ON an afternoon when Clifton Alliance conceded five penalty runs for applying saliva to the ball, the patience of players, umpires and spectators at Tofts Road was finally rewarded with a conclusion to the ECB National Championship clash.

After Pudsey St Lawrence had made 212-1 off 31 of their allotted 40 overs before rain forced an early tea, it looked for all the world as if the match would not resume and they would have to start again from scratch next Sunday in York.

But, after the roll-on covers and sheets had been removed and then put back again, in some cases more than once, play finally resumed – firstly in the gloom and then in brilliant evening sunshine – with the visitors batting.

Saints’ Mark Robertshaw and Archie Scott, who had a game to remember after being promoted to open the batting, had earlier put on 192, with left-hander Robertshaw mixing elegant shots square on the offside with lustier straight blows.

He was out for 82, made off 89 balls and including nine fours and three sixes, while Scott, who had only made one when Robertshaw was 18, sped up to finish on 88 not out off 94 deliveries, including 10 fours and three sixes.

The key to the Alliance innings was dismissing opener Edward Wade, who went to his 50 off just 29 balls by planting Adam Frost for a four and two sixes in his first over.

But Frost was smiling before the over had finished when Wade was caught on the boundary by Barrie Frankland for 53, and the innings rather subsided after that to off-spinners Scott (5-15 off six overs) and skipper Chris Marsden (2-32).

The visitors, set a Duckworth Lewis Stern target of 231 from 26 overs, were back in the changing rooms for 127, having been 79-2.

Scott admitted afterwards that the carrot of playing the final at Lord’s was as much of an incentive to players like Robertshaw and Marsden as it was to the younger members of the team.

The 24-year-old said: “You would reckon that it would be the old boys who wouldn’t want to do it, but it was Mark and Spike (Marsden) who were pushing for it.

“They have had brilliant careers and have won everything, but we have never played in this competition before and they said ‘Boys, should we enter this?’

“In two weeks’ time, we go to Barnard Castle for the next round and the final is at Lord’s, and if that is not going to inspire you then nothing will really.”

As for the awarding of five penalty runs to St Lawrence for visitor Sam Lingard applying saliva to the ball, Scott said: “The rules have changed about applying saliva and the umpires said we have to give five penalty runs.

“The batters are also given the option to change the ball, which I didn’t know about, but Rodders and I were timing it pretty well so we said that we would stick with the same ball.”

Elsewhere, Townville lost by six wickets at Barnsley Woolley Miners.

Townville won the toss and batted, but only opener Jonny Booth (35) and Conor Harvey (31) made decent contributions in their 138 after Harvey Round (3-26) had put the visitors on the back foot.

Both Barnsley openers were dismissed without scoring but overseas Jake Weatherald (65) combined well with youngster Owen Smith (33), adding 98 for the third wicket before both were dismissed at 103.

However, the home side were seen home by Ali Jahangir (16no) and Liam Johnson (23no) in an unbroken stand of 39.