WORCESTERSHIRE director of cricket Steve Rhodes hit out at hosts Gloucestershire after his side's Specsavers County Championship Division Two draw at Cheltenham.

The County were set a steep target of 370 in 51 overs at a run rate of 7.25 per over and an unbeaten 93 from Joe Clarke earned them a share of the spoils at 155-5 after they had been 5-3 at one stage.

The 11 points collected moved them 13 clear of third-placed Kent with five games to play after the block of NatWest T20 Blast matches this month.

But Rhodes said: "We were extremely disappointed there wasn't going to be any situation where we could fix up some sort of reasonable game for the crowd that turned up as well as the two groups of players.

"It seemed Gloucestershire wanted to try to have it every way because they wanted to get as many as runs as they could, quickly in the end after a slow start, and then try to bowl us out in a short space of time.

"Hopefully, maybe Gloucestershire may be ruing the fact that if they had another hour they may well have won the game and that might be something they consider next time.

"If that had been a 70-over game we would have had a real problem hanging on for a draw.

"But having said all that there was some good cricket played throughout the game. Ben Cox's hundred for us was excellent.

"Joe's knock managed to see us to safety although we were only five down and with Ross Whiteley in there.

"It was a really special innings again from Joe. He copped a lot again from the Gloucestershire fielders when he went out to bat because he probably dished a bit out when he was fielding.

"You've got to be able to take it and he did it in the right way by scoring runs against them.

"Was there any talk of collusion to make a game out of it? Well, we tried in the morning and they didn't want to have anything to do with it.

"They wanted to dictate it their way and maybe like I say they might rue that fact because with a bit more time they might have bowled us out.

"Certainly as a fielding group the one thing you wanted to have here was overs to bowl people out.

"They never came to us with any sort of figures. You know what, we would have certainly gone into that negotiation accepting we were going to lose that negotiation and probably go for whatever was set."

On the bowlers' performance in Gloucestershire's second innings, Rhodes said: "John (Hastings) bowled a better spell again and Josh Tongue bowled some good spells as well.

"Ed Barnard was fantastic throughout the game, nice to see him come back to form, and on the Gloucestershire side Jack Taylor is really hard for us to bowl at.

"He hasn't got the prettiest technique in the world but is a really useful player and scores runs against us regularly and is a real nuisance to play against.

"We should commend his hundred because it was vitally important for Gloucestershire as well."