Pace bowler Marchant de Lange led the charge with three wickets to set up Gloucestershire’s first County Championship victory since September 2022 on the final day of their clash against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.

Northamptonshire resumed on 144-2, needing 414 more runs to win, or more realistically to bat out the whole day to secure a draw.

For a while that looked a possibility as India international Karun Nair (61) and George Bartlett (42) shared a fluent stand of 83 in 24 overs after Luke Procter was caught and bowled by Tom Price as he tried to flick the ball to leg.

But the second new ball proved decisive as Josh Shaw (2-56) and De Lange (3-58), bowling a feisty spell, removed both set batters as Northamptonshire lost three wickets for nine runs in 5.4 overs.

South African De Lange had struck Nair on the helmet shortly before lunch and finally claimed his wicket when the India batter fended a catch to mid-wicket.

With Ajeet Singh Dale mopping up the tail, the end came quickly as Northamptonshire’s final five wickets fell for just 35 runs, and while they passed 300, they ultimately lost heavily by 256 runs.

Both teams are away in the next round of Division Tow games, with Northants taking on Derbyshire and Gloucestershire making the trip to Leicester.