'Championne, championne, ole, ole, ole' was the chant ringing around the Radyr clubhouse as Llanarth secured the Conference 3 title.

It wasn't really, in truth some manly handshakes followed by beer quaffing in quiet satisfaction at a season's job well done, while the rain poured down outside, was how the Trees players enjoyed winning their first league title silverware in nine years.

Llanarth had travelled to second-placed Radyr knowing only a defeat to the Cardiff suburb could keep the title race mathematically open but the Trees wanted to seal the trophy with an emphatic victory over their nearest rivals whilst keeping their unbeaten record intact. Alas, the predicted rain ruined the fixture early on in the afternoon.

It had started spotting with rain just prior to the toss that Heath inevitably lost, for the 11th time in 13 flips, but not quite enough to delay the start with Llanarth having been inserted.

Lomax (21 not out) and Baxter (31) strode to the middle wondering how many overs would be played before the inevitable abandonment.

The wicket played well for the first eight overs or so with the ball coming onto the bat very nicely as the pair picked off the odd bad ball and made a steady start, however the persistent drizzle soon caused the ball to skid through and keep low while the bowlers had to deal with gripping the wet ball as well as slipping when landing at the wicket.

The partnership was broken at 47 when Baxter over balanced driving and offered a return catch to the bowler that was smartly taken down low by his ankles.

Play had ceased on the adjacent pitch some 45 minutes earlier but Heath, undertaking umpiring duties, was clearly waiting for something akin to Hurricane Katrina to arrive before joining the two teams from the other fixture in the bar.

Lomax and A Dewfield had pushed to total to 62-1 from 15 overs when the Radyr skipper approached Heath suggesting that continuing might not be wise.

A wave of relief went through the Llanarth players, sheltering under what tree cover there was, as Heath clasped his opposite numbers hand accepting the abandonment as well as congratulations for the title win.