Devonshire Recreation Club beat St George’s by six wickets with a ball to spare in a nail-bitting finish to the team’s T20 semi-final clash at Wellington Oval on Saturday.

The visitors needed five runs off the last over with Levar Talbot, and former St George’s player Kenny Philip, at the crease and Misheal Paynter, the St George’s captain, bowling from the western end of the ground.

Talbot failed to score off Paynter’s first delivery but managed to scamper through for a single off the next to bring the towering Philip on strike.

Philip could not get Paynter’s third ball away but managed two runs off the next to leave Devonshire requiring two runs from two balls to win.

With the game hanging in the balance Philip drove the penultimate ball of the innings out into the covers for what should have been a single. However, a Jonathan Denbrook misfield allowed the batsmen to cross for the winning run.

In a game that could have gone either way, Denbrook’s misfortune summed up a poor fielding display by St George’s who also dropped two catches.

Talbot, who was dropped earlier in the covers, and Philip carried Devonshire to victory, putting on 17 runs for the fifth wicket in less than two overs.

Earlier Devonshire found themselves in a spot of bother at 44 for three after losing two wickets in the space of one over. Danger man Chris Douglas, who hit a quick-fire 28 off 21 balls, was one of the batsman to fall, after he was caught in the covers by Ryan Steede off Macai Simmons’s first delivery.

However, Ricardo Brangman, the Devonshire captain, and Talbot added 42 runs in ten overs for the fourth wicket, bringing their side within sight of victory.

Brangman, who top scored with 36, was the last wicket to fall in the 18th over, trapped lbw by Paynter.

Having won the toss, Devonshire’s decision to send St George’s in to bat paid early dividends, as the hosts were 76 for five in the 15th over and never really recovered.

St George’s top order batsmen found runs hard to come by up against some tight bowling and fielding.

It wasn’t until Paynter opened his shoulders and accelerated the run rate, hitting Philip for 15 runs in the third over, that St George’s got some momentum in their innings.

Paynter was eventually out in the tenth over, when he was caught by former St George’s player Ajaun Lamb down the ground off the bowling of Philip Thomas, after belting 27 from 22 balls.

Paynter’s dismissal ignited a seismic collapse which saw St George’s lose nine wickets for 31 runs in the space of nine overs.

Talbot, the Devonshire off spinner, was the catalyst for the slide taking a wicket in each of his four overs to finish with four for 19.

He was backed up by Thomas who took two for 20. Jamie Smith, the seamer, was Devonshire’s most economical bowler, taking one for six from four overs, with half of the runs he conceded coming from wides.