DROITWICH comfortably defeated mid-table Hagley by nine wickets to regain third spot in Division One of the Worcestershire County League.
The old adage of catches win matches was certainly true for Spa as Hagley’s excellent start to the game of 40-0 off 10 overs quickly became 40-2 thanks to Jack Eaton and Dave Huntbatch.
The pair took a couple of blinders to send both openers back to the pavilion and provoke an alarming collapse.
The home side’s batsmen had no answer to bowlers Max Young and Phil Thomas, who grabbed seven and three wickets respectively, as Hagley were shot out for a meagre 116 in the 33rd over.
Young then swapped ball for bat and his quick-fire 25 in tricky conditions set Droitwich up for victory. Tea was taken with Spa in a strong position of 61-1 off 15 overs and, when play resumed, with Jake Young (33 not out) and Connor Grant (51 not out off 43 balls) saw their side home in just 22 overs.
Droitwich Seconds’ promotion push came to a disappointing end as they clung on for a losing draw against relegation-threatened Lye.
Spa did well to restrict their opposition to 189 after their openers made a strong start, with veteran Martin Woodward bowling an imperious 17-over spell that brought him four wickets.
Showing no after-effects to an unbelievable catch taken via his head, James Hancher started the Droitwich reply positively but after he departed for a half-century none of his team-mates were able to grasp the initiative. The repeat of recent batting performances against Feckenham and Pershore saw wickets given away far too cheaply as Spa clung on at 144-9 with miraculous results now needed elsewhere in order to go up.
However promotion was achieved by Droitwich Thirds, who won their league without even bowling a ball. Unable to field a side, opponents Harborne conceded the fixture which, coupled with defeat for title rivals Coombs Wood, gave Spa the title by a four point margin.
