The team better known as Flemski - Colin Fleming and Ken Skupski - claimed the doubles point for Great Britain yesterday in the face of a callow team from Lithuania that, just once or twice, looked as if they night conspire to produce the result that would have shaken the British camp to the core.

Awesome at first, then incredibly jittery, then just plain nervous and always reliant on the stronger nerve and experience of Fleming, the Scot, the British pair won 6-0, 6-7, 7-5, 6-3 for a 2-1 lead in this Europe Africa Zone group II tie that leaves their country needing only one of Sunday's reverse singles to avoid a play-off to be relegated to the lowest point in the Davis Cup. A zonal nightmare has surely been avoided. A tie against Ireland in Dublin the week after Wimbledon which could point the way to promotion back to group 1 is on the cards.

Fleming and Skupski have been forging a spirited partnership in the past few months. They have defeated the world No1 pair, Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States; they have collected a couple of ATP tour titles, in Metz and St Petersburg, but, entering this competition, they had been beaten in four successive first-round matches. Clearly, they wanted a decisive start and that they had, crunching through the first set against Laurynas Grigelis and Dovydas Sakinis (18 and 17 years old respectively) in 19 minutes, the Lithuanians proving more of a threat to John Lloyd in his captain's chair, who must have felt like a coconut in a shy as balls cascaded around his head.

Settling back and expecting a one-way match in British tennis is always to ask for trouble and you got the feeling that once - if ever - the teenagers found their range they might prove a handful. That was exactly the way it panned out. Grigelis rose in stature, Sakinis got the hang of the game and having required Fleming to serve two aces to preserve his serve in the sixth game of the second set, then having set points on the Skupski serve in the 12th, the set entered a tie-break. It was plain sailing for the home side, a pummelling 7-2 success.

Who would blink first? Skupski, on his debut in this event at almost 27, looked the more vulnerable. He fluffed volleys, jammed overheads and generally needed the soothing words of Fleming to keep him on the straight and narrow. But it was the young team who surrendered the initiative, Grigelis broken when he served to keep them in the set at 5-6. One break was all that was required in the fourth set, too, with Sakinis the victim in the sixth game. Skupski served it out decisively. About time.

Lloyd said: "What I especially liked about the way they played is that they didn't panic when the Lithuanians went for broke after the first set. We could have won the match 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 and I woluld have known that we had a good team, but not much more than that. The pressure was entirely on them, they kept their heads, they did the job and it was good to see. Fleming is such a solid pro, you want people around in a team like him. He is so keen to do well."

Now comes the final day crunch as it always seems to be when Britain are involved. After his debut singles victory on Friday, James Ward will face Ricardas Berankis, the Lithuanian No.1, giving away 52 ranking places. If Ward wins, the tie is won; if not then Dan Evans, who has lost his three singles in the competition, would meet Girgelis - winner takes all. Are we sitting comfortably?