Yorkshire leapfrogged Glamorgan to move into second place in the NatWest Pro40 second division after Jacques Rudolph and Anthony McGrath had set the Welsh side a target that was far too demanding as gloom descended on North Marine Road.

Rudolph, the former South Africa left-hander, who is the leading scorer in the second division, and McGrath shared a third-wicket partnership of 164 to put Yorkshire on the way to a total of 230 for six. Glamorgan were a long way behind the required rate at 135 for seven in the 30th over when the umpires decided that enough was enough.

Rudolph and McGrath had to consolidate after Andrew Gale had fallen leg-before to James Harris and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, having thrashed 24 off 13 balls, including three fours and a ferocious, flat-batted, straight six, was caught at second slip off Jason Gillespie.

Rudolph was so circumspect against Harris and Gillespie that he scored only six in the first 11 overs before he cut loose against Alex Wharf, lifting him over mid-off and driving him gloriously through the covers.

McGrath, who had led Yorkshire to a seven-wicket victory over Kent last Monday, was quick to join in, hitting three sixes over long-off - two off Dean Cosker, the other off Robert Croft - and the partnership was only 12 short of Yorkshire’s third-wicket record in the league when it ended amid controversial circumstances.

Rudolph had made 84 off 93 balls when, trying to hit Harris, he appeared to be bowled off an inside edge. Rudolph was reluctant to go, apparently because he thought the ball had rebounded off the wicketkeeper’s pads, but Jeff Evans, the umpire, sent him on his way after conferring with Tim Robinson, his colleague at square leg.

Next over, McGrath, who had scored 73 off 96 balls, smeared a full toss from Gillespie to mid-on and it looked as though Yorkshire might not have scored enough runs until Glamorgan found themselves batting in rapidly deteriorating weather.

Their first objective was to be ahead of the Duckworth/Lewis target after ten overs, but they could not even manage that after Croft miscued Naved. Michael Powell carved the same bowler to backward point and, when Tom Maynard and Jamie Dalrymple were bowled by Deon Kruis and Darren Gough respectively, David Hemp, the Glamorgan captain, knew he was fighting a losing battle.