Bredon 130-4 lost to Ashton-under-Hill (132-4) with two balls remaining
Dumbleton (130 all out) beat Stanway Boxmen (83 all out) by 47 runs
Bredon had to avoid defeat to win the Evesham league and progress to the county finals.
Until the final three overs it looked as if they would succeed and Dumbleton’s final game of the season would be a dead ‘rubber’.
But Bredon succumbed to Ashton’s Janita de Alwis, who played a powerful innings at number six to score 48 not out, with partner Jack Perks (30 no), and overtake Bredon with two balls to spare.
From 62-4 these two remained undefeated, adding 70 in 4.4 overs including 50 from the last 16 balls and posting the highest winning total batting second this season.
In posting 130-4 Bredon might have thought the efforts of Jamie Munro (44no) and Tim McVicker (35 no) with support from Dom Fenney (17) would be sufficient to do the job, but Ashton-under-Hill were not champions in successive years for nothing, and even had a theoretical hope of winning the league if both Bredon and Dumbleton lost.
Having won, Ashton’s average had not overtaken Bredon’s and they remained behind on the same points.
It remained for Dumbleton to beat Stanway Boxmen to snatch the title from Bredon on a markedly superior average.
They too scored 130, with Matt Nicholson making a fluent 71, Ashley Baker 25 and Wides 26.
The Boxmen’s reply, however, was always behind the asking rate and after five overs were on 43 after losing Paul Evans for 18.
With a substantial collapse, losing three wickets while the score remained on 46 and a fifth on 5,1 further speculation as to the direction of the league trophy was ended.
Jason Haines played on until stumped on 40.
So Dumbleton it is who represent the Evesham Indoor League at the county finals and presentation evening at RGS sports hall, Worcester, on Sunday (April 17).