DAY FOUR - CLOSE OF PLAY
MATCH DRAWN
Gloucestershire 296 & 251/8 dec
Middlesex 242 & 111/5
Gloucestershire - 9 points
Middlesex - 8 points
Young Gloucestershire opener Miles Hammond registered his second first-class hundred of the season as the Specsavers County Championship match against Middlesex ended in a draw at Bristol.
Making only his eighth appearance in red-ball cricket, the 22-year-old left-hander batted for four-and-a-half hours in raising a career-best 123 not out from 268 balls before Gloucestershire declared their second innings on 251-8.
Required to score a notional 306 from a minimum 40 overs for victory, Middlesex gave up all hope of chasing after being reduced to 29-4, eventually reaching the close on 111-5.
Gloucestershire garnered nine points to consolidate fifth place in Division Two, while Middlesex banked eight, a return which all but ends their interest in the promotion race.
Still in a precarious position when resuming on 87-4, Gloucestershire showed no interest in risking defeat via a sporting declaration. It became apparent that no agreement had been reached between the two captains when Middlesex took the second new ball in an attempt to bowl the hosts out after lunch, at which point an already sparse audience dwindled further.
That will not concern Hammond, however, who followed up his maiden century against Sussex at the Cheltenham Festival in July, with another mature innings of substance.
Intent upon little more than survival to begin with, his 50 occupied 134 balls, after which he asserted himself. Especially effective square of the wicket, he moved to three figures via a further 94 deliveries, bringing up that landmark by pulling Fuller to the boards for his tenth four.
Jack Taylor kept him company during the morning session, contributing 43 in a revitalizing stand of 94 for the fifth wicket before edging a catch behind off Tim Murtagh shortly before lunch.
Fuller ran out Ryan Higgins for 23 and accounted for Craig Miles, caught behind for nine, while Ben Charlesworth chipped Dawid Malan to extra cover for 10 after Middlesex had taken the new ball in an attempt to force the issue. But the visitors could find no way past the obdurate Hammond.
Buoyed by three straight wins, Middlesex went hard at it in their second innings, only to lose wickets quickly. Paul Stirling was run out by James Bracey in the first over, Malan top-edged a pull shot to mid-wicket, Nick Gubbins was pinned lbw by Miles and Eoin Morgan scooped a leading edge to mid-on to become David Payne's second victim.
Higgins accounted for Fuller lbw for 16, but Sam Robson and Steve Eskinazi stood firm, finishing unbeaten on 41 and 20 respectively to rebuff Gloucestershire.
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DAY FOUR - TEA
Gloucestershire 251/8 dec
Middlesex 28/3
Young Gloucestershire opener Miles Hammond registered his second first-class hundred of the season on the final day of the Specsavers County Championship match against Middlesex at Bristol.
Making only his In his eighth first-class appearance, the 22-year-old left-hander batted for four-and-a-half hours in raising a career-best 123 not out from 268 balls before Gloucestershire declared their second innings on 251-8.
Required to score a notional 306 from a minimum 40 overs for victory, Middlesex gave up all hope of chasing after being reduced to 18-3, losing Paul Stirling, Dawid Malan and Nick Gubbins in rapid succession. Thereafter, Eoin Morgan and James Fuller put a stop to the rot as the visitors reached tea on 28-3.
Still in a precarious position when resuming on 87-4, Gloucestershire showed no interest in risking defeat via a sporting declaration.
That will not concern Hammond, however, who followed up his maiden century at Cheltenham in July, with another mature innings of substance. His 50 occupied 134 balls, after which he moved to three figures from a further 94 deliveries, bringing up that landmark by pulling James Fuller to the boards for his tenth four.
Jack Taylor kept him company during the morning session, contributing 43 in a revitalizing stand of 94 for the fifth wicket before edging a catch behind off Tim Murtagh shortly before lunch.
Fuller ran out Ryan Higgins for 23 and accounted for Craig MIles, caught behind for nine, while Ben Charlesworth chipped Malan to extra cover for 10 after Middlesex had taken the new ball in an attempt to force the issue. But the visitors could find no way past the obdurate Hammond.
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DAY FOUR - LUNCH
Gloucestershire 167/5
Miles Hammond and Jack Taylor staged a revitalizing partnership of 93 for the fifth wicket to carry Gloucestershire towards safety on the final day of the Specsavers County Championship match against Middlesex at Bristol.
Especially effective square of the wicket, left-hander Miles advanced his score to 86 not out, while Taylor contributed 43 as Gloucestershire reached lunch on 167-5.
Leading by 221, the hosts will be contemplating a declaration in the hope of tempting opponents who have to win if they are to retain an interest in the Second Division promotion race.
Hampered by the absence of injured new ball bowler James Harris, Middlesex captain Dawid Malan deployed his leg breaks while rotating his seamers from the other end.
