North Village, bidding to hang on to third place, could hold the key to the outcome of this season's enthralling Commercial Cricket League title race which has turned into a two-horse affair.

This Sunday Village aim to stop determined challengers Jamaican Association, who need to avoid defeat to keep their championship hopes alive with only two weeks left in the league campaign. Rain ruined their earlier encounter which ended in a draw.

Leaders Hemisphere Leg Trappers, who appeared to have the title sewn up before slumping to a shock 23-run defeat against St. David's in their previous game, bounced back to stretch their advantage over the Jamaicans to 12 points with an emphatic eight-wicket victory over Village at Sea Breeze Oval on Sunday.

The Jamaicans have a game in hand and the title may yet be decided on the final day.

Leg Trappers have only one fixture left -- a tricky one against fourth-placed Forties at Nationals on September 6 -- while Jamaican Association finish the season with a match against lowly Public Transportation Board. Forties held on for a "losing'' draw against Trappers in their first meeting at the same venue.

PTB, who had gone three weeks without a game, managed to field nine players on Sunday but went down to a heavy 10-wicket defeat against Watford Sports Club.

West End Warriors, who have struggled to put out a team in recent weeks, could raise only four players against St. David's, who had 10, and defaulted their game at Shelly Bay.

Police Recreation Club, another team struggling for players, finally threw in the towel last Friday and withdrew from the league, leaving eight teams to fight out the knockout competition which starts on September 13.

Team spokesman Chris Graham-Ward confirmed the withdrawal of Police but league officials decided at a committee meeting later to leave the Police record intact with points forfeited to their remaining opponents.

Police, who originally pulled out of the league after defaulting their second match but carried on after a change of captains, won three games but failed to take a single point in the second half of the season.

North Village were pinned down on Sunday by the accurate bowling of Ian Smith and Graham Strange, who bowled 37 overs between them, and were restricted to 112 for nine after being sent in as Leg Trappers found their winning touch again.

Smith, who bowled throughout, snapped up four for 51 from 21 overs while Strange claimed four for 37 from 16 overs, Mike Levon top-scoring with 28.

Opener Gary Knight carried Trappers to the brink of victory, hitting six fours and two sixes in an innings of 60, while Chris Fleming's unbeaten 21 helped seal maximum points -- and complete the double -- with more than 16 overs to spare.

Opener Leon Dickinson hit 41 in nine-man PTB's modest total of 73 -- David DeSilva took four for 13 -- but teenager Trevor Corday and veteran George Rock, promoted to open the innings, took under 12 overs to knock off the runs at the Royal Naval Field. Corday hit an unbeaten 39 while Rock made 28 not out.

League officials meanwhile have thrown out a protest by St. David's over their controversial one-wicket defeat by Jamaican Association at Lord's on August 9.

St. David's claimed the Jamaican scorebook had been falsified while their own lay unattended after the Jamaicans, chasing 184 for victory, had slumped to 58 for six -- a total both scorebooks agreed on.

But the league committee decided there was no evidence to support the tampering claim.

The committee said there was no apparent protest over the Jamaican scorebook by the St. David's players as they walked off at the end of the game which the Jamaicans won with more than six overs to spare.

The draw for the knockout has provided an easier path to the final for the holders, Watford Sports Club, than the team they beat in last year's final -- Jamaican Association.

Watford are drawn home to St. David's while the winners of that tie will take on North Village or PTB in the semi-final.

In the tougher top half of the draw Forties, 10 times winners of the tournament, are at home to Jamaican Association while Leg Trappers are away to West End Warriors.