On what was to prove a memorable, if ultimately frustrating, day for Richie Walker and his men, Mohtashim Ali passed a fantastic personal milestone as he reached 1,000 runs for the season and new-boy Malcolm Clarke made his eagerly-awaited home debut.

Ali and Agarwal passed 50 for the first wicket, the stylish Agarwal eventually clipping a full-toss to mid-wicket, which gave hope to the persevering Alnwick seamers, Bateman and Frater.

This brought Clarke to the crease for the first time at home; he patiently kept Ali company, despite not quite being at his fluent best.

The pair put on a hundred for the second wicket, leaving The Main in a strong position.

When Clarke departed, Linsley joined Ali, who had begun to cut loose – effortlessly lifting the ball over the sightscreen twice in successive deliveries and powering his way, if a little fortuitously on occasion, to his fifth league ton.

The Main had made 253 from their rained-reduced allocation of 45 overs; and the nervous glances heavenwards began in earnest.

After tea, fine drizzle delayed the start of the Alnwick reply; when the players did take the field, pacy, accurate bowling from Nihalraj meant that runs were at a premium, under gathering cloud and in deepening gloom.

After a lengthy session in which Alnwick seemed only to be playing and missing in a bid to pass time, Brewis did open his shoulders, striking several boundaries and giving the spectators a glimpse of what might have been, had Alnwick considered chasing the target set.

Yet this brief flurry of excitement served only to bring about a cloudburst, ending The Main's hopes of snatching a victory on a day when the others games in the division were all rained off.

The Main picked up valuable bonus points, in what is beginning to look like a tight race for the title and promotion.

Next week they travel to Cowgate for a tough fixture against a talented and passionate, if occasionally inconsistent, cricketing side.