Middlesex’s faint hopes for play-off place boosted by five-wicket victory

ZAFAR Gohar and Ben Charlesworth were the star turns as Gloucestershire beat highflying Middlesex by five wickets in the Royal London Cup at Radlett on Sunday, to keep their faint hopes of a play-off place alive.

Gohar produced a spinning masterclass with four for 38, supported by two for 42 from Ajeet Singh-Dale as Middlesex were restricted to 256-9, despite 81 for Pieter Malan and another half century for Sam Robson.

Charlesworth ensured the chase was never overly taxing with a finely constructed 97, sharing a second-wicket stand of 141 with Marcus Harris (57) as the visitors eased home with 17 balls to spare. The pitch was the same one Middlesex had scored 374 on in beating Warwickshire, but the used surface under cloudy skies proved a different beast from 48 hours earlier.

Gloucestershire dropped an early clanger when Tom Price reprieved Stephen Eskinazi, spilling a sharp chance from the second ball of the match.

His head in hands gesture suggested he feared the worst having given the highest scorer in the competition a life, but Gohar, given the new ball, induced the opener to mishit to cover in the following over.

The Pakistani international soon snared another with a peach which took Mark Stoneman’s inside edge to give James Bracey a simple catch.

At 19-2 the hosts were up against it and there were fears for Pieter Malan when he was struck on the hand by Paul Van Meekeren, but the South African carried on after treatment.

The re-entrenchment was a slow process, 12 overs passing without a boundary and Sam Robson going more than 40 balls before finding the fence.

Malan reached 50 from 71 balls with his sixth four, finding the boundary again with the next ball to raise the hundred partnership.

The stand reached 125, but just as the Middlesex pair pressed the go button Gohar remove them both, pinning

Robson lbw for a stoic 59 before having Malan caught at mid-wicket from the worst ball he bowled.

Thereafter it was a story of cameos, most notably from Martin Andersson whose unbeaten 31 took them just beyond 250.

Chasing a below-par target, Gloucestershire were dealt an early blow when Toby Greatwood bowled Ben Wells with a beauty which hit the top of off-stump.

It would prove Middlesex’s last hurrah for some time, Charlesworth making up for dropping a howler in the field with two towering sixes as he raced to a run-a-ball 50.

Marcus Harris proved a good foil as the stand passed 100 and the Australian reached his own 50 with his first maximum as the chase gathered pace. By the time Luke Hollman broke the stand when Harris skied one to Eskinazi the visitors needed just over 100 to win.

Hollman was in the action again with a blinding catch to remove the dangerous Bracey cheaply from a Robson full toss.

Ollie Price too came and went caught behind off Max Harris, and when Charlesworth fell three short of a century there was just the hint of a wobble.

However, Taylor quelled nerves, lofting Robson for a huge six in making an unbeaten 48 as the visitors eased home.