KIERAN Wilkins was Droitwich Spa’s saviour after claiming three runs off the last ball, earning a priceless one-wicket victory and lifting his side out of the Worcestershire County League Division One drop zone.
The dramatic end to proceedings relegated bottom side Bredon and handed Spa maximum points, which puts them four points above Worcester Nomads with two games remaining.
Bredon batted first after winning the toss and found early success through top order duo Kevin Hall (47) and Oliver Cox (37) – though both were eventually picked off by top Droitwich bowler Martyn Davies (3-49).
Further runs were provided by Spa’s middle order, with Tim Fenney (30) impressing at the crease prior to his batting spell being ended by David Stephens, whilst unbeaten duo Clive Fenney (27no) and Will Metcalfe (8no) carried the hosts to a 173-6 score.
Openers Davies (53) and Max Young (35) seemed to have set their side well on the road to victory with an opening stand of 89.
But after Young was trapped lbw by Martin Hill (4-40), three wickets fell in succession, including talisman Davies.
With Spa now on 106-4, the contest was now hanging in the balance, but the visitors continued to make inroads to reaching their target through Ajay Kumar (22), Jez Hanson (16) and Stuart Bryan (15).
Dominic Fenney (2-8) then took two late dismissals, to leave Spa on their final two tailenders.
Requiring three runs from four balls, Wilkins (4) faced three dot balls before thumping the ball towards the leg side, remarkably scrambling home with three runs to earn the most dramatic of victories.
A tough test lies in wait in the penultimate game, when Droitwich head to second-placed Colwall on Saturday (12.30pm).