St David’s held their nerve when it mattered to edge St George’s by seven runs in a thrilling T20 Premier Division KO Cup semi-final that went to the wire at Lord’s on Sunday.

The home side appeared to be in control in the East End derby with St George’s 119 for nine with nine balls remaining and all of their recognised batters back in the pavilion.

However, the pendulum swung back in St George’s favour when last man Anandu Anil (12) got an inside edge to an Isaiah O’Brien delivery that raced to the vacant long leg boundary for four and then slashed the bowler’s next delivery over the deep cover boundary for six to revive his team’s hopes.

The game remained in the balance heading into the final over, with St George’s requiring nine runs for victory and St David’s moving in for the kill but the pressure intensified on the batting side when Anil failed to score off of Chare Simons’ first delivery.

The tailender connected with the second and after crossing for a single he took on the arm of St David’s all-rounder Justin Pitcher in search of another, but he was run out to allow St David’s to clinch a spot in the final.

St David’s captain Derrick Brangman was happy to see his team come through with the game on the line.

“To me the batsmen always have the upper hand because all you have to do is hit the ball to the boundary,” he told The Royal Gazette.

“But the guys bowled well and it’s nice to have Chare back for the summer, so that’s a big plus for us. It feels good to get into another final and I am proud of the boys. It was a good fight and we pulled it off.”

Brangman is now looking forward to facing T20 Premier Division champions Southampton Rangers in the final.

“We were looking to go through to the final and give Southampton Rangers a run for their money,” he said.

Leading by example, the experienced all-rounder ignited a top-order collapse with his left-arm spin as St George’s lost five wickets for 28 runs in the space of four overs during their chase.

Brangman brought himself into the attack at the start of the sixth over and promptly removed opener Nzari Paynter (8) and incoming batter Zachary Edmund (0) in the space of two deliveries.

He then added the scalps of Jahquil Hill (0) and St George’s counterpart Sinclair Smith (1) in successive deliveries in his third over. That left Brangman on a hat-trick, but that eluded him after Zeko Burgess (3) scored a single off the next ball.

He eventually got his man after bowling Burgess in his final over to finish with season-best figures of five for 22.

“That was the key and why I bowled right through because I felt if I got Zeko we would build pressure and that was a big hit,” Brangman said.

Another major turning point in the St George’s innings was the run out of opening batter Jonté Smith (37), who was well set and in punishing form as he put the St David’s attack to the sword with some powerful blows through the covers off the back foot.

St George’s were still in the hunt at 103 for six with five overs remaining before Pitcher, Simons and O’Brien picked up wickets in successive overs to set up a nail-biting finish.

Keegan Jones (29) and Zakari Seymour (17) were the remaining St George’s batters in double figures.

Earlier, St David’s posted 138 for eight after being sent into bat on a good track.

They suffered an early setback in the first over of their innings when opener Pitcher was struck in the head by a Burgess delivery and having to retire

He eventually returned to the crease in the fifteenth over with his head heavily bandaged and scored nine runs before holing out to Hill in the deep to leave St David’s 118 for four with 3.2 overs remaining.

The hosts found runs hard to come by and relied heavily upon a 53 -run third-wicket partnership between opener Dean Simons (39) and wicketkeeper Ricardo Brangman (34) that laid the foundation for their eventual total.

Brangman was dropped early in his innings by Hill in the deep, which ultimately proved costly for St George’s as he went on to smash four sixes and a four that powered St David’s to a total beyond the away side’s reach.

Simons, who also added 41 runs for the first wicket with O’Brien (15), was happy to have played a key role in the win for St David’s with his best knock of the season to date.

“I feel very blessed to come out and put my best foot forward,” he said. “It feels good.”

Captain Brangman (13) and Makai Young (13 not out) were the remaining St David’s batters in double figures. Fourth change Jones (two for 13) and new ball bowler Burgess (two for 28) were the pick of the St George’s bowling.