Glamorgan fall one short despite record fourth innings score to tie with Gloucestershire

Glamorgan narrowly missed out on making history on the final day of a thrilling Vitality County Championship Second Division match against Gloucestershire which ended in a remarkable tie at Cheltenham

Cheltenham (day four of four): Gloucestershire 179 & 610-5 dec, Glamorgan 197 & 592 - Match Tied

Glamorgan narrowly missed out on making history on the final day of a thrilling Vitality County Championship Second Division match against Gloucestershire which ended in a remarkable tie at Cheltenham.

Charged with the task of pursuing what would have been a World record run chase of 593, the Welsh county dramatically levelled the scores, leaving last man Jamie McIlroy requiring just a single off the final ball of the match to achieve a historic win.

WOW

One ball left, one run to win and set a new world record.

James Bracey is not wearing a glove on his right hand.

And he takes this catch. pic.twitter.com/4oR4AsjE9H

— Vitality County Championship (@CountyChamp) July 3, 2024

But he edged Ajeet Singh Dale's last delivery and was brilliantly caught by wicketkeeper James Bracey, who claimed his tenth victim of a memorable contest, to spark scenes of mayhem among delighted home supporters at the famous old College Ground.

Skipper Rob Northeast top-scored with a brilliant 187 and overseas star Marnus Labuschagne made 119 to put Glamorgan in with a chance of eclipsing the highest run chase of all time, the 536 successfully pursued by West Zone in a Duleep Trophy match against South Zone in India in February 2010.

Related: "The hardest week of my career": The folly of June's domestic schedule

^{Matt Taylor took three wickets for Gloustershire in the second innings (Dan Istitene/Getty Images)}

But Gloucestershire's bowlers held their nerve under extreme pressure and Matt Taylor took 3-120, including the crucial wicket of Northeast, leaving the visitors to score 32 off 10 overs. Mason Crane played supremely well to raise 43 not out, but Singh Dale demonstrated nerves of steel to frustrate the visitors at the death.

The first tied game in English county cricket in six years earned the two sides 11 points apiece, with Glamorgan registering the highest fourth innings score in any first class game played in England and the third highest of all time anywhere in the world.

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