An unbroken eighth-wicket stand of 114 between Ed Barnett and Sam Lachlan saved Thame Town from defeat as their Division 2 West derby at Horspath ended in a draw.

Having posted 212-9 after being put in to bat, Horspath looked to be heading for victory after reducing Thame to 59-7 in the 26th over.

But Barnett, who played for Horspath in his youth, sma-shed his maiden Home Counties half-century with an unbeaten 69 and skipper Lachlan, with a patient 42 not out, steered Thame to safety.

Their fightback, following Thame’s dramatic collapse, overshadowed another six-wicket haul for Jaydeep Bhatti in Horspath’s innings.

The Indian left-arm spinner made the breakthrough, bowling Matt O’Connor for 47 after he had put on 81 for the first wicket with skipper Robbie Eason.

With Bhatti working his magic to finish with 6-85 off 25 overs, Horspath’s total fell short of what looked likely at one stage, despite a steady contribution from Adam Krol against his old club.

However, Thame’s hopes of victory were soon in disarray.

Will Eason (3-41) produced an excellent early burst to remove openers Michael Higgs and James Neilson with 22 on the board.

Pratik Patel then edged a Mohson Rana delivery behind to Andy Wynd to make it 23-3.

And when Charlie Beardall, Manoj Parmar and Bhatti all went with the score on 42, Horspath sensed victory.

That prospect looked even stronger when Jeacock (3-21) claimed his third victim with the score on 57.

But the hosts were unable to dislodge Barnett, whose aggressive knock included 11 fours and a six, and Lachlan as they batted to the close without offering a chance.

HORSPATH M O'Connor b Bhatti 47 R Eason st Parmar b Bhatti 30 J Phillips lbw Lachlan 14 N Murray c Desai b Bhatti 5 A Krol st Parmar b Bhatti 30 T Hutchison run out 22 A Wynd c Lachlan b Bhatti 5 J Mohammed c Barnett b Higgs 7 W Eason lbw Bhatti 0 M Rana not out 18 P Jeacock not out 9 Extras 25 Total (9 wkts, 60 ovs) 212 Fall: 1-81, 2-97, 3-108, 4-121, 5-170, 6-178, 7-178, 8-180, 9-202.

Bowling: Rooney 14-3-38-0, Lachlan 14-2-46-1, Bhatti 25-9-85-6, Higgs 7-2-23-1.

THAME TOWN J Neilson lbw W Eason 10 M Higgs b W Eason 2 C Beardall lbw Jeacock 15 P Patel c Wynd b Rana 1 J Bhatti lbw W Eason 6 M Parmar b Jeacock 0 S Lachlan not out 42 S Patel b Jeacock 8 E Barnett not out 69 Extras 20 Total (7 wkts, 50 ovs) 173 Fall: 1-15, 2-22, 3-23, 4-42, 5-42, 6-42, 7-59.

Bowling: W Eason 17-2-41-3, Rana 10-1-31-1, Jeacock 13-2-21-3, Phillips 3-0-24-0, Krol 5-0-14-0, Mohammed 1-0-16-0, Hutchison 1-0-6-0.

l Horspath 13pts, Thame Town 9