OLD Elizabethans Thirds snatched a winning draw from the jaws of defeat in Crusader Worcestershire League Division Four South.

They fought back brilliantly at Hanley Castle and Upton to restrict their hosts to 209-8 in reply to a solid 229-7.

OEs were inserted on a damp wicket which proved to be difficult for the batsmen in the early stages but all the top seven contributed at least 20 to the total.

The pick of the batsmen was Matthew Tyrrell, who hit 51 not out off just 40 balls.

He had a scare on his second ball after being caught but the player had to throw it back into play as he landed over the boundary. Seb Wilkins added 33, Ivor Biggerstaff 33 and David Truby 32.

Castle brought up their first 100 within 16 overs without losing a wicket and looked to be cruising.

However, Ryan Cowan (4-53) removed the top four batsmen and bowled only two bad balls in a 17-over spell.

Tyrrell, Ed Ford (2-47) and Sharafat Hussain (1-44) bowled tightly to leave the home side 20 runs short.