KYLE Jarvis continued his exceptional start to the season today to help bowl Lancashire to a 91-run LV= County Championship victory over Gloucestershire at Bristol – their fifth win in eight matches.

Zimbabwean fast bowler Jarvis shone almost immediately after lunch on day four with four wickets in 17 balls as the hosts slipped from 113-2 to 119-7 in their pursuit of 252, taking his tally of Championship wickets in 2015 to 47.

The 26-year-old, who took four first-innings wickets, evoked memories of similar collapses at Derbyshire in the first week of the season and at Leicestershire last month.

He finished with 5-39 from 21 overs to claim 9-106 in the match, his best return for the county, as Gloucester were bowled out for 160 half an hour before tea.

Division Two leaders Lancashire are now 31 points clear of second-placed Surrey, who have only played seven, and 60 clear of Glamorgan, who have played six, in third.

The Red Rose, who gained revenge for last month’s 91-run home defeat, were on the back foot at lunch with Gloucester on 104-2 and top-scorer Chris Dent on the way to 54.

He had shared 68 for the second wicket with first-innings centurion Michael Klinger and was in partnership for the third wicket with Ian Cockbain, a stand which yielded 45.

First-innings centurion Klinger was the only wicket to fall before lunch as James Faulkner had him caught behind for 42, signalling the Australian’s first Championship wicket in his second match.

Left-arm seamer Faulkner later had Geraint Jones the same way as Gloucester fell to 154-8 in the 66th over.

Opener Dent was Jarvis’s first wicket of the day – he had bowled Will Tavare late on day three – when he miscued a pull to mid-wicket, leaving the score at 113-3 in the 52nd over.

Jarvis then trapped Cockbain lbw in the 54th and got Benny Howell the same way in his next. Sandwiched in between, Bailey had Gareth Roderick lbw for his second duck in the match.

And when Jarvis bowled Jack Taylor in the 56th, Gloucester were 133 runs away from their target with only three wickets left having lost five for six in 29 balls.

Faulkner later had Jones and then Matt Taylor caught behind before Jordan Clark wrapped up the match by getting Craig Miles caught at cover in the 69th over.