Pudsey St Lawrence went back to the top of the Bradford League First Division with a crushing 166-run win at title rivals Undercliffe but skipper James Smith warned his players not to rest on their laurels.

“We cannot relax,” he said. “Once you relax you will find yourself behind the eight ball.”

Nevertheless, Smith could not hide his delight at St Lawrence’s comprehensive win against a team that began the day two points clear of them at the top.

Now, after taking a maximum 20 points, St Lawrence are nine points clear of second-placed Bradford & Bingley and 17 points ahead of Undercliffe.

It was the second defeat in a row for Undercliffe, who looked anything but title contenders as they were bowled out for a mere 107 in reply to St Lawrence’s formidable 273-3, giving them a paltry one point from their day’s work.

Opener Mark Robertshaw and Gareth Clough both scored centuries for St Lawrence before former Bedfordshire off-spinner Steve Watts took a remarkable six for 16 in 10.3 overs as Undercliffe capitulated alarmingly, losing their last eight wickets for 32 runs.

Clough joined Robertshaw at 52-2 and the pair virtually put the game beyond Undercliffe’s reach with a third-wicket stand of 190 before the left-handed Robertshaw was out at 243, caught on the long-on boundary.

Robertshaw hit 14 fours and two sixes in his 106 while Clough, who reached his 100 with a six, made 113, including ten fours and six sixes.

Undercliffe, handicapped by the absence of injured batsman Mark Gilliver and influential all-rounder Shafiq Choudry, who played two T20 matches with Worcestershire over the weekend after signing an 18-month contract with the county, lost Tabbi Bhatti at 18.

Opener Ben Heritage, top scorer with a defiant 41, and Ashley Metcalfe stabilised the innings with a stand of 43 before Watts dramatically swung the game in St Lawrence’s favour.

He took the important wickets of Metcalfe and overseas player Nawaz Sardar in his second over and, when Stead bowled Farakh Hussain one run later, Undercliffe were 62-4.

Then, after struggling to 84-4 at the halfway mark, they lost five wickets for nine runs in less than five overs as Watts weaved his magic.

Smith said: “At 53-2, we said anything over 180 would be competitive, but Mark Robertshaw and Gareth Clough played very well.

“Steve Watts is not the most economical bowler, but he is a wicket-taker and once Ashley Metcalfe and Sardar were out in the same over, we turned the screw. Wickets kept falling, we took our catches and everything fell into place.”

Undercliffe skipper Chris Green-wood said: “I think St Lawrence are the strongest side in the league, but we mustn’t give up. I am not going to get too down about it. We put a lot of hard work into getting to the top of the league – we mustn’t let it slip.

“We lost our first two games and we were top of the league at halfway. There is no reason we can’t do it again.”