WORCESTER Nomads continued their habit of tight finishes when they beat Droitwich by one run in Worcestershire League Division One.
After winning the toss, Droitwich fielded first on a green-looking pitch and found runs scarce against an accurate home attack.
With Sam Roberts (72 not out) carrying his bat but losing partners regularly, Matt Ormerod's hard-hit 32 from 26 balls helped Nomads to a competitive 203-6. Ryan Kilminster took three wickets.
Droitwich also found scoring tough and, despite Jake Young (50) anchoring, a flurry of wickets saw them fall behind the required rate.
However, Kris Corbett crashed 52 from just 26 balls to leave Droitwich needing only nine runs for victory with five overs left.
Corbett's dismissal was a blow for Droitwich, who entered the last over still requiring four runs with one wicket left.
A moment of panic on the penultimate ball saw Nomads claim the vital wicket for 202 to win.
Nomads beat Worcester by nine wickets in the league's midweek cup second round after Josh Hawes took 3-16 in their rivals' 107-6.
Olly Peppiatt (45) starred for Worcester in the allotted 12 overs before Nomads lost Roberts early on in reply.
But Paul Pickering (54no) and Liam O'Driscoll (38no) put together a 91-run stand to carry Nomads home with nine balls left, booking a southern area final at home to Pershore.
Nomads' relaunched Sunday social team lost by 15 runs at home to Kempsey, who made 227-5 in 40 overs helped by Zac O'Neill (78no).
Off-spinner Tristan Meier took 2-33 on his debut.
In reply, Nigel Dexter (23), Andy Hill (72) and Craig Saunders (17) put Nomads in contention before Ben Beazley (30) and Bill Beazley (12) took them close.
Simon Dorrell claimed 3-9.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here