Seedhill in the welcome afternoon sunshine was more like a scene outside the White House as the crowd gathered, almost hushed and clearly anxious to hear what should have been the crucial verdict.
A delay of almost two hours merely added to the tension as the Lancashire League's inappropriate relationship with the weather this summer cost the vital game between Nelson and East Lancs a total of 28 lost overs.
And, not surprisingly, when it came to the crunch we had ... a hung jury!
The decision as to which of these two excellent sides is the better had to be put off to another day.
That is no criticism of either team, or of the willing ground staff who toiled long and hard to enable a game to take place at all.
But once Nelson had finally decided that discretion was the better part of valour and settled for the draw, which kept them a major step ahead in the championship race, we could all clearly have gone home.
To be fair, the positive and aggressive approach adopted by East Lancs - true they had no other choice in the circumstances - ensured a competitive game for the spectators to watch.
It also showed that, given similar thoughts by others, you can still make something out of almost nothing under the present rules which seem to have prompted more abuse than applause. Nevertheless, two thirds of the way through, the anti-climactic feeling was beginning to spread.
Not that Nelson were too concerned about that. A draw was a good result for them, as it was another game out of the way and one they knew could not afford to lose.
Normally, the ground would not have been fit and no-one would have blamed Nelson for a lack of effort.
But they did their utmost to stage the game and all credit to them. Full marks also go to East Lancs skipper Mark Lomas for doing as much as he could to claim the win his team needed.
A one-point gain over leaders Nelson seemed scant reward for such a bold approach.
Seedhill's stand-in captain Roger Harper cleverly threw down the gauntlet to East Lancs, after the game had been reduced to 72 overs 55 on offer to the side batting first - by inserting them, knowing the visitors were desperate for victory.
And they responded. Andy Clague scored a superb 54 from 67 deliveries including two of only three boundaries in their total of 152-7 declared.
With the tide coming in on a saturated outfield, it was surprising the ball went so far so often.
Sub-professional Mark Chilton, of Lancashire, contributed a valuable 44 and both men worked the ball brilliantly around the field to keep the scoreboard moving. They shared an entertaining stand of 70 and enabled Lomas to declare after using only 37 overs, leaving a tempting 35 for Nelson to have a go.
The home side accepted the challenge initially and, at 45-1, were on course. But East Lancs' forty-somethings Ian Haworth and Jan Van Boeckel took a starring role.
With Haworth getting life and lift from a wicket turning spiteful and wicketkeeper Van Boeckel claiming one astounding catch among his three victims, Nelson were forced to withdraw into their shell, particularly against Paul Kelly's spin, to protect their points advantage.
Both teams made the best of a bad job but the inevitable draw was finally reached.
And, unless dramatic new evidence is produced, all that Saturday's game proved is that the title still seems to be heading for Seedhill.