Gloucester pull off thrilling win over Northants
Carl Greenidge's four wickets condemned Northamptonshire to a tense four-run defeat in spite of Lance Klusener's fine 111
Cricinfo staff
04-Jun-2007
Gloucestershire pulled off a thrilling four-run win over Northamptonshire on a tense final day at Gloucester, in spite of two fine innings from Lance Klusener and David Sales which had put Northants on the verge of a comfortable victory.
Set a daunting 415 on a final-day pitch, Sales's graft and Klusener's attacking intent added 152 for the fifth wicket to put them on course. Sales fell to the persistent Carl Greenidge - wicketless in the first innings but adding four to his name today - prompting Klusener to open his shoulders. And he did just that, smiting two sixes and nine fours in his 111, but he fell to Vikram Banerjee with Northants needing 11 more to win.
Then came the slide: Niall O'Brien was run out for a run-a-ball 18; Steven Crook was bowled by Greenidge and Monty Panesar skied the same bowler, appropriately enough, to Alex Gidman - Gloucestershire's hero yesterday - at short extra cover, handing the home side a nerve-racking win when all seemed lost.
| Team | Mat | Won | Lost | Tied | Draw | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nottinghamshire | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 103.5 |
| Middlesex | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 78.5 |
| Somerset | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 78 |
| Essex | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 68 |
| Northamptonshire | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 60 |
| Derbyshire | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 54 |
| Gloucestershire | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 50 |
| Leicestershire | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 45 |
| Glamorgan | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 20 |