With less than a third of the season left to go, Keighley are still only a handful of points clear of the drop zone in Division Two of the Gordon Rigg Bradford Premier League.

The bottom two go down, and Keighley are only 12 points clear of Heckmondwike & Carlinghow and just 13 ahead of basement boys Hopton Mills.

And more results like Saturday’s thumping 145-run defeat at home to promotion-chasing Hunslet Nelson, and they could find themselves in real danger.

The hosts started brightly, Dillon Birkett, Ijaz Ahmed and Simon Bailey taking a wicket apiece to reduce Nelson to 43-3.

But a brutal knock of 136 from only 85 balls by visiting No.4 Omar Aziz tore Keighley apart.

He was well supported by Sam Thewlis (40) and Dan Calverley (40 not out), meaning the away side recovered spectacularly to make 303-6.

Ahmed was the only player to manage more than one wicket, taking 2-79 from his 15 overs.

And when Nathan Storton flew out of the blocks in his pinch-hitting opening batsman role, backed up talented South African Johandre Barnard, Keighley were sitting pretty on 75-1 after 10 overs.

But when Storton was dismissed for 46, Barnard soon following him for 29, the innings collapsed.

The hosts soon found themselves on 97-5, and despite the best efforts of Zahir Shah, who made 37, they were all out for 158 in only 34.2 overs.

This weekend is a huge one in the race to avoid the drop, with in-form Heckmondwike taking on Mills, while Keighley visit the other relegation-threatened side in the division, Northowram Fields.