Pudsey St Lawrence and Wakefield Thornes set for Abu Dhabi grand finale

LEADING THE WAY: Opener Mark Robertshaw's 93 saw Pudsey St Lawrence to victory over Great Ayton by seven runs.

Both won tense play-off semi-finals, Saints overcoming Great Ayton by seven runs at Headingley, while at Scarborough, Thornes pipped Harrogate by three wickets thanks to a gutsy innings from David Toft.

With Andy Hawkswell (53), George Ross (41) and David Foster (42) leading the way, Harrogate set a target of 201.

Thornes lost their two openers with only 10 on the board and a third wicket went down at 43. Toft and Faisal Irfan were digging in when Toft had to retire hurt with a suspected broken bone in his hand with the score on 78.

HERO OF THE HOUR: Wakefield Thornes' battinghero, Dave Toft.

When Irfan (27) and Akila Isanka (29) were dismissed with Thornes at 122-5, Tofts returned and, batting one-handed, saw his side to victory with an unbeaten 70.

Opener Mark Robertshaw (93) top-scored and shared useful stands with Barrie Frankland (41) and Tom Hudson (25), but Pudsey St Lawrence knew their 200-8 total would take some defending.

Tight bowling saw the asking run-rate rise but it was only after Hudson trapped Great Ayton opener Chris Batchelor lbw on 87, the sixth wicket to go down, that the game swung Saints’ way.

There were still some nervous moments with the Teessiders going into the final over needing 13 to win but Saints held out.

Eugene Burzler top-scored with 99 in Beckwithshaw’s  260-8 to help seal a 111-run win over Collingham to lift the Aire Wharfe championship.

Relegated Kirkstall notched only their fourth win of the season in a high-scoring match against Bilton. Stephen Brown (82), Tom Webb (77) and Stephen Wilkinson (82) starred in Kirkstall’s 381-9, while Ryan Bradshaw was 81 no and Vic Craven scored 76 in Bilton’s 293-7 reply.

With the season over elsewhere, the introduction of the Yorkshire pyramid with promotion and relegation means a number of clubs need to revise plans for next season.

In the Bradford Premier, Batley and Yeadon will replace Morley and Scholes; Clifton Alliance and Easingwold will do battle in Yorkshire Premier North instead of Castleford and Dunnington, while Hallam and Tickhill replace Doncaster and Rotherham in Yorkshire South Premier.