Glamorgan denied a record first-class run chase by Gloucestershire as last man Jamie McIlroy is dismissed from the FINAL delivery of the match – with both sides settling for a dramatic tie
- Gloucestershire sealed a dramatic late draw against Glamorgan on Wednesday
- The Welsh side were denied a record run chase after being given a target of 593
- Jamie McIlroy was dramatically sent off on the last ball of the match
Glamorgan were denied a world first-class record in the most dramatic of circumstances when last man Jamie McIlroy was sent off on the final delivery of the match against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham.
The Welsh county had a target of 593 runs at Cheltenham but somehow managed to level the score with one ball to go, when former England wicketkeeper James Bracey spectacularly flew to his right to catch a ball from McIlroy with one hand off Ajeet Singh Dale.
Bracey left the field at 6:55 p.m. to cheer as both teams tied with eight points.
However, Glamorgan’s 592 all out was the third-highest fourth innings score in history and easily the highest on British soil, surpassing the 507 for seven that Cambridge University had made to beat MCC at Lord’s in 1896.
The prospects of an away win, thanks to hundreds of knocks from captain Sam Northeast and Australian Test star Marnus Labuschagne, seemed to have disappeared when the equation became 20 from 15 balls, but no Mason Crane hit three consecutive boundaries against Dale.
James Bracey flew through the air to make a one-handed catch to take out Jamie McIlroy in what was a dramatic final day between Gloucestershire and Glamorgan
The Welsh county drew level with Gloucestershire after being set a target of 593 runs, but were denied victory on the final delivery of the match
Mason Crane and McIlroy run between the stumps but the latter was caught by the last ball of the match
Then McIlroy – who had earlier survived a noisy appeal while still on zero – saw the final ball of the penultimate over, sent down by Beau Webster, skid along the ground with his leg.
And he was back among the top scorers when Glamorgan failed to stop West Zone’s 536-run chase by the narrowest of margins to beat South Zone in Hyderabad in the 2010 Duleep Trophy final.
Glamorgan began the final morning on 222 for three – still 371 runs away from an improbable 16-run victory – with Northeast and Labuschagne in the lead.
But the match that started on the first day with 17 wickets scored was pushed to the limit thanks to some brilliant play from the visitors.
The previous highest fourth innings score in County Championship cricket was 502 by Middlesex against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in 1925.