A battling Jasper Davidson half-century combined with thrifty bowling spells from Swapnil Gugale and George Land to steer table-topping Harborne to a Birmingham Premier League Division Two winning draw at Bromsgrove.
Davidson, who made an 82-ball 53, added 73 with fifth wicket partner Tejas Wagle (46) as the visitors were bowled out in the 48th over of their opening red-ball contest of the season for 191.
This left Bromsgrove with 62 overs in which to chase down their target, and while opener Connor Smith was making 69 they appeared to have every chance.
However, off-spinner Gugale then bowled a long spell in tandem with seamer Land during which the scoring rate ground to a halt while six wickets fell.
And with man-of-the-match Davidson chipping in with two lower-order wickets, it was Harborne who closed the match – which was the only draw in the day’s six Division Two contests – pressing hardest for victory.
With Wolverhampton and Bridgnorth both winning, Tom Arnold’s team now lead the chasing pair by ten points as a result of the 15-point haul claimed against opponents who slip to fourth place.
“It was slightly disappointing not to win but overall we have to be happy with the winning draw,” Arnold said.
“We got off to a decent start but it was a difficult soft pitch on which scoring runs was never easy and they pegged us back well.
“Jasper batted very well but quite a few of our other batters didn’t go on after getting a start and we were disappointed with 191.
“We then weren’t that threatening with the new ball but once Swapnil and George got into their stride we totally dried up the run rate which brought wickets.
“At eight-down you hope to go on and get 24 points but it wasn’t easy to prize batters out on such a slow surface.”
Arnold dominated the early stages of the visitors’ innings while striking seven boundaries in his 55-ball 41.
He added 49 with second-wicket partner Karan Bharaj (16) before the quick dismissals of both plus dangerman Gugale left Harborne at 74 for four.
This set the stage for the in-form Davidson to join forces with Wagle in an enterprising fifth-wicket alliance worth 73. The young all-rounder stroked six boundaries in his half-century while Wagle found the rope four times and cleared it once in his typically robust 63-ball 46.
However, once Richard Kimberlin, who finished with the remarkable figures of 4-9 from only five overs, grabbed the vital wicket of Wagle the visitors’ lower-order folded from 147 for four to 191 all out in only ten overs. Will Tuffin claimed 3-28 for Bromsgrove while Smith finished with 2-26.
This left the hosts in a strong position at the break and they further strengthened their grip on the contest during the next 20 overs while Smith and opening partner Lewis Cordes (23) added 73.
However, once Land made the initial breakthrough, Harborne’s vice-captain and Gugale gradually wrested the initiative back from Bromsgrove.
A key turning point saw the Indian ace trap prolific former Worcestershire star Alex Milton lbw for only six and with the pair bowling with huge accuracy a sequence of home batters were unable to make any headway against a softening ball.
As a result, Bromsgrove’s chase subsided to 120 for six while Gugale ended his 17-over allocation with the fine figures of 3-28 which Land nearly matched thanks to his superb 3-34.
When Kimberlin and Tom Green then fell in quick succession to Davidson, Harborne had ten overs in which to clinch victory. However, ninth pair Alex Wilkinson and Mark Meacham dug in to good effect leaving the league leaders to settle for a 15-point haul.
Harborne host Wolverhampton in a top-of-the-table clash next Saturday.