Gloucestershire Crush Northamptonshire by 256 Runs

Gloucestershire's bowlers, led by Marchant de Lange's three wickets, secured a resounding 256-run victory over Northamptonshire in the Vitality County Championship at Wantage Road.

Resuming on 144 for 2, Northamptonshire needed 414 runs to win or bat out the day for a draw. Karun Nair and George Bartlett initially frustrated Gloucestershire with an 83-run stand, but the introduction of the second new ball proved decisive.

Josh Shaw and de Lange removed both set batters, with de Lange bowling Nair for 61 and Bartlett for 74. Ajeet Singh Dale then mopped up the tail, taking three wickets as Northamptonshire's final five wickets fell for just 35 runs.

Northamptonshire had started the day brightly, adding 81 runs in the morning session. However, Shaw dismissed George Scrimshaw and Tom Price caught Luke Procter to leave the visitors on 225 for 4.

Bartlett and Nair played some fluent strokes before lunch, but Gloucestershire's decision to take the new ball paid dividends. Shaw broke the partnership by dismissing Bartlett, and de Lange then removed Nair and Saif Zaib in quick succession.

Liam Patterson-White and Siddharth Kaul offered some resistance, but Singh Dale and Zafar Gohar wrapped up the innings, with Bracey taking four catches behind the stumps.

Gloucestershire's victory ended a run of seven matches without a win in the County Championship. It was their first victory since September 2022 and moved them up to fifth in Division Two.

Tags: #Cricket, #VitalityCountyChampionship, #Gloucestershire, #Northamptonshire, #MarchantdeLange