Last-wicket heroics sink holders Gloucestershire

Somerset 263 for 9 (Myburgh 81, Hildreth 48, J Overton 40*) beat Gloucestershire 260 (Dent 100, J Taylor 43, van der Merwe 3-51) by one wicket Scorecard

Jamie Overton and Tim Groenewald produced an unbroken last-wicket stand of 65 as Somerset pulled off a nerve-tingling one-wicket Royal London Cup win over arch-rivals Gloucestershire at Taunton.

Chris Dent hit exactly 100 in holders Gloucestershire’s total of 260 all out. Jack Taylor made 43 and Benny Howell 35, while Roelof van der Merwe was involved in seven of the dismissals, three with his left-arm spin, three catches and a run-out.

Somerset looked to be cruising at 166 for 3 in reply, Johann Myburgh leading the way with 81. But his dismissal brought a dramatic collapse to 198 for 9, with only James Hildreth (48) of the other batsmen making an impression.

It looked all over, but Overton (40 not out) and Groenewald (34 not out) had other ideas. The pair shared 6 fours and 3 sixes, surviving just one major run-out scare when wicketkeeper Gareth Roderick failed to gather a throw, before clinching victory with three balls to spare. A crowd of 4,600 enjoyed every moment.

Groenewald said: I think sharing a match-winning last-wicket stand against Surrey in our last Championship game gave me confidence that we could get the required runs. Jamie Overton played so well that it seemed easier than in the Surrey match.

“Both innings gave me an equal buzz. When you think we also won a T20 game batting second on Friday, I …

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