Friday 20 May 2016 15:40, UK
Graeme van Buuren and Jack Taylor sparked a remarkable collapse as Gloucestershire claimed an unlikely 125-run victory over Glamorgan on a thrilling final day of the Specsavers County Championship Division Two match at Bristol.
Chasing 269 to win in 76 overs, the visitors eased to 87 without loss, only to then lose all 10 wickets for just 56 more runs.
Three fell to the left-arm spin of Van Buuren on the South African's debut, as he removed the top three Glamorgan batsmen.
Mark Wallace was bowled for 50, Jacques Rudolph edged to Hamish Marshall at slip on 36 and Will Bragg picked out Taylor at mid-on for five as he ended with 3-15.
Craig Miles took 3-55 and Taylor picked up 4-16 as Glamorgan's troubles continued with Miles removing the middle-order and off-spinner Taylor took two wickets in his first over and two more after tea to bring an end to a dramatic contest.
Gloucestershire took 21 points, while Glamorgan claimed six after a batting collapse that rendered their competitive efforts of the first three days an irrelevance.
Elsewhere in Division Two, Sussex secured a draw with Worcestershire at New Road, a fifth stalemate in a row for two teams who have yet to taste victory in the County Championship this season.
Ross Taylor (62), Matt Machan with 66 in 70 balls and Harry Finch with a championship-best 57 all made half-centuries as they overcame a deficit of 213 and opened up a 198-run advantage when the game ended with their total on 411-9.
Resuming at 137-3 and still 76 runs in arrears, the visitors restricted Worcestershire to two wickets in the morning session and two in the afternoon.
Taylor put on 52 with nightwatchman Lewis Hatchett and 48 with Machan, who then added 55 with Finch before he was out for a quick-fire 66 from 70 balls.
Machan's pull for six off Matt Henry before lunch wiped out the arrears and they were approaching a secure position when Finch and Ben Brown (29) added 60 in 15 overs before tea.
Finch eventually went caught and bowled by Worcestershire skipper Daryl Mitchell, with Matt Henry (4-122) claiming the wickets of Brown and Steve Magoffin.
Sussex held firm though and the game ended all-square.
In Chelmsford, Hamish Rutherford batted himself back into form with 68 as Derbyshire ground out a draw on a severely rain-affected fourth day against Essex.
The New Zealand batsman had managed just one score above 50 in his previous eight County Championship innings this summer but he added a 92-ball half-century to the 49 he notched up in the first innings.
That proved enough to keep Division Two leaders Essex at bay and the match petered out into a draw.
It was a disappointing end for the home side after they amassed 538 when Derbyshire exercised their option to bowl first.
Essex required nine wickets at the start of the day to claim a third Championship win, but managed just three in the day's 24 overs.
In the other second-tier match being played, Northamptonshire's match with Kent lasted just another 11 overs on Wednesday before rain and bad light ensured it too would end in a draw.
Heavy morning rain at the Wantage Road on the final day cleared up to allow play to start at 2.40pm but bad light brought an early tea and the wet weather meant no further play was possible in the final session.
There was enough time for Daniel Bell-Drummond (69 not out) to move to his first 50 of the season, to go with one century and a double ton against Loughborough MCCU in pre-season.
Kent lost Joe Denly, a first-innings unbeaten double-centurion, to a fine catch by Olly Stone running around the long-on fence to give Rob Keogh a wicket.
The visitors closed on 131-2 in their second innings, a lead of 27.
