Third wicket pair foil Leicestershire on day one
14 April 2017
A century partnership for the third wicket between Graeme van Buuren and Will Tavare saw Gloucestershire edge the first day of their Championship match with Leicestershire at the Brightside Ground and lift some of the disappointment at the heavy defeat by Kent on Sunday.
Having mustered only 210 runs at the St Lawrence Ground between the two innings, Gloucestershire's top order all got starts against a Leicestershire attack without a front line spinner, but it was Tavare and van Buuren who converted their ground work into a stand of 127 in 40 overs.
When bad light forced the players off late in the day, Gloucestershire had reached 236-4, with Tavare unbeaten on 73, made in almost five hours. Under new regulations it may be possible to make up the eight overs lost later in the match.
Listen to Graeme van Buuren's thoughts at the close here:
Gloucestershire retained the same side that lost at Canterbury, and under cloudy skies it was no surprise that Leicestershire captain Mark Cosgrove decided Gloucestershire should bat without the need to toss a coin.
The morning session was shaded by the home side, although Leicestershire could argue that sharper catching would have helped their cause. Chris Dent was dropped at first slip by Horton off McKay before he'd scored, and again by Ackermann at second slip when he'd made 16, with Raine the unlucky bowler. In between he played a supporting role to Cameron Bancroft as the pair added 52 for the first wicket, the Australian picking the gaps through the vacant covers for almost an hour until he was bowled by Griffiths for 32.
McKay and Raine, both used from the Pavilion End, looked the most dangerous of Leicestershire's quartet of seam bowlers and gave little away when Tavare joined Dent. The pair didn't try to force the tempo, and ticked the scoreboard along with singles as the boundaries dried up. There were some anxious moments too, Tavare edging Jones short of second slip and surviving a strong appeal for lbw before Dent departed with lunch only ten minutes away, Jones bowling him off an inside edge for 20.
Gloucestershire headed for the pavilion at 93-2, van Buuren having helped himself to three boundaries in the last over before the interval, bowled by Neil Dexter. His gentle medium pace wasn't seen again on the day, and in the afternoon session van Buuren and Tavare were to mirror the efforts of Dent and Bancroft in the first hour.
Both batted at their own pace. Tavare was characteristically patient, while van Buuren profited from anything he could cut or pull. The Leicestershire bowlers offered little that was of driveable length and Raine looked the sharpest, hurrying van Buuren and beating Tavare twice in one over without finding an edge.
The fifty partnership came up in 16 overs, and it wasn't long before van Buuren completed his own half century from 65 balls with ten fours. A rare leg side half volley from McKay was clipped over square leg by Tavare, and either side of a tidy spell by skipper Cosgrove Gloucestershire's third wicket pair took their stand past three figures, Tavare reaching fifty from 114 deliveries with four fours and a six.
A third chance went to ground in the slips just before tea - Ackermann spilling an edge by van Buuren off Jones when he had made 71 , and Gloucestershire chalked up their first batting point as the afternoon session drew to a close.
At that stage, even under cloudy skies, Gloucestershire might have been eyeing a score close to 300 by stumps, but two quick wickets after tea changed the picture. Resuming at 200-2, first van Buuren was caught behind off Raine for 79 and then Hankins (1) didn't get his feet moving when reaching for a wide ball from Griffiths and Dearden, now at second slip, held the catch.
The jolt of two quick wickets made the remainder of the day a phase of watchful defence for Tavare and skipper Mustard. 20 overs came and went before Tavare squeezed Raine to fine leg for the only boundary in the final session, and Mustard survived a big appeal for a catch at the wicket off McKay shortly after Leicestershire took the second new ball. The ability of the overnight pair to see that off on Saturday morning may dictate the pattern of the match.
