Off-spinner Hamish Brook held his nerve to claim the decisive wicket and earn Cirencester a remarkable one-run win over Cheltenham 2nds.

Extras was the top scorer for both sides as 20 wickets fell for 229 runs in 73.5 overs in the Gloucestershire Cricket League Division One clash at the Victoria Ground.

And on an action-packed day it was Brook who was the last-gasp hero as he bowled Maaz Mustak for nine to end a 10^th-wicket partnership of 21 which had taken the home side to the brink of victory.

It was the second highest partnership of the innings as they chased down Cirencester’s score of 115, and visiting skipper Alex Tuck admitted: “There was a lot of hope when they came together and still needed more than 20 to win.

“But when it was just two to win that hope was fading, but Hamish held his nerve, particularly after runs had come from the first few balls of the over.

“It was a lovely ball that bowled him, a flighted ball that turned and hit the top of off.”

Brook finished with 2-18 from 4.5 overs and Tuck was delighted for him.

“He took his first wicket straight after the rain break,” he continued. “I always thought he could do the job, I trusted him.”

But while Brook was centre stage at the finish, it was fellow spinner Tom Harvey who kept Cirencester in the hunt for victory for much of Cheltenham’s innings.

The left-armer took 4-12 from nine overs and Tuck said: “He was absolutely fantastic, superb. His ball to bowl their overseas player [Thiwanka Kekulawala] was unplayable, that was a big wicket.

“The pitch wasn’t the greatest, there was a lot of uneven bounce which made it very tricky for batting.”

It certainly did because the highest partnership in Cheltenham’s innings was for the first wicket with Mike Kelly and Nirvaan Jain putting on 25 before Kelly, who was the home side’s leading scorer with 21, fell to James Bassett.

Their all-out total of 114 included 22 extras, 14 of which came from wides.

Cirencester had earlier found batting just as difficult after Tuck had won the toss.

Hamish Brook, batting at six, was their top scorer with 15 and their innings included 34 extras with 23 wides.

“When you win the toss you don’t expect to be bowled out for 115,” said Tuck.

“But it was a big spinning pitch and with the bowling attack we’ve got we thought it was a total we could defend, although we knew we needed to take wickets to put them under pressure. It was an amazing game.”

The win leaves Cirencester in sixth place in the 10-strong division, while Cheltenham 2nds remain in second place, 25 points behind leaders Corse & Staunton.