Middlesex v Gloucestershire - Day 2 Match Report and live score updates
1 April 2015
Will Tavare hit a century as Gloucestershire finished day two of their match against Middlesex on 204-3.
Opening the batting, Tavare made 108 from 188 balls with 17 fours before being out off the final ball to be bowled before bad light ended the day prematurely.
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Earlier, on another bitterly cold day at Merchant Taylor’s School, Middlesex batted for a further seventeen overs in the morning before declaring on 273-7.
Andrew Balbirnie and Ryan Higgins had resumed the Middlesex innings on 206-5 and the pair took the total to 225-5 before left-arm spinner Tom Smith bowled Balbirniefor 32, with his second ball. Paul Stirling, who had to retire the previous evening due to cramp, resumed his innings on 54 not out and with Higgins took the total to 239-6 before latter was caught at backward square-leg by Smith off the bowling of Liam Norwell for eight.
Ollie Rayner joined Stirling and they took the total to 273-7 after 84 overs. Stirling finished 77 not out (off 146 balls, 12 fours) and Ollie Rayner was 17 not out. Matt Taylor was the pick of the visiting bowlers with 3-43 in 14 overs , Liam Norwell took 2-47 in 22 overs and Tom Smith 2-40.
In reply Will Tavare and Chris Dent survived a testing twelve overs before lunch to go into the break on 42-0.
Tim Murtagh continued to bowl after the interval but it was James Harris who got the breakthrough in the second over when he had Dent caught by Sam Robson at second slip without adding to his lunchtime score of 20.
Iain Cockbain joined Tavare and they had to survive a hostile spell of bowling from James Harris who had figures of 1-27 off eight overs. Tavare reached a 96 ball fifty (8 fours) with a single in the 32nd over which also brought up the hundred. Harry Podmore bowled an impressive six over spell without luck but Tavare and Cockbain batted solidly to take Gloucestershire to 151-1 at tea with Tavare 85 not out and Cockbain 43 not out.
Tom Helm and James Harris re-joined the attack immediately after the break and Cockbain reached a 92 ball fifty (8 fours) in the 49th over before after scoring a further four off Tom Helm, the bowler then had his revenge when he trapped Cockbain LBW for 57. Hamish Marshall joined Tavare with the total on 174-2 and Tavare reached his hundred (off 178 balls) with two fours in a Tom Helm over.
Marshall scored two successive fours off Harry Podmore to bring up the two hundred in the 57th over and the total reached 204-2 after 60 overs at which point Ollie Rayner came on to bowl. With his first ball he had Tavare caught at the wicket by John Simpson for 108 (off 188 balls, 17 fours) but just as the next batsman walked onto the ground to replace Tavare, the umpires brought the players off the field of play and no further play was possible. Hamish Marshall is 15 not out: James Harris has figures of 1-41 off 14 overs with Tom Helm taking 1-68 in 16 overs, Ollie Rayner 1-5 in 2.1 overs whilst Tim Murtagh has figures of 0-37 from 16 overs. Harry Podmore 0-34 in 8 overs and Neil Dexter 0-17 in 4 overs.
