• County Cricket round-up

Gidman pivotal to Gloucestershire win

Alex Gidman excelled with bat and ball © Getty Images

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Captain Alex Gidman led from the front as Gloucestershire moved into second place in Clydesdale Bank 40 Group A with a four-wicket win over Worcestershire at Cheltenham.

First Gidman claimed three for 20 from eight overs after winning the toss to help restrict the visitors to a modest 144 for seven, Phil Hughes top-scoring with an unbeaten 64.

Then after Gloucestershire had plunged from 51 without loss to 81 for five in reply, Gidman steadied the ship with an unbeaten 33, sharing a key sixth-wicket stand of 47 with Ed Young (28) as his side won with 12.5 overs to spare.

Spinners Moeen Ali (three for 33) and Brett D'Oliveira (two for 35) had threatened to bowl Worcestershire back into the game, Moeen grabbing three wickets in his first three overs from the Chapel End to remove Benny Howell, Dan Housego and Ed Cowan.

But Cowan (29) and Hamish Marshall (26) had given the hosts a brisk start chasing down their modest target and Young's confident 22-ball innings, which included the only six of the game off Moeen, helped Gidman see Gloucestershire home.

The Group B match between Nottinghamshire and Hampshire saw the Outlaws win by six wickets to keep their hopes of a semi-final place alive. James Vince's unbeaten 102 was not enough for Hampshire as they posted a total of 230-7, which was reached with 17 balls to spare as Alex Hales (70) and James Taylor (74) contributed crucial knocks for Nottinghamshire.

In the LV= County Championship, Marcus North, Jim Allenby and Mark Wallace all struck half-centuries as Glamorgan claimed their first Division Two win of the season with a thrilling three-wicket victory over Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.

Northants declared shortly after the restart on 350 for five, leaving David Sales unbeaten on 138 from 285 balls, before both teams forfeited an innings, giving Glamorgan a winning target of 351 from 90 overs.

Australia international North paved the way with 73 from 126 deliveries, but it was a brilliant partnership between Allenby and captain and wicketkeeper Wallace that did the damage. The sixth-wicket pair put on 114, with Allenby striking an unbeaten 67 and Wallace 54 as the visitors made their target with five balls of the match to spare.

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