BOWLERS Mike King and Jono Gooch became the unlikely batting heroes as Colwall turned near certain defeat into a vital two wicket victory over rivals Eastnor in Worcestershire League Division One.

Having dismissed their hosts for a below-par 151 total, Colwall looked strong favourites at tea, but then crashed to 49-7 in reply.

However, King and Gooch dramatically turned the tide with a battling stand of 91 for the eighth wicket and the visitors edged home with 14 balls to spare.

The win means Colwall are now 34 points above Eastnor as the two sides battle to stay in the division.

In a wildly fluctuating contest, Colwall had the better of the early exchanges as Dan Newby justified the decision to insert Eastnor by clean bowling openers Mohammed Hasnain and Tareq Jamil with just 38 on the board.

Ahmed hit back with three sixes in an aggressive 41 before Gooch had him caught behind by skipper Ben Wheeler.

And from a reasonable position at 88-3, Eastnor began to flounder as Colwall turned to their spinners.

Ben Febery (3-28) did the main damage with the next three wickets, while King and Ancil Ned also chipped in.

Eastnor then lost three wickets on 142 before they were eventually bowled out.

If the hosts’ late collapse had been dramatic, it paled in comparison with Colwall’s top order debacle as Raheel Lone and Sajid Ali ran riot after tea.

Lone had Joe Blight caught behind and removed Ben Butler in similar fashion as Colwall slumped to 15-2 which soon became 28-5 as Ali weighed in with three more victims.

King, promoted to bat at five, could then only watch as Lone again took over, removing Nedd and Febery as Colwall's wickets kept tumbling.

When Gooch came to the wicket, a win looked a long way off, but alongside King, the pair defended stoutly, with King leading the way.

King upped the tempo with a six to reach his half century but having compiled an invaluable 57 he then lofted a catch to cover and Eastnor were briefly back in contention.

That brought Mike Gooch in to join brother Jono with 12 needed from three overs, but in the space of four balls it was all over.

,First Jono pulled a powerful six to square leg before taking a single and then Mike Gooch drove the fourth ball firmly past point for a three that tied the scores.

And with a wild throw-in conceding four overthrows, Colwall were home and dry in a win that could prove crucial to their Division One survival hopes.