Middlesex continue to limp in T20

Gloucestershire 113 for 5 beat Middlesex 111 for 8 (Norwell 3-27, Fuller 3-29) by five wickets
Scorecard

Gloucestershire wiped out their negative points tally as they claimed a comfortable first NatWest T20 Blast win of the season against Middlesex at Bristol.

Gloucestershire - who began their South Division campaign on minus two points as punishment for preparing a poor pitch last season - eased to a five-wicket victory.

They restricted Middlesex to 111 for 8 from their 20 overs and then knocked off the runs with 15 balls to spare. James Fuller and Liam Norwell both did damage as Middlesex struggled to generate momentum in their innings after a rain-delayed start.

They lost wickets at regular intervals and Dawid Malan and captain Dan Christian were unable to build on starts.

They looked set for a score well below par as they slipped to 67 for 6 in the 11th over. A solid effort from John Simpson and Ollie Rayner - the pair put on 32 for the seventh wicket - gave them a more competitive total, but their hopes still rested on Steven Finn's bowling.

Finn did trouble the Gloucestershire batsmen, and he removed captain Michael Klinger with the score on two, but he and the other Middlesex bowlers did not have enough runs to work with.

Chris Dent, Hamish Marshall and Ian Cockbain laid the platform before Cameron Herring finished the job. Middlesex did not help themselves in the field with Christian dropping Cockbain at one point and Rayner putting down a chance off Herring.