Weekend cricket previews
RIVERSIDE MEN SLIP TO 41-RUN DEFEAT AT GLOUCESTERSHIRE LEAPFROG THEM IN TABLE
Matt Taylor led the way with four wickets as Gloucestershire recorded their second Specsavers County Championship Division Two win of the season, beating Durham by 41 runs at Cheltenham.
The left-arm seamer finished with 4-31 from 16 overs to help bowl out the visitors for 298, chasing a victory target of 340.
Openers Cameron Steel (62) and Tom Latham (45) gave Durham a promising start, but they wilted against Taylor, Craig Miles (3-76) and Ryan Higgins (3-44) as Mark Wood’s unbeaten 61 proved in vain.
Gloucestershire took 23 points from their first Championship win since the opening round, while the visitors had to be content with five after four days of competitive cricket.
Durham began the day on 35-0 and enjoyed the better of the morning session.
Latham and Steel took their opening stand to 94 against some accurate Gloucestershire bowling before Latham fenced at a ball from Taylor and edged through to Gareth Roderick.
When Steel perished in the second over after lunch, lbw to Miles falling across his stumps, it signalled a transformation in fortunes.
Taylor and Higgins settled in to bowl probing spells, tying the batsmen down and making vital breakthroughs.
Higgins removed Graham Clark (30) and Will Smith (32) during a six-over spell that brought him 2-23, Clark falling to a fine full-length diving catch by Roderick and Smith pinned lbw.
Taylor was equally impressive and claimed the key wicket of England star Ben Stokes, who had begun positively, but was bowled on the back foot for just nine.
The same fate befell Stuart Poynter, on eight, and at 201-6, Durham still required a further 139.
They were given renewed hope by Wood and Michael Richardson, who took the score to 226-6 at tea and continued to bat solidly in the final session.
Wood was dropped on 18 by Miles Hammond at cover off Kieran Noema-Barnett and responded by hitting four fours in an over from Miles just before the second new ball. Richardson had helped add 59 when he fell lbw for 26 looking to work Miles through the leg side.
Soon it was 267-8 as Matt Salisbury was bowled on the back foot by Miles for one.
The hosts had their tails up, but, with Wood, Durham had a chance. He began to run out of partners when George Harding chipped a tame catch to mid-wicket off Taylor for seven.
Wood, able to bowl only six overs in the match because of a sore heel, moved to a defiant half-century off 74 balls, with nine fours.
But when Chris Rushworth was caught behind to give Higgins his third wicket, Gloucestershire secured victory with 11 overs to spare.
Durham’s fourth defeat dropped them to thirdbottom spot. They must wait until August 19, and a trip to Cardiff to face Glamorgan, to return to red-ball action.
Next up, Jon Lewis’s side host Nottinghamshire Outlaws at the Emirates Riverside in the Vitality T20 Blast on Sunday (2.30pm).