Low Moor are rueing the fact that the Towergate Halifax League’s Parish Cup final went to a second Sunday because of rain.

Holidays meant that one of the former Bradford Central League club’s key players was unable to bat in a contest that they only lost by 26 runs to SBCI at Sowerby St Peters.

The victors also lost a player for the same reason but Jamie Summerscales had already batted on the initial match day, scoring a game-high 59 as they made 153-5 off 35 overs.

SBCI went on to reach 215-8 before restricting ten-man Low Moor to 189.

Low Moor press officer Martin Jenkins said: “We were beaten by a better team, so there is no sour grapes, but we could not play Mark Mills on the second Sunday and he has scored 700 runs for us this season.

“At least they could have a substitute fielder for Jamie Summerscales – but that is the risk when you bat second in our cup final.”

Low Moor had previously beaten Premier Division opponents in Southowram and Booth and Jenkins added: “We could easily have made it three with SBCI.”

Jenkins was almost at a loss to explain how a side that performed so well in the cup could be at the bottom of Division One, having lost half of their 18 matches and only claiming one winning draw.

But he did say of the cup run: “A lot of the credit has to go to our skipper Nick Wood and the way he has rotated our bowlers, who can only bowl nine overs in cup matches.

“But we are resigned to being relegated. We are reliant on other teams losing their matches and scoring no points and that isn’t going to happen.”