Kimber’s all-round show puts skids under county’s win hopes
LOUIS Kimber produced a superb all-round performance to guide in-form Leicestershire to a crucial four-wicket win over Gloucestershire in the Royal London Cup.
Leicestershire won the toss and Kimber claimed career-best figures of 4-61 as Gloucestershire were restricted to 262-9 in their 50 overs, Marcus Harris and Jack Taylor scoring 58 and 50 respectively.
He then played a starring role with the bat to post 68 from 70 balls and lay the foundations for a successful run chase.
Foxes skipper Lewis Hill and Wiaan Mulder took centre stage thereafter, both contributing half centuries and staging an alliance of 90 for the fifth wicket as Leicestershire reached their target with four overs in hand.
Zafar Gohar proved the pick of Gloucestershire’s bowlers, taking 3-64 from 10 overs.
Gloucestershire needed to take early wickets and Zafar accounted for openers Nick Welsh and Rishi Patel, both caught by Oli Price at slip in the act of pushing forward as the Foxes slipped to 20-2 inside seven overs.
Worse followed for the visitors, Kimber refusing a single and sending back Arron Lilley, who was brilliantly run out for 19 by Ben Charlesworth’s direct hit from mid-off with the score on 63.
But Kimber raised a 47-ball 50 to keep the chase on track. He dominated a partnership of 63 with Hill for the fourth wicket and was threatening to take the contest by the scruff of the neck when he hoisted slow left armer Tom Smith to long-off in the 24th over to afford Gloucestershire muchneeded respite.
Hill now assumed responsibility as he went to 50 via 53 deliveries and by the time he departed, caught at short fine leg off Zafar, Leicestershire were virtually home and dry.
Earlier, Charlesworth contributed a useful 31 from 47 balls in a stand of 73 in 13.5 overs for the second wicket with Harris, who raised a 47-ball 50.
Kimber entered the attack with the score on 82-1 in the 18th over, bowling Charlesworth with his first ball from the Ashley Down Road End. He then bowled James Bracey for four and had Australian Harris stumped for 58 as Gloucestershire subsided to 106-4.
Oli Price and Taylor then put on 75 in 17.1 overs, Taylor surviving a scare on 31, driving Kimber to the long-on boundary where a back-pedalling Chris Wright succeeded only in helping the ball over the rope.
Gloucestershire’s captain made good his escape, scoring a run-a-ball 50, before driving uppishly at Wright and holing out to extra cover.
Hendricks had Price held at cover point for 37 and, when Zafar was caught and bowled by Kimber for 11, the home side were 199-7 and in danger of falling short.
That was the cue for Tom Price to launch a rescue mission, hitting seven fours and a six in making a valuable 45 from 29 balls in an eighth wicket stand of 50 with Smith, which hauled Gloucestershire to respectability.