper Ali 2-27 and Talewadekar 2-29 as Bingley, who will be without Rishi Chopra (Achilles tendon) for the rest of the season, finished on 111-9,

Jer were cruising until spinners Brown (3-22) and Reece Cockshott (2-27) put the result in doubt as the hosts slipped from 44-0 to 63-5.

However, Brown, who had conceded 12 runs from three overs and taken three wickets, took himself off.

That proved costly as Steenkamp went for 16 runs in his only over, changing the momentum of the match, and when Brown came back on the damage had been done, Islam (20no) and Talewadekar (28no) taking Jer to a five-wicket win in the 19th over with an unbroken stand of 51.