Stunning season continues for Jarvis with Bristol victory

Kyle Jarvis took his season tally to 47 Championship wickets in eight matches as he starred on the final day at Bristol to guide Lancashire to their fifth win of the season.

The Zimbabwean fast-bowler claimed 5-39 in the second innings and 9-106 in the match as he lead Lancashire to an unlikely win against Gloucestershire to strengthen their bid for promotion.

Lancashire are top of Division Two with 144 points, a lead of 31 points over Surrey in second place after achieving a remarkable comeback at Bristol on the final day, a performance inspired by the leading wicket-taker in the second division and the country in 2015.

Jarvis admits that victory was not a guarantee, but he insists that the Lancashire players never gave up hope despite Gloucestershire’s determination on the final day.

He said: “Last night, it was touch and go. We knew we needed a big day, and we came out on top there. Everyone did their bit, and it was a great team performance.

“We all know that if we stick at it, we are a good side and can win these games. We were in a tough situation. Gloucester have played really good cricket over the last few days and they beat us at home. It is fantastic that we came away with the win.

Jarvis was quick to state that Lancashire will need a few more performances like this to guarantee successive promotions back to the first division and that winning the league is the ultimate goal for the Red Rose.

Jarvis claimed his third five-wicket-haul of the season against Gloucestershire 

“We know this is not enough to win the division. We know there’s a lot of work to do, and hopefully we can do that in the next few games. We definitely want to win it.”

Speaking about his own performance, Jarvis added: “It just all came together there. I managed to get a few to run back and got three or four in the space of three overs.

“It’s been great for me. I just want to do my bit for Lancs. I’m close to a personal milestone, but there’s still a long way to go in the season. We are exactly halfway now. Hopefully there’s a few more [wins] down the line.”

Lancashire started the day needing nine wickets to win the match, but with Michael Klinger and Chris Dent both going well, it was hard to see how they were going to turn the match around as Gloucestershire cruised to 68/1 in the morning session.

James Faulkner played his part claiming three wickets to help guide Lancashire to victory.

But the home side went on to lose their last eight wickets for 47 runs as the innings capitulated after the dismissal of Dent, who went onto make fifty after being dropped by Alex Davies early on in the final day.

“We knew we had bowled well in the previous two sessions, and we’d been unlucky not to get more wickets. We all thought we could have had four or five down, and we never had our heads down at any stage,” added Jarvis

Lancashire’s hero also paid tribute to the efforts of James Faulkner who claimed three wickets for 18 runs in 12 overs, as the Australian was rewarded with his first Championship wicket to help the visitors to an unlikely victory.

Jarvis said: “We all know how good Jimmy is. He’s bowled really well and he has been unlucky, but he showed in the second innings what he can do. He’s a good all-rounder.”