The visitors were in disarray at 25-5 after being put in to bat, before an eighth-wicket stand of 95 between Will Hawtin (72) and Lloyd Belcher (43) turned the innings round to take Horspath to 218 all out.
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| Will Hawtin starred with a Home Counties best of 72 |
The hosts needed seven to win off the last over, bowled by the Horspath captain, with two wickets in hand.
Frankie Crouch and Prav Chahal picked up two singles and two twos from the first five balls to tie the scores and leave Downs requiring one for victory off the last ball.
But Horspath kept their nerve and when Crouch hit it to Will Eason at mid-on he returned it to Foster at the bowler's end to run out the Downs batsman, leaving the home side 218-9.
It was an incredible finish to a cracking game, which no-one could have predicted after Horspath had collapsed in spectacular fashion earlier in the day.
Matt Warner did the damage, blowing away the top order with a stunning spell of 4-0 off 4.2 overs as the visitors lost five wickets for seven runs after reaching 18-0.
Tyrone Eyles led the Horspath fightback with a fluent 40 from 36 balls, but when he was caught and bowled by Downs skipper Tom Costley in the over before lunch the situation still looked bleak with the visitors 84-7 at the break.
However, Hawtin and Belcher came to Horspath's rescue after the interval with a terrific partnership. Hawtin was the busier of the two, striking the ball crisply to hit his highest Home Counties score and his first league half-century for Horspath.
He brought up his fifty with a superb sweep shot - his third boundary in the over following a straight four and one through the covers.
When he reached 63 he had passed his previous best league score of 62 for Banbury at Henley in 2016, before his excellent innings finally came to an end when he chipped a delivery from Costley to Tom Cosford at mid-wicket, leaving Horspath 179-8. His runs came off 64 balls and included 14 fours.
Belcher, meanwhile, provided excellent support to also post his highest Home Counties score. Solid in defence, he applied himself well to the situation and with Will Eason, who chipped in with a handy 16, took the visitors past the 200-mark for just the second time this season.
They had moved the score on to 214 when Eason was bowled by Warner, who returned to complete his five-wicket haul, finishing with 5-28 from 13 overs.
Four runs later Belcher was the last man out in the 57th over when he dragged one on from Costley (3-52).
Horspath's rearguard action had given them a chance and their hopes were boosted further after Eason had Freddie Smith caught by Belcher and Foster bowled Will Watts for 25 to leave Downs 44-2.
But the home side still had the upper hand as James Lauder and Cosford brought up the hundred. Foster then struck twice in as many balls by bowling Lauder for 25 before Luke Maslen fell to a good low catch behind the stumps by Hawtin to make it 103-4.
Cosford batted with his usual fluency, hitting four fours and three sixes, before bringing up his half-century with a single off Belcher.
Leg-spinner Josh Richardson, on his Home Counties debut, was to prove his nemesis, though, as the former Horspath batsman's 46-ball knock was cut short when he holed out to Belcher at long on for 50 to make it 133-5.
Ten runs later, the teenager struck again with Kalan Niyarepola caught by Imraan Manack at deep mid-wicket for 19, but Costley and Warner took the score to 192 before Belcher bowled the Downs skipper for 24.
Warner scored freely to make 34, before Foster returned to the attack to have him caught by Richardson at long off and leave Downs 200-8.
Chahal and Crouch took the home side to the brink of victory, before Horspath's spirited fightback was complete as they snatched a draw out of the fire in a thrilling finish with Foster's final over.
The Horspath captain was well supported by his bowlers with Richardson taking 2-16 and a wicket apiece for Eason and Belcher.
Posted by: Russ