Glamorgan’s Vitality County Championship match against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham College in 2024 was a truly remarkable and record-breaking game. It began under a heavy cloud cover and against a home team who had lost by an innings in their previous match against Yorkshire, Sam Northeast therefore had no hesitation on winning the toss in asking the home team to bat, with his bowlers reducing Gloucestershire to 88-8 at lunch.
Chris Cooke pouched five catches as the seamers extracted lavish movement with the exemplary Timm van der Gugten having set the tone by removing Cameron Bancroft with his second ball. But Marchant de Lange and Ajeet Dale doubled the total with some lusty blows before Gloucestershire’s seamers also found plenty of assistance in the conditions. Beau Webster, the tall Australian, claimed 3/6 in twelve balls after tea, as seventeen wickets fell on the opening day. Glamorgan secured a first innings lead of 18 thanks to Mason Crane who batted with great nous before van der Gugten struck again in his first and fourth over.
A dramatic turnaround then followed to what had appeared to be a low-scoring game, as Bancroft and Miles Hammond upped the tempo by adding 201 in 36.1 overs until the latter, after reaching 100 from 94 balls, holed out at mid-on attempting another muscular blow. Bracey continued the counter-attack as the pitch flattened out and batting conditions eased, adding a record 253 in 52.3 overs for the fourth wicket with Bancroft, as both batters also reached three figures, before setting Glamorgan a gargantuan target of 593 from a minimum of 152 overs.
No team in the history of world cricket had ever scored so many to win but, by the end of the third day, the visitors had reduced the task to 371 from 96 overs with Labuschagne and Northeast looking in control. The former set the tone on the final day by cover-driving the first ball en route to completing a 148-ball hundred but, on 119, he flicked Webster into the hands of Bancroft at square-leg.
Northeast, as so often, remained unflustered and reduced the equation to 252 from 68 overs at lunch. After a series of well-timed on-drives, the Glamorgan captain completed his century from 162 balls and during the afternoon received decent support from Douthwaite before, in the final over of the session, the all-rounder holed out at cover. The task after tea was 140 off 38.4 overs with van der Gugten lending useful support until departing with 84 still needed. With Crane continuing the good work, the task had become 49 in 15.3 overs when Northeast edged Matt Taylor into Bracey’s gloves.
The scoring rate dropped as de Lange returned, and with 32 needed off 44 balls, Gorvin was bowled shouldering arms. Jamie McIlroy joined Crane with the latter responding with a series of well-placed singles plus a brace of fours. McIlroy then glanced Webster to fine-leg as the target became two from the final over. Crane took a single off the fifth ball to level the scores before McIlroy, attempting a pull was brilliantly caught one-handed by the diving Bracey as the pulsating match ended in a tie.