http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Leicestershire-c807 v Gloucestershire - County Championship Division Two - Day 4 – Live Score and Update
Gloucestershire 234 & 296 v Leicestershire 295 & 237/8 (58.3 ov) - Leicestershire won by 2 wickets
Requiring 236 runs to win the game with half of the day remaining, Leicestershire won the four-day match in by two wickets against Gloucestershire, reaching the target in 58.3 overs on Friday, September 14, at Grace Road, Leicester.
The day began with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Gloucestershire-c785’s JN Batty (16) and LC Norwell (0) resuming the second innings from the overnight tally of 254 for nine.
Being the last pair in the centre, the plan was to stay out there for as long as possible in order to end up giving the opposition a big target.
The duo batted well for their standards, as they managed to post 296 before Norwell had his stumps shattered all over the place by Hoggard on a score of seven.
From Leicestershire, WA White was the ace bowler for securing four wickets, backed by CW Henderson and MJ Hoggard, who shared three wickets each.
With a winnable total ahead, Leicestershire needed to bat with patience and retain wickets in order to comfortably reach the target.
Openers GP http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Smith-c90598 and MA Thornely forged a stand of 45 runs with both batsmen smacking fine shots all around the park.
The batsmen knew that to win the game they needed to take it like a one-day fixture.
Finally, Smith departed after bolstering 26 runs off 35 deliveries, making way for wicketkeeper/batsman EJH Eckersley.
Leicestershire took the score to 81 in the second-wicket partnership before MA Thornely was clean-bowled by Fuller after jabbing 36 runs with the bat.
MAG Boyce was then trapped in front of stumps with the batsman on nine runs. At the time of this wicket, Leicestershire were standing on a total of 106.
While the batting side needed to keep wickets in hand, it was imperative for the fielding team to halt the flow of runs and retain pressure on the batsmen.
Eckersley and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Jon-Lewis-c1726 Cobb then smashed a match-winning partnership by taking the score to 205 with Cobb hammering 65 off 51 and Eckersley belting an innings of 63. However, the ill-timed departure of the batsmen gave Leicestershire a sweat with Gloucestershire showing signs of resurgence.
Nonetheless, the side reached the target for the loss of eight wickets, giving fans an exciting finish to the four-day match.
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