The Scots don’t play much cricket. But Lord Wallace of Tankerness, former Lib Dem leader north of the border and now advocate general for Scotland, showed he can wield the straightest of bats during the lords debate on part 2 of LASPO.

The courtliness of his manners did not compromise the steeliness of his guard. A barrage of amendments was graciously dispatched during a wearying session that might have tested the endurance of Geoffrey Boycott.

Yet again a top Lib Dem was given the task of taking the pain for fundamentally Conservative reforms; though that’s only the half of it. Jim Wallace (as was) reached his political peak as deputy first minister at Holyrood; now here he was ramming through legislation of which only minor provisions actually extend to his homeland.

What a curious beast is our constitution; though one doubts whether peers spent much time pondering the West Lothian question.

On a more positive note, the six-month delay to the de facto implementation of Jackson is welcome. It gives law firms and others valuable time to reshape their business plans in anticipation of reforms which Chancery Lane hopes the government may yet reconsider.

The fight is not over, if we might indulge another sporting metaphor - but we are in the 15th round.