IF Gloucestershire play a more bizarre match this season in the Specsavers County Championship Division Two than the one in the past four days at New Road, Worcestershire, it will be quite something.

Jack Taylor and Michael Klinger were the heroes as the pendulum swung one way and then the next over the course of the match.

Worcestershire went ahead when Tom Kohler-Cadmore hit 169, Ben Cox hit 75, Ed Barnard smashed 50 and tail ender Jack Shantry scored an astonishing 106 in their first innings total of 439.

But a thunderous Gloucestershire reply saw skipper Gareth Roderick hit 60, Graeme van Buuren score 172 and bowler Craig Miles crack an unbeaten 60 in the visitor’s 364-6 declared.

And Gloucestershire then got on top in the home side’s second innings as Miles turned to his more familiar bowling to take 5-54, with fellow paceman Liam Norwell taking 4-70.

That Worcestershire innings ended on 239 all out and left Gloucestershire needing 315 on the final day for victory.

The home side thought they were heading for victory when Roderick went for thirty runs, Chris Dent was caught for five and Van Buuren made 42 before he was out.

Five wickets were down midway through the Gloucestershire second innings when Hamish Marshall scored ten and George Hankins went for just a single.

But the match had a massive twist at the end. Klinger, who has so often been Gloucestershire’s batting hero, was unbeaten on forty when Taylor came in to support him.

Unknown to Klinger, his colleague took command of the situation to unleash an amazing innings which saw him smash an unbeaten 107 from just 72 balls.

The final twist saw Gloucestershire needing thirty runs for victory when the umpires took the players off for bad light but the batsmen returned and, with three sixes in the final over, and the last blow seeing Klinger reach his own century of 102 not out, Gloucestershire secured a brilliant victory.