FRIENDS PROVIDENT t20, Bristol:
Gloucestershire 153-6 beat Middlesex 149-7 by four runs
Match scorecard

Gloucestershire earned only their third Twenty20 win of 2010 as they hung on to beat Middlesex by four runs in a game that went to the final ball at Bristol.

Hamish Marshall (52no) and Alex Gidman (42) were the chief architects of the home side's 153-6.

But, in their second game since Adam Gilchrist returned home, Middlesex again ended on the losing side.

Dawid Malan hit 44 as they ended up short on 149-7, spinner Richard Dawson putting the brakes on with 2-20.

Former England off spinner Dawson and Kiwi Aaron Redmond played key roles at Nevil Road.

Middlesex looked favourites until Dawson and Redmond bowled eight tight overs of spin in mid-innings.

Middlesex needed 12 off the last over, with Malan still there. But Steve Kirby bowled Malan with the first delivery and then kept the ball full to ensure that there were no boundaries.

David Payne claimed 2-38 on his FP t20 debut, while leg-spinner Redmond's dismissal of Josh Davey was the first wicket since joining Gloucestershire for the remainder of the competition last week.

Earlier, Marshall survived a caught and bowled chance to Tom Smith on 10 before going on to share what turned out to be a matchwinning fourth-wicket stand of 94 with skipper Gidman, who hit two sixes in his 33-ball innings before being caught going for another one at long-on.

Defeat cost Middlesex the chance of joining the clubs on 10 points in the South Division, while the result took Gloucestershire to six points from 10 games and just about kept their hopes of a top-four finish alive.

The two teams are back in action on Monday at Nevil Road (1100 BST) when third plays eighth in a County Championship Division Two clash.

Both teams are back in Twenty20 action next Friday night when Gloucestershire entertain neighbours Glamorgan at Bristol and Middlesex take on South Group leaders Sussex at Hove.

Gloucestershire captain Alex Gidman told BBC Radio Bristol:
"We haven't been able to build partnerships enough during the campaign but now we've proved to ourselves more than anything that, when we get our skills right, we can do pretty well in this competition.

"It's pretty tough to bat here [in Bristol] at the top of the order. The wickets have been a bit two-paced and they've been hard to be aggressive on.

"The spinners bowled very cleverly, bowling the right ball at the right time."

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