County Championship: Middlesex face battle to deny Gloucestershire at Cheltenham
- Published
Middlesex's seemingly slim final-day hopes against Gloucestershire rest on Stevie Eskinazi, not out on 48
LV= County Championship Group Two, College Ground, Cheltenham (day three): |
Gloucestershire 248: Hammond 75; Bamber 3-39 & 272: Bracey 88, Hammond 46; Mitchell 4-42 |
Middlesex 101: Robson 37; M Taylor 4-19, Price 3-29 & 97-3: Eskinazi 48* |
Middlesex (3 pts) need a further 323 runs to beat Gloucestershire (4 pts) with seven wickets left |
Gloucestershire look on course for victory at Cheltenham after Middlesex ended the day 97-3, chasing 420 to win.
Tom Price, with an unbeaten 35, and brother Ollie, 33, shared 64 for the seventh wicket as the hosts, 198-6 overnight, were bowled out for 272.
Middlesex lost Josh de Caires (4) and Sam Robson for a duck inside six overs of the chase before finding resistance.
It was led by Stevie Eskinazi, who closed on 48 not out and holds the key to Middlesex's hopes on the final day.
He and captain Peter Handscomb began the fightback but, having reached 52-2 after 20 overs, the pair scored only four more runs in the next 15.
Handscomb was then trapped lbw by Worrall for 14 in 95 balls but Daryl Mitchell, with an unbeaten 21, saw out the day with Eskinazi.
Rain took out the morning session before Gloucestershire resumed 345 runs ahead with the chance to bat Middlesex almost completely out of the game.
They took the lead past 400 thanks to a pair of brothers from the club's academy - but they still have work to do to complete a victory that would lift them above Hampshire into second in Group Two.
Gloucestershire then host Hampshire in the final group game which starts on Sunday, also at Cheltenham College.