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Record-breaking Gloucestershire take control against Leicestershire

18 May 2024

Gloucestershire registered the highest score in their 154 year first-class history before making substantial inroads into the Leicestershire reply on the second day of the Vitality Division Two championship match at the UptonSteel County Ground.

Captain Graeme van Buuren hit a century at better than a run a ball, becoming the third batter in his team to reach three figures after Cameron Bancroft and Ben Charlesworth had reached the landmark on day one, before declaring on 706-6 at tea.

It was the first time Gloucestershire passed 700, surpassing the 695-9 made against Middlesex in 2004, and the fifth highest first-class score made against Leicestershire.

Young leg-spinner Ed Middleton then won decisions off consecutive deliveries as Leicestershire were reduced to 133-5 at the close.

A cloudy morning saw Gloucestershire made to work hard for their runs, at least for the first hour, so much so that they failed to pick up a fifth batting bonus point – a target that had looked well in reach when they began the day on 385-2, needing another 65 runs from 15.3 overs.

The loss of Miles Hammond did not help, the left-hander bowled off the inside edge trying to drive a Scott Currie delivery. Ollie Price passed 50 for the third time this season before missing an attempted reverse sweep at Rehan Ahmed, but Van Buuren and James Bracey took Leicestershire's tiring young attack apart during a partnership of 147 for the fifth wicket.

It was a surprise when Bracey, having made 92, edged a drive at a wide delivery from Currie to Ben Cox behind the stumps, but Van Buuren went to his century, made from 90 balls, with a six off Louis Kimber.

Needing 557 simply to avoid the follow on, Leicestershire made a poor start when Marcus Harris was given out leg before to Matt Taylor. The decision was a close one, the ball hitting the Australian well above the knee roll, and so too were the decisions which saw the demise of Louis Kimber and Lewis Hill. 

Kimber went back to a delivery from Middleton that skidded on and looked to be missing leg stump, and the next ball saw Hill given out caught off bat-pad when replays suggested the bat may not have been involved.

There was little doubt however about the leg before decision given when Josh Shaw's full delivery trapped Peter Hanscombe on the back foot, and none at all when Ahmed's airy waft resulted in the young England all-rounder edging Beau Webster's delivery to Bracey.

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