COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION TWO ROUNDUP: Ollie Price top-scored as Gloucestershire won their second game of the season but the rest of the matches in the second division ended in a draw on another rain-impacted day of action
Bristol (day four of four): Northamptonshire 206 & 192, Gloucestershire 241 & 158-3 - Gloucestershire won by seven wickets
Ollie Price scored a superb half-century under pressure to help Gloucestershire achieve a dramatic seven-wicket victory over Northamptonshire on the final day of the County Championship Division Two match at the Seat Unique Stadium.
Set 158 to win in 27 overs, Gloucestershire reached their target with 18 balls to spare in a thrilling finale.
Price top-scoring with 54 and Miles Hammond weighing in with 38 not out, and Graeme van Buuren 20 not out as the home side won for only the second time this season.
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A predictable outcome at Derby helped Glamorgan take a step towards promotion (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Derby (day four of four): Glamorgan 259, Derbyshire 17-0 - match drawn
Glamorgan secured a return to the top tier of domestic cricket for the first time in 20 years after the County Championship Division Two match against Derbyshire at Derby ended in a draw.
For the second day running, rain prevented any play at the County Ground, ending third-place Derbyshire's hopes of overtaking the Welsh County in second place
Middlesex’s draw against Lancashire at Old Trafford confirmed that Glamorgan would be playing Division One cricket next season for the first time since 2005.
They went into the last day already in a strong position, but once rain throughout the morning washed out the first session, it was obvious Derbyshire’s slim hopes had gone.
The decision to abandon the match was taken after a brief inspection by the umpires and both captains shortly before 12.30pm, with Derbyshire taking 11 points and Glamorgan nine points from a game in which play was only possible on day two.
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Josh Bohannon tried to put the pressure on Middlesex (Getty Images)
Old Trafford (day four of four): Middlesex 211 & 99-4, Lancashire 375-5d - match drawn
Josh Bohannon made a superb 87, and both Seb Morgan and Arav Shetty took their maiden first-class wickets on an eventful last day of the first-class season at Old Trafford, but the County Championship match between Lancashire and Middlesex ended in a draw.
Replying to Middlesex's 211, Lancashire batters went on the attack in the first half of the day, scoring 270 runs in 44 overs before declaring on 375 for 5 an hour after lunch.
However, their imaginative attempt to conjure a victory was thwarted, not without the odd alarm, by Middlesex’s top-order batsmen and the game ended with the visitors on 99 for 4.
The result ensures that Glamorgan will finish second in Division Two, although whether that means they will be promoted to Division One or one of the proposed conferences has yet to be decided.
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