COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION TWO, Grace Road:
Leicestershire 295 & 351-4 dec beat Glos 159 & 158 by 329 runs
Leicestershire 21 pts, Gloucestershire 3 pts
Match scorecard
Leicestershire kept their outside promotion hopes alive and ended Gloucestershire's chances of going up with a 329-run win at Grace Road. The visitors started the day already in trouble on 78-5, chasing 488 to win, and soon lost skipper Alex Gidman (29). Ed Young (33) and James Franklin (31) briefly offered hope of saving the game in a seventh-wicket stand of 63. But Gloucestershire were bowled out for 158, Claude Henderson, Nathan Buck and Jigar Naik taking three wickets each. Leicestershire's 21 points for victory still gives them a sniff of catching Glamorgan for the second promotion spot. But that depends on Glamorgan not beating Surrey at The Oval - and also flopping at home to bottom club Derbyshire next week.  | 606: DEBATE |
Leicestershire claimed the five wickets they needed for victory in 46 overs, spinners Henderson and Naik taking four of them. But it was 19-year-old seamer Buck who sealed victory, having last man Anthony Ireland caught at slip 40 minutes before tea to finish with match figures of 6-72,. The biggest worry for Leicestershire was the unsettled weather. Early morning rain delayed the start by 45 minutes before the home side got off to the perfect start when Gidman, having added only one run to his overnight 28, dragged the ball back into his stumps trying to cut a delivery from Henderson. Another shower sent the players off again after an hour's play for an early lunch before a further brief interruption at the start of the afternoon session. By then, Franklin and Young had got stuck in, showing plenty of application to keep the home attack at bay for 28 overs. But Franklin's departure, caught bat and pad off 38-year-old left-arm spinner Henderson, signalled the end for Gloucestershire, who then lost their last four wickets for just seven runs.
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