A LATE flurry of wickets by Yogesh Malhotra ensured Bromsgrove recorded their second winning draw in eight days against Bridgnorth as they continue to creep up the table in the Birmingham Division One on Saturday.

The Boars moved up to sixth in the table after a spirited display to earn 16 points.

Skipper Mark Evenson won the toss and opted to bat first and openers Jayden Levitt and Ashley Newfield got them off to a blistering start with a partnership of 101.

Levitt made 60 before James Ralph had him caught by Ian Gregory before Malhotra (16) kept the runs going.

Once Newfield fell victim to Charlie Morris on 85, Bromsgrove’s run rate slowed down but Lewis Cordes (29) and Tom Green (22) chipped in as they reached 247-8 declared in the 51st over.

After a delay for rain, Bridgnorth were given a reduced target for a winning draw and they recovered from the early departure of opener Gregory (4) in gusto.

David Exall (34), James Ralph (24), Simon Gregory (73) and Morris (20) all scored runs but Evenson (2-32), Graeme Whiles (1-43) and Alex Wilkinson (1-29) removed the top order.

Malhotra then came to the fore as he dismissed Morris (20), Dan Vernon (9), Thomas Weaver (0) and Sam Whitney (11). A second delay for rain had also seen Bridgnorth’s target reduced to 187 but they ended their 34 overs 182-8.

Evenson said: “It was a great result from the jaws of defeat really.

“We had scored 247 runs after a great start but Bridgnorth made a really good start to their reply.

“After the rain they looked on course to reach their target but Bridgnorth kept going for big shots when they could have played for singles and reached the score they needed.

“But I showed great composure and Yogesh really made a big impact.

“We want to be winning games but if we can consistently pick up 17 or 18 points we’ll be near the top.”

Alex Kervezee is set to be on duty for Worcestershire, who play Derbyshire away on Sunday.