Jason Gillespie gave a glowing half-term report to his Yorkshire charges as they reached the mid-point of the Championship season in second place in their battle for promotion.

As the first-team coach left a rain-soaked Colwyn Bay ground on Saturday morning, he said: “To lose well over a thousand overs by this stage is incredibly frustrating.

“When we have played we have been, by and large, outstanding this season and I’ve been really pleased by the attitude, desire and effort of all the lads.”

“When we are getting on the park we are playing good, positive cricket. The win at Bristol gave the guys a lot of belief and showed what could be achieved with a positive mind-set.”

A total of 1,159 overs have been lost so far during Yorkshire’s four-day fixtures. That’s 37.47 per cent of the season wiped out and an unfortunate Colwyn Bay ground has borne the brunt of it, with only 34 overs possible this week.

Just 51 overs were played when Yorkshire last journeyed to the venue in 2004 and the then head coach David Byas was frustrated when no play was possible beneath bright sunshine on the fourth day.

There has been improved drainage installed since then but the picturesque outground was never going to fend off the volume of rain – both from the sky and running from the hill at the Embankment End, coincidentally an area of land of which the grand old father of Yorkshire cricket Lord Hawke used to be a trustee.

This time around the umpires had the easiest of tasks on the final day, with heavy overnight rain reducing the already saturated north Wales venue to a boating lake.

The Tykes take four points from the drawn fixture and sit in second place in the Division Two table after eight matches.

Ever-ebullient Aussie coach Gillespie said: “I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again. We cannot control the weather.” But even he had to add: “I do concede that it’s frustrating when we miss so much cricket.

“Unfortunately, when you play at outgrounds and the weather sets in, it can be really difficult to get a full game in.

“It’s disappointing as it’s denied us an opportunity to play some cricket and that’s what we’re here for. It’s certainly not the fault of the cricket club here.

“A lot of games have been affected by weather and we’re certainly not the only team suffering.”

A large number of Yorkshire supporters had made the trip to Wales and had Gillespie’s sympathy.

He said: “They’ve made the journey to Colwyn Bay and they’ve been denied any play. All we all want to see is cricket being played.”