The Yorkshire left-hander is a model of consistency, the cricketing equivalent of a trusty old clock.

Rudolph ticks off sizeable scores as surely as a timepiece ticks off seconds and minutes. His pendulum barely misses a beat as he goes about his business with measured precision.

Yesterday, Rudolph ticked off 84 runs on the final day of the Scarborough festival, an innings that formed the bedrock of a total of 230-6 after Yorkshire won the toss and chose to bat.

It helped Darren Gough's men claim a victory that took them second in the NatWest Pro40 League Second Division and into the final promotion place.

Yorkshire have two games left to clinch promotion – at home to Warwickshire in a day/night match at Headingley Carnegie tomorrow week and away to Northamptonshire on September 13.

If they play as well as they did in this fixture, and as they did during last Monday's Pro40 victory over Kent that provided an excellent start to the 122nd festival at North Marine Road, they can order the cigars and put the champagne on ice.

Rudolph's innings was a typical affair – a master-class of easy accumulation and effortless stroke-play.

It was one of those innings when you did not particularly notice that he had suddenly added another 10 runs or so to his total since you last glanced at the scoreboard; there was nothing flashy or ostentatious about it.

Like all top players, Rudolph makes batting look simple – so simple that he might be performing no more exacting a task than mowing his lawn.

The South African is coming to the end of another fine season in all forms of cricket and a particularly good one in the Pro40 League.
After managing only eight in Yorkshire's first 40-overs game against Essex at Chelmsford, Rudolph's subsequent scores in the tournament have been 20, 120, 54, 41 and now 84.

That equates to 327 runs at 54.50 and makes him leading run-scorer in the Second Division; only Somerset's Marcus Trescothick and Worcestershire's Steven Davies have scored more in the competition than Rudolph this year, and he looked all set for another century until he was bowled by James Harris with four overs of the Yorkshire innings remaining.

Rudolph's departure after a 93-ball stay which included 11 fours and a leg-side six off Robert Croft brought to an end a superb stand of 164 in 29 overs with Anthony McGrath, which was just 12 shy of Yorkshire's record third-wicket partnership in the one-day league, made by Richard Blakey and Sachin Tendulkar against Lancashire at Headingley in 1992.

McGrath also played in admirable fashion, contributing 73 from 96 balls with four fours and three sixes before he fell in the over after Rudolph, picking out mid-on off his former Yorkshire team-mate Jason Gillespie, for whom McGrath was his 250th wicket in List A cricket.

McGrath twice struck Dean Cosker for six into the Peasholm Park end and clubbed his final maximum into the Trafalgar Square end off Croft.

Gillespie was given a fruity reception by a boisterous Scarborough crowd, who regaled him with regular bursts of "Where's your caravan?" – the classic cry so beloved of English spectators during the 2005 Ashes and a less-than-subtle reference to Gillespie's former gypsy-style appearance.

Just under 4,000 watched this contest beneath leaden skies and saw Andrew Gale and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan fall early, the latter clubbing 24 from 14 balls including a flat-batted six off Gillespie that disappeared through the gap at the Trafalgar Square end and into the street.

Rudolph and McGrath were initially content to work the ball around as Yorkshire reached 88-2 at the halfway stage before steadily applying their foot to the accelerator.

Gerard Brophy and Scarborough local Adam Lyth perished in the late pursuit of quick runs, but Yorkshire could be well satisfied with a total they defended with aplomb.

Rana picked up two quick wickets and Glamorgan's innings never really got going.

David Hemp top-scored with 38 and Gough and Richard Pyrah also claimed two wickets before bad light ended play with Glamorgan 135-7 in the 30th over, Yorkshire prevailing by 49 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method.