County Championship: Gloucestershire wrap up win over Middlesex

Gloucestershire left-arm seamer Matt Taylor ended the match with career-best figures of 9-59

Gloucestershire boosted their hopes of reaching Division One after taking six wickets in the evening session to beat Middlesex by 164 runs on the final day.

The visitors appeared to be heading for a draw at Cheltenham as Stevie Eskinazi and Daryl Mitchell extended their fourth-wicket partnership to 145.

But, after Eskinazi went for 102, four wickets in 10 balls from Matt Taylor (5-40) sent them from 241-4 to 241-8.

Daniel Worrall (5-54) took the final two wickets to seal a crucial win.

Gloucestershire move into second place in Group Two, six points above fellow challengers Hampshire.

The two counties will meet in the final group game which starts on Sunday, also at Cheltenham College, with the top two in the table reaching Division One.

Taylor and Worrall turn tide in evening

Middlesex resumed the final day on 97-3, chasing 420 to win, and Gloucestershire's bowlers struggled to find a breakthrough in the morning despite taking the second new ball.

Eskinazi and Mitchell steered the north Londoners on to 155-3 at lunch - but the breakthrough came before tea when Eskinazi turned a Worrall delivery to Ollie Price at leg gully.

And the departure of Mitchell, trapped lbw by Taylor for 73, precipitated a lower-order collapse.

Martin Andersson immediately departed for a first-ball duck and Nathan Sowter and Blake Cullen were sent back to the pavilion in Taylor's next over - having also failed to get off the mark.

And when Tom Lace caught Ethan Bamber at forward short leg off Worrell for three, Robbie White and Tim Murtagh were left with 27 overs to survive to salvage a draw.

But their final-wicket stand was over nine balls later when Jack Taylor took a brilliant catch at deep square leg to dismiss White.

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