Woodlands are not only a good side, they also know how to win.

That’s why they are 43 points clear at the top of the JCT600 Bradford League First Division, having won all their seven matches.

Their rivals struggle to match that sort of consistency, all of which makes them strong favourites to retain the championship, even though there is still just over two-thirds of the season left.

Their latest match at Saltaire was a case in point. It was a game they could have easily lost after sliding to 97-7, of which opener Sam Frankland made 36.

However, top-scorer Grant Soames, caught on the boundary at the end of the innings for 46, and overseas pace bowler Sarfraz Ahmed, whose 28, included two sixes off skipper Ijaz Khan, rescued them with an eighth-wicket stand of 45 and they eventually reached 162-9 in a match reduced to 42 overs-per-side because of rain.

It was a tricky target on a damp pitch, but Saltaire set about their task well, first through openers Farhan Khan (22) and Irfan Amjad (20) and then Tabbi Bhatti and Fahid Rehman, so that at 119-2, with only 44 needed to win, they were favourites.

However, they lost seven wickets for 14 runs to hand the reigning champions a 27-run victory.

Woodlands skipper Pieter Swanepoel, returning to the attack at the pavilion end, began the collapse by bowling Rehman for 26 to break a 55-run, third-wicket stand with top-scorer Bhatti.

Then, five runs later, he caught and bowled Bhatti for 49 to leave Saltaire on 124-4.

Those two crucial dismissals gave Woodlands the breakthrough they needed, and they ruthlessly exploited the situation as Swanepoel removed the dangerous overseas all-rounder Nawaz Sardar one run later.

Then, after slow left-arm bowler Chris Brice took the next two wickets, Swanepoel struck twice more to give him figures of 5-43 in eight overs as Saltaire finished on 135-9.

Swanepoel said: “The wicket ends were really damp and there was a bit of movement – it always favoured the bowlers - but Saltaire batted really well, particularly their top-order batsmen, and we had to work really hard to win.”

Typical of Woodlands’ spirit was Sarfraz, who suffered a calf injury the weekend before which meant he limped rather than ran across the wicket and took only two steps to bowl, but he still took part in a crucial stand, as well as bowling 15 economical overs.

It was an all-too-familiar situation for Saltaire skipper Khan, who said: “We got off to a good start, but it is the same old story – we threw our wickets away and we ended up losing. Also, a couple of catches went down towards the end.

“It’s got to a point when we have got to stand up and be counted. You cannot make the same excuses every week.

"A couple of batting collapses we have had have been really worrying. There is no need for it. The ability is there. It is a mental deficiency. It’s very frustrating – so near and yet so far.

“But credit to our groundsman Billy Ricketts for putting the game on – it was a massive effort.”