County Championship: Hampshire beat Gloucestershire to secure Division One place
- Published
Tom Lace reached his fourth first-class century off 214 balls but it proved in vain for Gloucestershire
LV= County Championship Group Two, College Ground, Cheltenham (day four): |
Gloucestershire 229 & 310: Lace 118, Scott 29; Crane 3-55, Wheal 2-59 |
Hampshire 486-7 dec: Gubbins 137* & 56-3: Holland 19, Worrall 3-21 |
Hampshire (22 pts) beat Gloucestershire (2 pts) by seven wickets |
Hampshire pipped Gloucestershire to a place in Division One beating them by seven wickets despite Tom Lace's fighting century for the hosts.
Lace (118) had added 62 with Ryan Higgins (26) and 56 with Jack Taylor (27) to edge his side into a lead.
But Joe Weatherley's part-time spin dismissed him soon after before Gloucestershire were bowled out for 310 after tea with a lead of just 53 runs.
Hampshire chased it with 10 overs to spare despite losing three wickets.
The win ensured they finished second in Group Two behind Somerset, who they will join in Division One for a chance to win the County Championship.
Hampshire will take 8.5 points through to the next stage after a draw and defeat against Somerset in their two earlier meetings this season.
Coming into the match at Cheltenham six points behind Gloucestershire in third, Hampshire knew a win was what they most likely needed to progress to the top tier.
Once they were denied the chance to gain more then three batting bonus points on the third morning, they knew a draw would not be enough.
Gloucestershire resumed the final day on 107-3 in their second innings, still 150 runs shy of making Hampshire bat again.
They made the worst-possible start when Colin de Grandhomme trapped fellow New Zealander Glenn Phillips leg before to the fifth ball of the morning.
But Lace dug in to make his fourth first-class century and looked destined to be the pivotal figure in Gloucestershire's bid to secure a draw. But he offered no shot to a ball from Weatherley that spun back and hit him on the pads when they were just 13 runs ahead.
The hosts still retained a chance going into the final session with three wickets in hand and a lead of 45, but they were all out within 13 balls shortly after the restart.
Dan Worrall did manage to claim the wickets of Weatherley, Ian Holland and Tom Alsop to make it 37-3, but De Grandhomme hit the winning runs to secure Hampshire the win and the chance of a first championship title since 1973.
Gloucestershire's wait for a first four-day crown meanwhile goes on for another season.