Gloucestershire Snatches Tense Victory

Tom Price and Zafar Gohar held their nerve to guide Gloucestershire to a dramatic four-wicket victory over Middlesex at Lord's, severely denting the home side’s County Championship promotion ambitions.

Gloucestershire appeared to be coasting toward their target of 234, thanks to half-centuries from Miles Hammond and James Bracey, who shared a crucial 113-run partnership for the fourth wicket. However, Middlesex clawed back into contention after a flurry of wickets from off-spinner Josh de Caires, who claimed three scalps in the span of just nine balls. 

With the game on a knife-edge, Price and Zafar calmly stitched together an unbeaten 54-run stand for the seventh wicket, taking Gloucestershire across the finish line. This was Gloucestershire’s second consecutive red-ball win at Lord's, lifting them to fifth in Division Two, while Middlesex slipped to third, now trailing second-placed Yorkshire by 15 points.

Middlesex initially applied pressure early in the chase, with Toby Roland-Jones opening with a maiden and Ryan Higgins striking in his fourth ball, trapping Ben Charlesworth lbw for a duck. Soon after, Higgins sent Cameron Bancroft back for 15 with another lbw dismissal, leaving Gloucestershire struggling at the start.

Hammond, however, steadied the innings, contributing a valuable 41 alongside Ollie Price, who was eventually dismissed for 17 by Tom Helm, caught low at first slip. Gloucestershire reached lunch at 101-3, with Hammond and Bracey leading the recovery.

Hammond was the first to reach his half-century, driving Higgins through the covers for four, while Bracey soon followed. The pair brought up their 100-run partnership, but Hammond’s innings came to an end at 78 when he mistimed a sweep off de Caires and skied it to mid-on. Two balls later, Graeme van Buuren departed for a duck, and Bracey, after a well-played 56, was caught at deep midwicket, suddenly leaving Gloucestershire six wickets down.

De Caires (3-45) kept testing the batters with his spin, but Tom Price relieved the tension by driving Roland-Jones for a boundary to take Gloucestershire past 200. Along with Zafar, who had top-scored with 86 in the first innings, they calmly guided their side towards the victory.

Zafar, finishing unbeaten on 19, sealed the win by hitting a de Caires full toss to the boundary, while Price remained on 34 as Gloucestershire moved to fifth place with the victory.