Gloucestershire stroll to victory

Gloucestershire 376 and 15 for 1 beat Leicestershire 102 and 285 by nine wickets
Scorecard

Gloucestershire needed just half an hour of the final day to wrap up a nine-wicket victory over Leicestershire at Bristol.

The visitors' last-wicket pair of Jacques Du Toit and Matthew Hoggard, whose defiance the previous evening had prolonged the game, were parted with the 12th delivery of the morning, bowled by Anthony Ireland. Hoggard fended at the short ball and wicketkeeper Jonathan Batty took a good low catch diving to his right. Leicestershire were bowled out for 285, having added only three to their overnight total.

That left Gloucestershire needing just 12 runs to win. They lost Will Porterfield, lbw on the back foot to give 39-year-old Paul Nixon his maiden first-class wicket in his 22nd season as a player, but reached their target in the fifth over.

Hoggard gave the new ball to the unlikely partnership of Nixon and Du Toit, both bowling medium pace. After the former's unexpected strike, which caused major celebrations among his colleagues, Matt Boyce replaced Du Toit and the winning runs were a boundary to fine leg by Chris Dent off Nixon.

Gloucestershire took 23 points from their third successive Championship victory, while Leicestershire had to be content with three. Ireland finished with 4 for 85 in the Leicestershire innings and match figures of 7 for 106. It was a fine effort by the Zimbabwean, called into the side to replace the rested Steve Kirby.

There were two wickets each for James Franklin and Jon Lewis, while Gemaal Hussain's single victim took his tally for the season to 30 in Championship cricket. Du Toit was left unbeaten on 33, having defied the home side for 140 balls and batted for just under three hours.

Despite the early finish, it was Gloucestershire's longest Championship game of the season. Three of the previous four had ended in three days, while their victory over Middlesex at Lord's was completed 24 minutes into the final day.