Initially circumspect after resuming on 87-4, a precarious lead of 141, Hammond and Taylor visibly grew in confidence on an unresponsive pitch that offered precious little assistance to the bowlers.
Hammond, who has batted for more than four hours, registered a deserved 50, punching Malan to backward point for a single. Having offered staunch support, Taylor was within sight of the same landmark when he edged a catch behind off Tim Murtagh shortly before lunch with the score on 153.
Hammond was joined by former Middlesex all-rounder Ryan Higgins, who was seven not out at the interval.
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DAY THREE - CLOSE OF PLAY
Gloucestershire 87/4
Middlesex staged a spirited fightback in the late-afternoon gloom to raise the prospect of victory over Gloucestershire on the final day of the Specsavers County Championship match at the Brightside Ground.
After being bowled out for 242 and conceding a first-innings deficit of 54, the visitors were further frustrated by the loss of 26 overs to bad light on a day when their hopes of remaining on the fringes of the Second Division promotion race were in danger of being utterly extinguished.
But their seam bowlers made up for lost time during the final session, reducing Gloucestershire to 87-4, a lead of 141 with six second-innings wickets in hand.
Needing to win this game and then beat second-placed Kent next week to retain any chance of making an instant return to the First Division, Middlesex will seek to force the issue in the morning in the hope of setting up a realistic run chase in the afternoon.
But they will first have to find a way past stubborn Gloucestershire opener Miles Hammond, who will resume on 43 not out after defying the visitors for two hours and 45 minutes. He has already negotiated 108 balls and more of the same iron resolve will be required if he is to usher his team to safety on the final day.
If Gloucestershire's intention was to forge a meaningful lead and then declare, they were quickly disabused of the idea during an afternoon punctuated by regular breaks for drizzle and poor light. Sensing an opportunity to put themselves back in contention, Middlesex's battery of seam bowlers took full advantage.
They were aided and abetted by Gloucestershire skipper Chris Dent, who was needlessly run out for three by Nick Gubbins. James Bracey was next to go, James Fuller producing an in-swinger to knock back the left hander's off stump.
Worse followed for the home side when Benny Howell chipped Tim Murtagh to mid-wicket and Gareth Roderick departed in identical fashion, held by Dawid Malan off the same bowler. Having seen three top-order batsmen perish in single figures, Gloucestershire were well and truly under the cosh at 59-4. Thereafter, the defiant Hammond and fifth-wicket partner Jack Taylor (15 not out) adopted resolute defence mode to see out the final 11 overs without further mishap, no mean achievement in increasingly challenging conditions.
David Payne earlier claimed three wickets in the space of 11 balls to summarily end Middlesex tail-end resistance and put the hosts in a position of strength by the end of a hard-fought morning session.
Gloucestershire effected the breakthrough they so badly needed when Harris, having chiseled 35 from 84 balls, offered a return catch to Payne. Fuller came and went quickly, pushing at a length ball from Payne and offering a straightforward catch to wicket-keeper Roderick, while last man Murtagh cut a short-pitched delivery to point without scoring, leaving Bamber high and dry on 27 not out.
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DAY THREE - TEA
Gloucestershire 6/0
Gloucestershire's attempts to forge a potentially match-winning lead against Second Division promotion hopefuls Middlesex were thwarted by bad light and drizzle on the third day of the Specsavers County Championship match at Bristol.
Having earlier bowled the visitors out for 242 to establish a first-innings advantage of 54, Gloucestershire advanced to six without loss before umpires Graham Lloyd and Russell Warren took the players off for bad light shortly after the lunch interval.
Gloucestershire's David Payne claimed three wickets in the space of 11 balls to summarily end Middlesex tail-end resistance and put the hosts in a position of strength by the end of a hard-fought morning session.
Resuming on 182-7, Middlesex added 60 runs in painstaking fashion before Payne mopped up the tail to finish with figures of 3-51.
James Harris and Ethan Bamber summoned stubborn resistance in an eighth wicket stand of 53 in 25 overs, which served to keep alive Middlesex's slender promotion hopes.
The advent of the second new ball proved decisive, Gloucestershire making the breakthrough they needed when Harris, having chiseled 35 from 84 balls, offered a return catch to Payne.
Gloucestershire openers Chris Dent and Miles Hammond negotiated five overs before the clouds rolled in.
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DAY THREE - LUNCH
Middlesex 242 all out
Gloucestershire 6/0
Gloucestershire's David Payne claimed three wickets in the space of 11 balls as Middlesex were bowled out for 242 on the third day of the Specsavers County Championship match at Bristol.
Resuming on 182-7, the visitors added 60 runs in painstaking fashion before Payne mopped up the tail, finishing with 3-51 to help Gloucestershire establish a handy first-innings lead of 54.
