It’s far too early to forecast who will win the Bradford League First Division championship but reigning champions Woodlands are in no mood to relinquish the title if their ruthless 66-run win at understrength East Bierley is anything to go by.

At various times, the home team – missing key batsman Andrew Rennison and slow left-arm bowler Luke Jarvis among others – had glimpses of victory. Always, though, someone was there to shatter their hopes and the way their innings fell away badly upset many of their loyal supporters.

For at 99-3, chasing Woodlands’ total of 211-5, a close finish looked probable. Opener Mark Gill was going well on 49 and all-rounder Richard Atkins was starting to build his innings, but then came a dramatic collapse as they lost four wickets for just one run, sliding to 100-7, and the game was over.

Gill was caught at slip by Scott Richardson off slow left-arm bowler Chris Brice, Atkins was lbw to off-spinner Grant Soames in the next over, Tom Smallwood was bowled by Soames and Neil Gill was caught at the wicket off Brice with only one more run added to the score.

Earlier, Bierley had struggled – as many teams do – to break the stranglehold imposed by Woodlands’ pace bowlers, long-serving overseas player Sarfraz Ahmed, skipper Pieter Swanepoel and Scott Richardson junior but, although Sarfraz managed the important wicket of Gavin Hamilton cheaply, caught at the wicket for six, the visitors did not manage a breakthrough.

So, the home side had lost only three wickets at the halfway mark, although they had been restricted to just 69 runs, of which Tabbi Bhatti had scored 34 before being bowled by Richardson.

It was spinners Brice and Soames who were the match-winners, Brice taking 4-34 in 12 overs and Soames 3-29 in eight on a slow, turning pitch.

Some lusty hitting by the tail-enders earned Bierley a batting point before Sarfraz returned to bowl Gareth Davis and end a defiant last-wicket stand of 23 with Kez Ahmed.

Woodlands openers Scott Richardson (36) and Sam Frankland (29) had given the champions a solid start with a first-wicket stand of 61 before the normally free-scoring Simon Mason was lbw to Yasir Abbas for nought.

The innings was given a fillip by Farakh Hussain, who made his team’s top score of 56, including a savage 28 off one of Bierley skipper Ahmed’s overs, before Sarfraz and Brice added some useful runs in the last few overs.

Swanepoel said: “The wicket was wet when we arrived. It was a slow pitch and 211 wasn’t a bad score.

“I felt it might be enough, but then Mark Gill batted very well. Bierley made a slow start, but they had wickets in hand and then we took four wickets and the game swung our way.”

Woodlands have lost only one of their first six matches – at Baildon – and Swanepoel said: “We had a chat after the Baildon defeat. We wanted to change a few things in the way we approach games and try not to make the same mistakes again.”

Ahmed said: “Farakh Hussain’s 28 in one over changed the game and that gave Woodlands some momentum. We thought 211 was gettable, and we were in the game until that collapse.”