Durham taken to final day despite needing only four runs to win
Division Two leaders Durham will need four runs on the final day to beat Gloucestershire.
In the final day of the Rothesay County Championship, Division Two match at Chester-le-Street between Gloucestershire and Durham, the hosts were four runs away from victory. Despite needing only a few runs to win, gloomy weather meant their chase could not commence before close of play. Already leading by 247 runs in the first innings, Durham's tail supported their total to 384.
Gloucestershire, batting second, were reduced to 250. Cameron Bancroft and Miles Hammond steadied the visitors at 50-2 at lunch, but a century partnership for fourth wicket halted their progress. Aldridge's excellent bowling, including a spell of 4-47, helped cement Durham's dominance. With bad light, Durham's Test-quality pace attack stepped aside, resulting in a 10th-wicket partnership of 39 between Sai Kishore and JT Langridge.
After reaching 331-8, Durham accelerated beyond 350, with Carse and Potts contributing early wickets. Gloucestershire fought back, reaching 15-2 in 10 overs, but were eventually bowled out. Cameron Bancroft and Miles Hammond's partnership brought Gloucestershire to lunch with no further damage. Despite a strong performance from Hammond, Aldridge's final over saw Gloucestershire finish nine runs short, leaving only one ball to spare.
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