Norwell hauls Gloucs off the bottom

Liam Norwell claimed five wickets as Gloucestershire moved off the bottom of the County Championship table with a 207-run victory inside three days against Northamptonshire at Bristol.

Norwell followed up his 3 for 23 in the first innings with 5for 51 in a Northamptonshire second-innings total of 224 that featured half-centuries from David Sales and Andrew Hall. The visitors were set an unlikely target of 432 after bowling Gloucestershire out for 311 in the morning session from an overnight 286 for 6. Will Gidman failed to add to his 52 as Hall finished with 5 for 50.

Gloucestershire took 20 points from their third Championship win of the season and have one game left to further improve their position, while Northamptonshire had to settle for three in their final fixture.

The pitch had aided the seamers all through the game and that continued to be the case as Gloucestershire added only 25 to their score for the loss of their last four wickets. Hall claimed the last three after David Willey had removed Will Gidman, but it was too late to prevent Northamptonshire facing a near impossible task.

Opener Stephen Peters fell lbw to the fourth ball of his side's second innings, leg before to Will Gidman without a run on the board, and it was 51 for 2 when Niall O'Brien edged Norwell to wicketkeeper Jon Batty. Just before lunch Kyle Coetzer was bowled by Norwell and, although Sales batted effortlessly for his 55, he too had his stumps disturbed by the same bowler to make it 80 for 4.

A stubborn partnership of 78 between Hall and Rob Newton, who made 44, ended when the latter pulled a short ball from Norwell straight to Ian Cockbain at midwicket. James Middlebrook and David Murphy went cheaply to Benny Howell and Norwell respectively and by tea the result was all but decided with the visitors on 184 for 7.

Hall fell for 56 straight after the break without a run added, bowled by Howell, who finished with 2 for 37 having made a handy contribution with his medium pace to a Gloucestershire side lacking a specialist spinner.

Jack Brooks was taken in the slips off James Fuller for 22 after a defiant stand of 39 with Wiley and the game ended when Luke Evans was out for a duck, caught by Cockbain off Anthony Ireland.

Norwell took six wickets in an innings on debut against Derbyshire at the start of last season, but was then plagued by back trouble. He recently claimed 6 for 52 in a Clydesdale Bank 40 match against Leicestershire at Grace Road and Gloucestershire will hope for more of the same next summer.