Wickets shared in second Championship win at Cheltenham
18 July 2015
For the first time since 1998, it's a tale of two Championship wins for Gloucestershire at the Cheltenham Festival after they completed a 155 run victory over Leicestershire shortly before tea on the final day of the match at the College Ground.
The visitors began the day at 11-0, but only fleetingly threatened to either chase down the victory target of 325 or indeed bat 96 overs to secure a draw. In the end, it was Liam Norwell who took the final wicket of Clint McKay to wrap up 20 Championship points.
Listen to head coach Richard Dawson's thoughts on the day here :
The last Championship day at the 2015 festival was played in glorious conditions, and it was Craig Miles who gave Gloucestershire the ideal start as they chased the ten wickets they needed for victory.
In only his second over Miles sent Robson's off stump cartwheeling out of the ground, and then saw Eckersley edge his first delivery to Michael Klinger at slip. Cosgrove survived the hat trick ball but Leicestershire were 20-2, and their victory target of 325 already looked a long way away.
Any chance Leicestershire might have had hinged with their two left handers, and for an hour Boyce and Cosgrove dealt almost exclusively in boundaries. They gave little away despite a series of bowling changes until Kieran Noema-Barnett trapped Boyce lbw for 22.
His slow trudge towards the pavilion suggested he thought there was a nick, and when Benny Howell removed Cosgrove - also lbw - in the next over, the door towards back to back Championship wins looked to be well and truly open.
James Fuller has begun the morning from the College Lawn end, but a switch to the Chapel end brought a fifth wicket ten minutes before lunch as Greg Smith was caught by Chris Dent at second slip for 4.
It left Leicestershire 77-5, and a run of defeats clearly looked to have sapped any confidence they might have had to bat time on a slow pitch.
As had been the case throughout the match, mastering the wicket required patience and plenty of it, but only Ali and Raine broke a procession of wickets with a stand of 54, coming together after substitute fielder Miles Hammond plucked out a fine catch off Fuller at gully to send back wicket keeper Hill for 10.
Their efforts gave the Leicestershire score some respectability until Ali drove a ball back at bowler Jack Taylor, who deflected it onto the stumps to run out Raine for 21. The off spinner then also had the chance to finish the match with a hat trick, taking some brief punishment from Ali before he holed out to Fuller at mid off for 41, and then having Niak caught at leg slip for 0, again Miles Hammond proving a safe pair of hands.
Charlie Shreck did enough to prevent a tenth duck of the season, but the end was imminent and it was the Gareth Roderick/Liam Norwell combination that accounted for McKay to leave Leicestershire 169 all out and push Gloucestershire up to fifth in the Division 2 table.
