County Championship: Lategan & Libby earn Pears win at Cheltenham

Rothesay County Championship, Division Two, Cheltenham College (day four)

Gloucestershire 150 & 395-7 dec: Bracey 127, Price 77, Hammond 57; Swanepoel 4-49

Worcestershire 267 & 281-2: Lategan 144, Libby 107*

Worcestershire (20 pts) beat Gloucestershire (3 pts) by eight wickets

Match scorecard

Dan Lategan smashed a superb maiden century and opening partner Jake Libby also hit a ton as Worcestershire beat Gloucestershire at Cheltenham College to climb to fourth in the County Championship Division Two table.

Set 279 to win in a minimum 60 overs, Worcestershire reached their target with 4.5 overs to spare thanks to a mammoth opening stand of 244 between Lategan and Libby, who made 107 not out.

But it was 20-year-old South African left-hander Lategan who survived being dropped first ball to steal the show in only his 12th Championship appearance, hitting five sixes and 17 fours in his 144 from 163 balls.

James Bracey had earlier scored a battling 127 and staged a partnership of 102 with Ollie Price, who mustered 77, to propel Gloucestershire to 395-7 declared.

But, with 60 overs in which to get the runs, the Pears were always likely to sentence bottom-of-the-table Gloucestershire to an eighth defeat in nine matches.

After Indian spinner Sai Kishore took the new ball, Lategan edged the first delivery to short leg, where Boorman put down a sharp chance.

But after raising the first 50 in 12 overs, Lategan drove Kishore for a huge six over wide long-on to bring-up a 48-ball half century.

After reaching tea on 110-0, the Pears needed a further 169 off a minimum 37 overs in the final session with all wickets standing.

After surpassing his previous highest score of 89, made at Derby in May, and pulled Price to the boundary to register his century.

And, although he perished with 35 still needed, fellow centurion Libby kept his cool.

The Pears now face another big home date against Lancashire this Thursday, when Gloucestershire go to Durham.

Report by ECB Reporters' Network, supported by Rothesay.