Lancashire Secures Nine-Wicket Win Over Gloucestershire with Hartley 11-Wicket Haul

Tom Hartley delivered an exceptional all-round performance to lead Lancashire to a nine-wicket victory over Gloucestershire at Cheltenham, significantly boosting Lancashire's chances of promotion in the County Championship. Hartley scored a career-best 130 runs and took match figures of 11 for 215, including a second-innings haul of 5 for 99, playing a pivotal role in dismantling Gloucestershire’s batting lineup. Lancashire posted a commanding first innings total of 557, driven by Hartley and Chris Green’s record ninth-wicket partnership of 212 runs, breaking a Lancashire record dating back to 1907. Gloucestershire, made to follow on, showed resilience in their second innings with notable contributions from Cameron Bancroft and Ben Charlesworth but ultimately succumbed to Lancashire's bowling attack. The visitors then comfortably chased down a target of 110 runs with an unbeaten 103-run second-wicket partnership between Keaton Jennings and Josh Bohannon. This victory marked Lancashire’s second consecutive win under interim head coach Steve Croft and captain James Anderson, moving them into fourth place in Division Two and ahead of Gloucestershire in the standings.