Royal London One-Day Cup

Gloucestershire 247-7 Somerset 245-7

A MICHAEL KLINGER century guided Gloucestershire to a three-wicket win over Somerset at Bristol and maintained their strong position in the Royal London One-Day Cup.

The experienced Australian mastered a tricky pitch to score 107 with five fours and four sixes, as his side chased down a target of 245 with two deliveries to spare.

It continued Gloucestershire's run of thrilling late victories in this competition as they had won the previous two games on the last ball.

Somerset had looked out of it at 88-6 after winning the toss, but James Hildreth’s unbeaten 85 and 62 from Lewis Gregory gave them a competitive total of 245.

Their century stand in 22 overs paved the way for a late assault that saw 65 runs come off the last five overs as Gloucestershire’s bowling lost its previously commendable discipline.

Klinger was content to rein himself in during the Gloucestershire reply, particularly against the impressive spin off Max Waller, but put his team in sight of victory with a 123-ball hundred that mixed fine application with the occasional sweet boundary.

Noema-Barnett (34) was dropped on 23 and leant good late support in a fascinating, if low-scoring, contest.

The outcome was in the balance until the penultimate over when Jack Taylor launched two sixes off Tim Groenewald. Strangely, Somerset skipper Jim Allenby bowled only six overs, having conceded just 20 runs.

Gloucestershire head coach Richard Dawson said: "We have now won three games on the trot in tight finishes - and that is the big difference from our T20 campaign. We have talked to the lads about getting across the line and its starting to become a good habit.

"Michael Klinger's century was based on all the experience he has gained over so many one-day appearances. He never panicked on a pitch that made batting frustrating at times and it was a model innings in the situation.

"We are now in a strong position in the group, but won't be getting ahead of ourselves."