AVONCROFT lost out by an agonising one wicket in their Worcestershire County League Division Three clash against Rushwick on Saturday.
After losing the toss, Avoncroft were put into bat where they were bowled out for just 144 in the 24th over.
Opener David James (51) top scored for the home side which was backed up by fellow opener Ian Carpenter (21) in a stand of 80 for the first wicket.
However, after the pair were sent back to the pavilion, Avoncroft lost wickets at regular rates as Will Sach (11), skipper Daniel Elliott (15) and Anthony Pittam (19) were the only other players to reach double figures.
Clive Jones (6-32) got the lion’s share of the wickets for Rushwick who reached 145-9 after 33 overs to claim victory.
But the victory didn’t come easy as Rushwick were at one stage 24-4 as Paul Athey (2-12) and Elliott (3-40) wreaked early havoc.
Stuart Parker then steadied the Rushwick ship with a useful 46 but it looked as though it would not be enough as the visitors slumped to 119-9 as Carpenter (2-16) and Jonathan Hunter (1-47) chipped in.
But the final Rushwick pair of Jones (17 no) and Tony Douglas (4 no) battled hard to claim the 26 runs they need to claim an invaluable 20 points.
Avoncroft end their season on Saturday with a trip to Netherton.
Avoncrofts Seconds have all but been relegated from Division Two Second XI after claiming only a winning draw at basement side Rushwick.
Rushwick won the toss but opted to field and looked to be in deep trouble as Avoncroft racked up an impressive score of 282-2 declared in the 31st over.
Despite opener Jason Huxley (13) departing with the score at 40, centuries from Sam Hughes (143 no) and David Anson (116) pushed the score quickly along.
With a mammoth target ahead of them, a stubborn Rushwick line-up did their best to stay put with rain affecting play and in the end they crawled to 149-7 to claiming a losing draw.
Roni Stone (61) top scored for Rushwick while Mark Whitehead (3-37) got the majority of the wickets.
Avoncroft sit 24 points adrift of third-from-bottom Oldswinford & Stourbridge Social with one game left to play.
They entertain Burghill, Tillington and Weobley on Saturday.
