First Championship win in Bristol sealed by Charlesworth
1 September 2018
17 year old Ben Charlesworth ended Leicestershire's resistance at the Brightside Ground to close out Gloucestershire's first Championship win of the season in Bristol shortly before lunch on the final day.
The teenager had bowled just three overs in the defeat at Edgbaston last week, and here he took a wicket with his first delivery at Mohammad Abbas backed away and got an outside edge to keeper Roderick playing an ugly slog down the ground.
WICKET/WIN : Ben Charlesworth seals the win with his 1st ball, Mohammad Abbas is ct behind. Leics 165 all out, @Gloscricket win by 328 runs pic.twitter.com/QhDs1mgtCS
— Gloucestershire CCC (@Gloscricket) 1 September 2018
Gloucestershire began the day needing four wickets for victory, and after overnight pair Mark rove and Callum Parkinson were split, the game was over inside an hour with Gloucestershire wrapping up victory by 328 runs. The result lifts them to sixth in the Division 2 table.
Watch head coach Richard Dawson's post match thoughts here:
MATCH REACTION : Head coach Richard Dawson reflects on the win by 328 runs over @leicsccc which lifts @Gloscricket to 6th in the table pic.twitter.com/kOHgGiFUVB
— Gloucestershire CCC (@Gloscricket) 1 September 2018
The groundwork for this victory had been laid over the previous two days, with Gloucestershire's position looking stronger with every session.
Having set Leicestershire 494 to win, the bowlers had taken six of the wickets they needed on Friday afternoon and Mark Cosgrove represented the only front line batsman left in Leicestershire's locker. How long play lasted looked to hinge on his dismissal.
Craig Miles and David Payne both bowled throughout the first hour but without success despite one or two deliveries keeping low from the Pavilion end. Cosgrove, who began the day 42 not out, reached his half century with a mistimed hook off Payne as Leicestershire added 24 runs before a double bowling change triggered an acceleration of events.
Matt Taylor trapped Callum Parkinson lbw for 17 and Ryan Higgins, who had taken 4-26 in the first innings, then removed the largest obstacle to any thoughts of Leicestershire batting beyond lunch as Cosgrove flicked at a ball going down the leg side and was caught behind.
The victory might have been tied up even earlier had Chris Dent held onto an edge by Klein off Taylor at second slip, but it mattered little as Higgins finished with another four wicket haul thanks to James Bracey's excellent one handed catch which accounted for Griffiths.
It was then left to Charlesworth, who still has a year to go at St Edward's School in Oxford, to bowl a ball he'll remember for a very long time.
