Skipper Tahir Khan hailed his side's team ethic as Bowling Old Lane were crowned Division Two champions without a ball being bowled on Saturday.

The complete washout means Lane cannot now be caught at the top and sees them return to the top flight for the first time since 1998.

Lane have not lost a league match since June 17 and Khan believes their success is very much down to a team effort.

"It's hard to put it in to words," said the skipper.

"We haven't got any individual stars but we are a team of stars who work for each other.

"There are a few teams in the league who've paid a lot of money and signed up a lot of stars. But when the chips are down, it is the team that gets you through."

Lane's match at home to Yeadon was called off early but their celebrations could not begin in earnest until Manningham Mills' match at Lightcliffe was finally abandoned at about 3pm.

And the Birch Lane club's joy was made doubly sweet as the washout meant their second team also clinched promotion along with Saltaire.

Khan added: "All the hard work that has gone on during the season has paid off.

"Obviously we would have liked to have had a game and won it and gone up that way. It is a bit of an anti-climax, but I'm just glad we're there."

Success for Khan has come in only his first season as skipper at the club and he admitted: "If someone had said this would happen at the start of the season, I would have told them to stop having a laugh.

"It's not just down to me as captain. Everyone has worked really hard and everyone has put the performances in."

Lane lost four of their first ten matches but since their last defeat, ironically against Yeadon, they have won their last eight completed games.

In a division regarded as the most competitive for many seasons, they are the one side who have managed to find genuine consistency over a sustained period.

"We won a few games early on which were very close," continued the Lane skipper.

"That got us thinking this could be our year'. And as the season went on, when teams can become more and more tired, we just seemed to get stronger and stronger."

Having pushed hot favourites Woodlands all the way in the Priestley Cup final just a week ago, Khan believes his side have what it takes to hold their own with the big boys next season.

"We have a few things in mind but, based on what happened in the cup final, I don't think we need to make big changes - a bit of fine-tuning but that's about it."

He was thrilled about the way his side battled all the way against the team who are odds on to win the First Division title again and clinch the double.

Chasing 145 for victory, Woodlands were rocking at 106 for seven before making it home with just two wickets to spare.

Rain means promotion race goes down to the wire

Thoughts have already turned to the final game of the season in Division Two next week following the heavy rain which put paid to the whole Bradford League fixture programme on Saturday.

The complete washout means Manningham Mills and Spen Victoria will fight it out for the right to join champions Bowling Old Lane in the top flight next season.

The fight for the second promotion slot could not be much closer with second-placed Mills just two points clear of Spen.

And the new bonus points system, introduced at the start of the season, is likely to play a major part on what promises to be a tension-filled final day.

Mills visit bottom club Windhill while Spen entertain Lightcliffe, who desperately need points themselves to avoid finishing second and having to apply for re-election.

The toss of the coin is sure to have added significance with both promotion-chasers likely to want to bat first to give themselves the best chance of gaining maximum bonus points.

One anomaly of the new system is highlighted by the fact that Mills or Spen could deny themselves vital bonus batting points if they bowl first and get their opponents out cheaply.

Sides get one bonus point for reaching 150 and then another for every further 25 runs up to 250.

"The toss is going to be crucial," admitted Mills skipper Mahboob Hussain.

"Winning it gives us more chance to get maximum points - to try and get 250 and then get the wickets."

Despite a three-point deduction last week - two for exceeding the over-rate for the second time this season and one for a fourth late submission of an umpire assessment sheet - Mills' fate remains in their hands.

On paper, their game against lowly Windhill provides the perfect opportunity to gain a big win.

But Manningham have been fallible against sides at the bottom, having lost to Lightcliffe and Yeadon this campaign.

And Hussain added: "The way this season has been going I won't be counting my chickens."

Mills will have overseas player Afsar Nawaz available, who is staying in England given the importance of the fixture rather than returning home for the start of the Pakistan domestic season.

Meanwhile, First Division sides were hoping to get some action in yesterday in the second part of a double-header weekend.

No one was more frustrated by Saturday's rain than Pudsey Congs, who were hoping to claw back some of Woodlands' 26-point lead at the top.