Sarisbury Athletic suffered the heartbreak of a second consecutive penultimate ball defeat when tail-ender Luke Evans hit two leg-side boundaries in the final over to give champions designate South Wilts a thrilling one-wicket win at Bemerton.
Beaten by St Cross Symondians with one ball of a high scoring affair left at Allotment Road the previous week, Sarisbury were crestfallen as South Wilts got out of jail.
South Wilts now need only 34 points from their last three matches to secure a record breaking fourth successive ECB Southern Electric Premier Division title.
Sarisbury, in contrast, need a little bit of luck to conjure up a win from somewhere to climb off the solitary bottom-of-the-table relegation spot.
Their next two games are against Havant and Bashley (Rydal), the second and third placed clubs.
The battle for survival will probably all boil down to the winner-take-all derby at Burridge on August 29, the last day of the season.
Sarisbury had South Wilts on the back foot for the bulk of the 50-over duel at Wilton Road.
They began positively, with the in-form Ryan Covey (80) and opening partner Matt Journeaux (27) underpinning an encouraging start which saw Sarisbury reach 195-4 before Ryan Duffield (5-39) sent the innings into freefall to 226 all out.
South Wilts, set to chase a total for the first time this summer, roared out of the blocks with Tom Morton (46) and Eddie Abel (31) giving them an 81-run start before three wickets fell for the addition of one run.
Ryan Duffield (28) and James Hayward (18) redressed the situation with a half-century stand, but South Wilts were in unfamiliar territory batting second and Dave Banks (3-31) and Phil Jewell (3-30) continued to make inroads.
“Every time we grasped some momentum, we lost wickets,” reflected a relieved Morton.
“We needed 22 runs to win off five overs, then Phil (Jewell) nipped out Foley and Warner and we were 208-9, still needing 19 off three.”
Fortunately for South Wilts, James Hibberd (32 not out) was still at the crease but, with ten required off James Ingram’s last over, the responsibility was placed firmly on the shoulders of rookie batsman Luke Evans to win the match.
“We needed eight runs off the last three balls, but cool as you like, Luke clipped two elegant boundary shots off his legs and we were home and dry … with one ball to spare,” Morton added.
“It was a terrific finish. Sarisbury couldn’t have done much more.”
While South Wilts are now within touching distance of a fourth successive title, Sarisbury are two points beneath Burridge at the bottom.
Beaten by St Cross Symondians with one ball of a high scoring affair left at Allotment Road the previous week, Sarisbury were crestfallen as South Wilts got out of jail.
South Wilts now need only 34 points from their last three matches to secure a record breaking fourth successive ECB Southern Electric Premier Division title.
Sarisbury, in contrast, need a little bit of luck to conjure up a win from somewhere to climb off the solitary bottom-of-the-table relegation spot.
Their next two games are against Havant and Bashley (Rydal), the second and third placed clubs.
The battle for survival will probably all boil down to the winner-take-all derby at Burridge on August 29, the last day of the season.
Sarisbury had South Wilts on the back foot for the bulk of the 50-over duel at Wilton Road.
They began positively, with the in-form Ryan Covey (80) and opening partner Matt Journeaux (27) underpinning an encouraging start which saw Sarisbury reach 195-4 before Ryan Duffield (5-39) sent the innings into freefall to 226 all out.
South Wilts, set to chase a total for the first time this summer, roared out of the blocks with Tom Morton (46) and Eddie Abel (31) giving them an 81-run start before three wickets fell for the addition of one run.
Ryan Duffield (28) and James Hayward (18) redressed the situation with a half-century stand, but South Wilts were in unfamiliar territory batting second and Dave Banks (3-31) and Phil Jewell (3-30) continued to make inroads.
“Every time we grasped some momentum, we lost wickets,” reflected a relieved Morton.
“We needed 22 runs to win off five overs, then Phil (Jewell) nipped out Foley and Warner and we were 208-9, still needing 19 off three.”
Fortunately for South Wilts, James Hibberd (32 not out) was still at the crease but, with ten required off James Ingram’s last over, the responsibility was placed firmly on the shoulders of rookie batsman Luke Evans to win the match.
“We needed eight runs off the last three balls, but cool as you like, Luke clipped two elegant boundary shots off his legs and we were home and dry … with one ball to spare,” Morton added.
“It was a terrific finish. Sarisbury couldn’t have done much more.”
While South Wilts are now within touching distance of a fourth successive title, Sarisbury are two points beneath Burridge at the bottom.