England’s Hyderabad Test win hero Tom Hartley followed his maiden first-class hundred with his second County Championship five-for on Thursday (July 24).
On day two (July 23) of the division two clash between Lancashire and Gloucestershire at Cheltenham, Hartley smashed his maiden first-class century to take Lancashire to a mammoth total. His 130 off 153 balls is the ninth-highest first-class score from No. 10 or below. When Hartley entered, his team was at 302-8. From there, his enterprising knock took Lancashire to 557.
Riding on that confidence, the left-arm spinner backed up his maiden hundred with a five-wicket haul on day three (July 24), helping his team secure a 176-run first-innings lead. Gloucestershire were well-placed at 249-2 before Hartley triggered the collapse.
His first victim was Ollie Price, followed by centurion Ben Charlesworth (160), stumped by wicketkeeper Phil Salt. He then dismantled the middle order, dismissing Miles Hammond (36), James Bracey (20), and Graeme van Buuren (0) to complete his five-for. Hartley finished with 6-116 in 34.4 overs, ending Gloucestershire’s innings at 381 by removing No. 11 Marchant de Lange (14). The hosts lost their last eight wickets for 132 runs.
381 ALL OUT. 📊
— Lancashire Cricket (@lancscricket) July 24, 2025
De Lange goes and Hartley has six and Gloucestershire are 381 all out.
Excellent fight shown on Day Three so far as we lead by 176 runs heading into the second innings.
🌹 #RedRoseTogether pic.twitter.com/dlgRoW4Bja
After being asked to follow on, Gloucestershire reached 98-0 at stumps on day three, still trailing by 78 runs.
Match 89, Gloucestershire vs Lancashire
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Hartley picks up first County Championship five-for since 2022
This was his second County Championship five-wicket haul, having claimed his first three years earlier in Lancashire's innings victory over eventual 2022 Division One champions Surrey. On that occasion, he took 5-52 from 29 overs to secure a win by an innings and 130 runs.
Also read: Tom Hartley: I'm working on all-round skills to win England recall
Hartley and Shoaib Bashir were among the three uncapped players in England’s squad for their 2024 India tour. Handed a debut in the Hyderabad opener, Hartley repaid the faith with 7-62 in the fourth innings, guiding England to a thrilling 28-run win. He played four more Tests before falling lower down the pecking order as England persisted with Bashir as their lead spinner. Hartley has 22 wickets in five Tests at an average of 36.13 so far.
