SKIPPER James Smith has called on JCT600 Bradford League Division One leaders Pudsey St Lawrence to ‘raise their game’ if they are to win their first title since 1991.

St Lawrence, unbeaten in the first half of the season, have lost their last two matches after going down by one wicket in a tense finish against second-placed Woodland at Albert Terrace on Saturday.

Despite the defeats, St Lawrence are still 14 points clear and Smith said: “We deserve to be where we are at the top of the table, but we have nine cup finals to play before the end of the season.

“People will be gunning for us. Teams will raise their games because it’s us. We have to raise our game too.”

And, he warned St Lawrence’s rivals: “We still haven’t hit our full stride – we have a lot more to give.”

St Lawrence’s normally strong batting line-up struggled to impose itself on a bouncy pitch with some turn for the spinners and and were forced to settle for 176-9. The only stand of note was the 64 for the third wicket between opener Adam Waite and Chris Marsden (36).

Once Marsden was out at 90, wickets began to tumble and the visitors lost six wickets for 66 at a time when they were looking to accelerate. Only the admirable Waite – eighth out to a boundary-edge catch from Sarfraz Ahmed to give young Elliot Richardson his fourth wicket – showed much resistance with 72 from 130 balls.

Smith thought 200 would be a winning score so his side’s total was some runs short of expectations, but Woodlands still gave their supporters a torturous ride before edging home with nine balls to spare.

Despite being handicapped by the absence of leg-spinner Tom Hudson with ankle ligament trouble and paceman Craig Wiseman, whose wife gave birth to a baby girl the day before, St Lawrence pushed Woodlands all the way.

After an opening stand 45 between Duncan Snell and Sam Frankland, the game swung St Lawrence’s way when Woodlands lost both openers and Scott Richardson for 11 runs to leave them in some trouble at 56-3.

Woodlands promoted the big hitting Sarfraz in the order, but, after striking a huge six that bounced off the roof of a garage outside the ground, he was brilliantly caught on the boundary by Steve Watts.

A seventh-wicket stand of 49 between Chris Brice and Logan Weston took them to 156 with only 21 needed before the game swung back towards the visitors again when off-spinner Watts dismissed Brice and skipper Pieter Swanepoel in the space of three balls.

Wicketkeeper Greg Finn was ninth out 11 runs later, but Elliot Richardson steadied home nerves by striking his first two balls he received from Richie Lamb through the covers for four and Woodlands won the match with four byes off Watts, leaving Weston unbeaten on a match-winning 54 not out.

Smith said, “We didn’t bat very well in the last 15 overs and threw our wickets way, but I was proud of the way we pushed Woodlands to the end. We got into a winning position, but couldn’t finish them off.”

Weston said: ”It was my job to try to stay in through the innings and be there at the end. I knew if Chris Brice or I were out it was going to be difficult, but Elliot Richardson played two unbelievable drives. He also bowled well.This result throws the title race wide open.”