MICHAEL Klinger’s unbeaten century led Gloucestershire to an eight-wicket win over Yorkshire in their Royal London One-Day Cup semi-final at Headingley. The 35-year-old hit 137 off 145 balls and shared an unbroken 177-run third-wicket stand with Hamish Marshall (78).
Scores: Yorkshire 263-9 (50 overs): Lyth 96, Bairstow 34; Howell 3-37
Gloucestershire 267-2 (46.5 overs): Klinger 137 not out, Marshall 78 not out
England opener Adam Lyth made a superb 96 for Yorkshire, but they were limited to 263-9 as Benny Howell claimed 3-37.
Klinger and Marshall were rarely troubled during the run-chase and saw their side home with 19 balls to spare.
Lyth put his Ashes woes behind him in a brilliant attacking innings, which included 10 fours and a six, which was in stark contrast to that of his Yorkshire opening partner Alex Lees, who struggled to find the middle of the bat.
Gloucestershire were not flawless in the field with three difficult chances going down and a comical dropped catch by Liam Norwell off his own bowling looked like it might be a turning point.
Jonny Bairstow was the man reprieved as Norwell grounded the ball as he looked to throw it up in celebration having taken a simple return catch.
However, the England Test player – who was later called up for the three remaining one-day internationals against Australia – failed to make the most of his let-off as 23-year-old Norwell trapped him lbw in his next over.
After racing to 168-3 from their first 30 overs, the Vikings innings stuttered as they managed just 95 runs from their last 20 and lost six wickets in the process.