LANCASHIRE are in the hunt for a fifth win in eight LV= County Championship matches after setting Gloucestershire a target of 252 during the third day at Bristol.

The Red Rose advanced their second innings from 14-0 overnight, a lead of only 12, to 253 all out today before the hosts reached close at 26-1 from 17 overs.

Kyle Jarvis picked up the only wicket when he bowled Will Tavare off an inside edge for a duck as the hosts chased the double over the Division Two leaders on a pitch offering some uneven bounce.

Bolton’s Karl Brown hit his second fifty in the match, a 181-ball 56, but he will be frustrated at failing to go on having also made 57 in the first innings. Jordan Clark added 48.

Gloucester seamer Craig Miles took 5-60 to finish with career best match figures of 10-121.

Brown and Ashwell Prince shared 77 inside 28 overs either side of lunch for the third wicket to advance the score from 40-2 in the 23rd over following the early departures of Paul Horton and Alviro Petersen, who both made six.

But the third-wicket pair were two of four to fall for 30 during the afternoon as the visitors slipped from 117-2 to 147-6 in the 64th over.

Prince was run out for 43 having called for a quick single to mid-on before Steven Croft was trapped lbw by Miles, who had earlier got Horton the same way and had Petersen caught at point.

Croft’s dismissal at the start of the 51st over followed three balls after Prince.

Brown then under-edged Benny Howell behind at the end of the 61st over before James Faulkner was victim to Howell’s one-handed diving effort at cover against left-arm seamer Matt Taylor three overs later.

Clark and Alex Davies (28) rebuilt either side of tea with a 53-run stand for the seventh-wicket, but the latter fell in the second over after tea when he clipped Howell to mid-wicket with 200 on the board in the 78th.

Clark and Tom Bailey also added 35 for the eighth wicket, but the former was caught at second slip off Liam Norwell, leaving the score 235-8.

Glen Chapple then top-edged a pull at Miles in the 89th over before Jarvis was caught behind later in the over to end the innings.