James Harris and Ethan Bamber summoned stubborn resistance in an eighth wicket stand of 53 in 25 overs, which served to keep alive Middlesex's slender promotion hopes.
The advent of the second new ball proved decisive, Gloucestershire making the breakthrough they needed when Harris, having chiseled 35 from 84 balls, offered a return catch to Payne.
Required to negotiate two overs before lunch, Gloucestershire openers Chris Dent and Miles Hammond reached the interval on six without loss.
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DAY TWO - CLOSE OF PLAY
Middlesex 182/7
Unheralded Ben Charlesworth played a starring role with bat and ball as Gloucestershire assumed the upper hand on day two of their Specsavers County Championship match against Second Division promotion hopefuls Middlesex at Bristol.
Making only his third first-class appearance, the 17-year-old Academy product raised a career-best 77 not out to propel the hosts to 296 and then took 3-21 from eight overs as Middlesex limped to the close on 182-7, still 114 behind.
Discarded England batsman Dawid Malan offered stubborn resistance in making 62, but the home side were firmly in the ascendant when Matt Taylor dismissed him in the penultimate over.
Teenage rookie Charlesworth initially distinguished himself as Gloucestershire staged a notable recovery after resuming their first innings on 208-7. In danger of falling short, the hosts were indebted to the 17-year-old A-Level student, who registered his maiden first-class half century to propel his team to a respectable total.
Having demonstrated sound defence the previous evening, he displayed excellent shot selection and the strength of character needed to take charge of the lower order and retain the strike.
Dropped behind on 29 off the bowling of Ethan Bamber, Charlesworth made good his escape to stage a meaningful partnership of 58 with Matt Taylor, a Gloucestershire record for the last wicket in matches against Middlesex. In so doing, they eclipsed the landmark set by Martyn Ball and Courtney Walsh at Lord's in 1998.
Fellow teenager and England Under-19 international Bamber also excelled, removing Craig Miles and David Payne in quick succession to return figures of 4-81, while James Harris pinned Matt Taylor lbw to wrap up the innings shortly before lunch.
When England one-day captain Eoin Morgan was bowled by Matt Taylor for 16 and Charlsworth accounted for Max Holden and the experienced Paul Stirling in quick succession, the visitors were 161-6, under real pressure for the first time in the match and heavily dependent upon their captain.
Although he lived a charmed life at times, Malan represented his team's best chance of achieving the victory they needed to maintain pressure on second-placed Kent. The former England left hander had been at large for three hours, faced 122 balls and helped himself to 11 fours when he pushed at a length ball from Matt Taylor and was held by Gareth Roderick shortly before the close.
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DAY TWO - TEA
Middlesex 87/2
Steve Eskinazi was homing in on a half century as Middlesex, replying to Gloucestershire's first-innings 296, advanced to 87-2 at tea on day two of the Specsavers County Championship Second Division match at Bristol.
Craig Miles and Ryan Higgins removed openers Sam Robson and Nick Gubbins for 10 and 25 respectively, but Eskinazi and former England Test batsman Dawid Malan stood firm thereafter, reaching the interval unbeaten on 37 and 12 respectively.
Teenage rookie Ben Charlesworth had earlier registered his maiden first-class half century as Gloucestershire, resuming on 208-7, added a further 88 runs in the morning session to attain a respectable total. Given permission to play by St Edward's School in Oxford, A-Level student Charlesworth batted for just under three and a half hours, making a career-best 77 not out from 161 balls before finally running out of partners.
Fellow teenager and England Under-19 international Bamber also excelled, removing Miles and David Payne in quick succession to return figures of 4-81.
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DAY TWO - LUNCH
Gloucestershire 296 all out
Middlesex 3/0
Teenage rookie Ben Charlesworth distinguished himself as Gloucestershire staged a recovery on the second morning of the Specsavers County Championship match against promotion-chasing Middlesex at Bristol.
Resuming on 208-7 and in danger of falling short in their first innings, the hosts were indebted to the 17-year-old Academy product, who registered his maiden first-class half century to help Gloucestershire post 296.
Given permission to play by St Edward's School in Oxford, A-Level student Charlesworth batted for just under three and a half hours, making a career-best 77 not out from 161 balls before finally running out of partners.
Fellow teenager and England Under-19 international Ethan Bamber removed Craig Miles and David Payne in quick succession to return figures of 4-81, while James Harris pinned Matt Taylor lbw to wrap up the innings shortly before lunch.
Required to negotiate two overs before lunch, Middlesex openers Sam Robson and Nick Gubbins reached the interval on three without loss.
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DAY ONE - CLOSE OF PLAY
Gloucestershire 208/7
Gloucestershire skipper Chris Dent continued his fine form, top-scoring with 82 as Gloucestershire closed on 208-7 on day one of the Specsavers County Championship match against Second Division promotion hopefuls Middlesex at Bristol.
