The smiles on the faces of players and

officials explained in graphic terms just what it meant for Woodlands to beat Pudsey Congs.

Woodlands have made rapid progress since they joined the Bradford League for the start of the 2001 season, but until Saturday they had never beaten the best team in the league during that spell.

So to return to the Britannia Ground, where Congs comprehensively beat them in the Priestley Cup final last August, and beat them by three wickets was an important landmark for Woodlands.

More important for the rest of the league, their win opens up the First Division championship race, which looks like being a more closely-fought affair this time as Woodlands move into second place, one point behind Congs.

And, surely, there will be another six points to add to their tally if, as expected, the league management committee award them victory when they consider the issues raised by their controversial home match against Farsley - Woodlands needed just two runs to win when the match was abandoned.

Captain Tim Orrell said: "We have had one mess-up this season against Saltaire and we cannot afford another one like that because Pudsey Congs set such a high standard. I am sure they will bounce back from this, their first defeat, so we cannot get too carried away."

Woodlands did the hard work in the first half by restricting Congs to 186 for seven, when they really needed something like 220.

At 137 for four with ten overs left, they looked set for a 200 plus, but they lost three wickets in the closing stages to slow their progress. That left them in a vulnerable position and Woodlands took advantage, although Congs made them fight all the way in an absorbing contest.

Congs made a slow start and, at the 25-over mark, they were only 61 for one. There were further problems when they lost Barbar Butt for 28 and opener Scott Cunningham for 40, both bowled after being beaten through the air after being tempted down the pitch by slow left-arm bowler Chris Brice.

At 79 for three, Congs clearly had work to do to set Woodlands a challenging total, but it was never easy against the admirable Brice - who exercised excellent control as he bowled into the wind - and accurate paceman Safraz Ahmed and it was left to former Yorkshire batsman Bradley Parker to hold the innings together.

Andrew Bairstow became Brice's third victim at 130 after putting on 51 with Parker. Glenn Roberts and skipper Matthew Doidge went cheaply before Parker himself was run out for 55 after a smart throw from Adam Goldthorpe.

Roberts and Doidge were both victims of Ahmed, who had earlier trapped Bethel lbw and he finished with the admirable figures of three for 42 in 19 overs.

Woodlands found runs just as difficult to come by and they made a slow start through Russell Murray and Paul Winrow. The 50 came up in 15 overs, but the innings became becalmed as they added just 15 more runs in the next ten overs.

They also lost two wickets for one run - Winrow trapped lbw by Mark Bray for 33 and Yorkshire all-rounder Richard Pyrah stumped by Gary Brook for nought.

These two dismissals left Woodlands 66 for two at the halfway mark - only five runs better than Congs at the same stage - and Orrell followed at 86, caught by Neil Gill at mid-wicket off Roberts for 15.

Murray and wicket keeper Nicky Rushworth then tilted the match Woodlands' way with a fourth-wicket stand of 45.

Rushworth's dismissal left Woodlands still needing a potentially tricky target of 56 from ten overs, but their position was transformed by a fifth-wicket stand of 40 in five overs between Murray and Goldthorpe.

That left Woodlands with the apparently simple task of scoring 16 runs from the last five overs, but Shezad Butt took two wickets in two balls, with Goldthorpe caught behind for 22 before Doidge caught Ahmed at mid-wicket.

The alert Doidge then ran out Murray for 66 with only nine runs needed to win, running in from the mid-off area as the left-hander backed up too far.

However, his dismissal was only a temporary blip on Woodlands' road to a deserved victory and second-team batsman Keith Robson hit the winning boundary with ten balls to spare.