Fluent Klinger leads Gloucs home

Michael Klinger scored a fluent 92 as Gloucestershire got a monkey off their back with a six-wicket win over Worcestershire at Cheltenham.

Klinger hit 14 fours and two sixes in his 131-ball innings as his side reached a target of 194 by mid-afternoon on the final day. It secured Gloucestershire first County Championship win over Worcestershire since 1995 and first at Cheltenham since 1980 - six matches ago at the festival.

An opening stand of 95 between Klinger and Chris Dent laid the victory platform for Gloucestershire, who have now moved above Worcestershire and up to fourth in the Division Two table.

Earlier, Joe Leach had taken his overnight 103 onto 114 as Worcestershire went from 296 for 8 to 337 all out. Left-arm spinner Tom Smith, on loan to Gloucestershire from Middlesex, dismissed Leach and Graeme Cessford to finish with a career-best 4 for 91.

Leach and Cessford took the score onto 321, and extended their ninth-wicket stand to 39, before Leach was dismissed for the first time in the match. He came down the pitch to Smith and skied a drive to cover, where Miles Hammond took a well-judged catch. Leach's career-best innings came from 170 balls and included 14 fours.

Alan Richardson announced himself with three consecutive fours off Craig Miles, struck to the cover, long-on and long leg boundaries. But Worcestershire's innings ended in the next over when Cessford edged a drive at Smith into the hands of Klinger at slip.

Klinger and Dent got the Gloucestershire innings off to a brisk start, with the 50 coming up in the 12th over, and by lunch they had advanced the total to 77. Klinger progressed to a 79-ball half-century, which included eight fours and a pulled six off Gareth Andrew.

Moeen Ali claimed two wickets in quick succession when Dent was leg before and Gareth Roderick was bowled, but Gloucestershire's victory was never in serious doubt.

Klinger looked in prime form against the county for whom he played six Championship matches last summer. He struck Shaaiq Choudhry for a straight six and then hit Richardson, so often Gloucestershire's nemesis with the ball, for three successive fours, one cut behind square and the other two on-driven.

Alex Gidman contributed a rapid 25 to a third-wicket stand of 41 with Klinger before he was lbw to Cessford. Hamish Marshall joined Klinger in the middle and Gloucestershire were within seven runs of victory when Klinger was bowled driving Cessford. But he had already done enough to help his side secure the win.