Essex v Gloucestershire result: Essex win by 10 wickets
13 April 2016
Essex entered the final day of the Specsavers County Championship match against Gloucestershire just 59 short of the 93 runs target.
Alastair Cook and Nick Browne suffered a few anxious moments before the match concluded. Browne was taken at slip by Chris Dent when he pushed forward against off-spinner Jack Taylor, the batsman stood his ground and when umpires Jeff Evans and Michael Gough conferred, they deemed the ball had touched the ground first.
Browne then square drove the spinner to the boundary and then took three fours in one over from paceman Tom Hampton before completing his half-century with three runs through extra-cover off the same bowler.
It arrived from 66 deliveries and contained 8 fours.
Cook survived when uncharacteristically, he moved forward and had a wild swing against Taylor but that was his only indiscretion.
The England captain gathered runs by working the ball off his legs, and also found the cover boundary with a stroke at the expense of Hampton.
The bowler then gave way to Kieran Noema-Barnett who was soon pulled through mid-wicket by Cook and then dealt out similar punishment against Taylor.
But it was Browne who sealed victory with a straight-drive four against Noema-Barnett to finish with 55 to his name.
Cook ended with 35 to go with his first innings effort of 105 as Essex collected 23 points from their victory to Gloucestershire’s four.
