Gloucestershire opener Ben Charlesworth picked up a king pair in the side's County Championship fixture against Northamptonshire this week, despite being protected by two night-watchers in the second innings.
Night-watchers Craig Miles and Will Williams couldn't protect opener Ben Charlesworth
Charlesworth had been dismissed off the first ball of the game by Harry Conway, as Gloucestershire got off to a disastrous start. They lost second opener Cameron Bancroft in the second over of the match, leaving them at 0-2. They were bowled out for 154, with Northants pacer Ben Sanderson picking up a five-for.
Nevertheless, they stayed hopeful of a positive result from the match by bowling Northants out for 127, giving them an unlikely first-innings lead. Matt Taylor returned figures of 5-36, while Craig Miles chipped in with 3-22.
With the game being played at breakneck speed, Gloucestershire began their second innings on the evening of day two, needing to see out 10 overs before the close. Rather than send out their normal opening pair, with Bancroft on a pair and Charlesworth on a king pair, Gloucestershire chose to send in two tailenders in Miles and Will Williams.
The plan, however, backfired in spectacular fashion. Conway removed Williams with the first ball of his second over, bringing Charlesworth out to bat. Playing a delivery angled across him, the full-time opener edged his first ball to the slip cordon, where it was pouched by Calvin Harrison diving to his right. He had to walk off with a king pair, with Bancroft coming out at No.4 to see out the rest of the day.
While Bancroft did manage to stick the rest of the session out, Miles, as the second night-watch, didn't, getting a leading edge on a ball from Sanderson to leave Gloucestershire at 18-3. They finished the day on 21 for no further loss, but were bowled out on day three for 221. Northants replied by reaching 144-5, leaving an intriguing final day with Gloucestershire needing five wickets to win, and Northants another 105 runs.
Match 46, Gloucestershire vs Northamptonshire
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- Ball by ball Over
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