Made to work hard on an essentially true pitch, Middlesex's seam bowling unit nevertheless removed the cream of Gloucestershire's top-order batting on a day when neither side could claim to have fully wrestled control of an absorbing contest.
But with the new ball just 13 overs old and further bowler-friendly overhead conditions forecast for day two, Dawid Malan will arguably be the happier of the two captains.
In fine form after scoring a double hundred in his last innings, Dent looked to impose himself, staging stands of 63 and 43 with Miles Hammond and Gareth Roderick for the first and fourth wickets respectively after Gloucestershire had been put in beneath heavy cloud cover.
Intent upon occupying the crease in the face of nagging line and length from new ball bowlers Tim Murtagh and James Harris, Dent and Hammond demonstrated admirable discipline and concentration in laying solid foundations.
Returning to his former county, James Fuller redressed the balance, dismissing Hammond and James Bracey in quick succession either side of lunch.
But an increasingly assured Dent found a willing ally in Roderick and Gloucestershire's third wicket pair raised the scoring rate to put Middlesex on the back foot for the first time.
Having mustered defiance aplenty in facing 174 balls and accruing 11 fours to move to within 18 runs of a second successive hundred, Dent was understandably aggrieved when surrendering his wicket in limp fashion.
Desperate to effect a breakthrough ahead of the advent of the second new ball, Middlesex skipper Malan introduced his leg breaks in the penultimate over before tea. No doubt lulled into a false sense of security, Dent inexplicably scooped a soft shot to Sam Robson at mid-wicket.
Gloucestershire's prospects of posting an imposing total went with him. Jack Taylor fell to James Harris, edging a catch low to Paul Stirling at second slip, and Roderick departed in the next over, snaffled by Robson at first slip off the bowling of teenage seamer Ethan Bamber as the home side subsided from 149-3 to 162-6 inside seven overs.
Charged with the task of repairing the damage, former Middlesex all-rounder Ryan Higgins and 17-year-old rookie pace bowler Ben Charlesworth, playing in only his third first-class match, were relieved to see the back of the impressive Fuller, who was withdrawn from the attack after suffering an attack of cramp.
The seventh wicket pair were still required to negotiate 13 overs against the new ball and Harris removed Higgins, who was held by Stirling in the slip cordon for 24.
But Charlesworth (18 not out) and Craig Miles (four not out) displayed no little resilience in reaching the close without further loss, in the process securing a batting bonus point for their team.
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DAY ONE - TEA
Gloucestershire 150/4
Gloucestershire captain Chris Dent led from the front, registering a gritty 82 as the hosts reached tea on 150-4 on the first day of the Specsavers County Championship match against Middlesex at Bristol.
In fine form after scoring a double hundred in his last innings, Dent staged stands of 63 and 43 with Miles Hammond and Gareth Roderick for the first and fourth wickets respectively after Gloucestershire had been put in beneath dark clouds.
He had faced 174 balls and accrued 11 fours when he spooned occasional bowler Dawid Malan to Nick Gubbins at square leg shortly before tea.
Former Gloucestershire paceman James Fuller had earlier claimed two wickets for 11 runs in six overs from the Pavilion End to keep promotion hopefuls Middlesex in the hunt. Hammond suffered a loss of concentration in the final over before the interval, slicing uppishly to Malan in the gully, and Fuller struck again after lunch, shaping a ball back into James Bracey, who fell lbw for three having never looked comfortable.
Undaunted, Dent went to 50 from 102 balls via his eighth four in an increasingly fluent innings, clipping Paul Stirling to the fine leg boundary.
Benny Howell edged the deserving Ethan Bamber to first slip for 18 as the hosts slipped to 106-3, but Roderick summoned stiff resistance in alliance with his captain and was 19 not out at tea.
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DAY ONE - LUNCH
Gloucestershire 63/1
Gloucestershire's batsmen summoned dogged defiance to reach lunch on 63-1 on the first day of the Specsavers County Championship Second Division match against Middlesex at Bristol.
Intent upon occupying the crease in the face of nagging line and length from new ball bowlers Tim Murtagh and James Harris, Chris Dent and Miles Hammond scored a modest 15 runs during the first hour in overcast conditions.
Having mustered just two scoring shots in all that time, Hammond drove Ethan Bamber handsomely through the covers to register the first boundary in the 16th over. A double centurion in his last innings, Dent followed suit in the next over, pulling James Fuller to the boards to realise double figures from 50 balls.
Former Gloucestershire paceman Fuller suffered at the hands of Dent, who plundered a further four boundaries to advance to 34 not out.
Worse followed for Fuller when Hammond was dropped on 19 by Paul Stirling at second slip. But the New Zealander had his revenge when Hammond sliced a drive to Dawid Malan and departed for 23 to the final ball before lunch.
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Gloucestershire
Middlesex
