Tom Ley played key bowling and batting roles as Sparsholt pulled off an important two-wicket win from a Southern Premier League Division 3 'six pointer' at Bath Lane.
They needed to beat one of their fellow strugglers and pull away from the lower echelons of the table but, after collapsing from 63-1 (Jon Merlino 38) to 104-8, their prospects of overhauling Fareham & Crofton's modest 154 appeared slim.
But an unbroken half-century ninth-wicket stand between Ley (32 not out) and Will Robbins turned the tide towards a Sparsholt victory.
Leg spinner Craig Jeffery (4-39) and Dan Reader (3-35) did the damage for Fareham, who had earlier made a faltering start after a double Ley (3-33) breakthrough.
Morgan Frost (35) and Reader (28) rallied before each fell to the spin of Callum Doran (3-8). The win lifted Sparsholt into mid-table and left Fareham in a precarious position second from bottom.
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