Essex Eagles enhanced their promotion prospects with an emphatic victory by five wickets in a low-scoring match against Gloucestershire Gladiators under the Castle Park lights in Colchester.

The Gladiators won the toss and decided to bat first, thereby avoiding the handicap of batting under lights. However, an inept performance saw them bowled out in 33.4 overs so the lights were hardly needed to illuminate the Eagles' path to victory. The Gladiators were bowled out for just 97, with Jeremy Snape scoring 30 going in at number three the top scorer. Wickets fell at regular intervals, with three going to Joe Grant and John Stephenson also taking three.

Stephenson then used all his experience as a batsman to score a priceless 44 as the home batsmen found life almost as difficult as their visitors had. Five wickets went down before the modest target was reached and it took 36.1 overs before the Eagles had landed the spoils. They are now perched in fourth place in the table – two points behind Surrey Lions but with a game in hand.

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