Will Gidman Hits Century At Ageas Bowl
9 July 2014
A century from Will Gidman and solid contributions from Gloucestershire's other batsmen built a strong position on the third day of the LV=County Championship match against Hampshire at Southampton.
By the close the visitors, who began the day on 94-1 in reply to 297, had extended their first innings score to 446-5, claiming four batting points in the process.
Gidman led the way with an unbeaten 109, made from 168 balls, with 13 fours. He shared a fifth-wicket stand of 161 with Ian Cockbain, who contributed 61 and batted for nine minutes short of four hours.
Earlier, Will Tavare had taken his overnight score of 44 to 86 before falling to Sean Ervine. Alex Gidman (43) and Hamish Marshall (56) also made significant contributions.
Benny Howell was 17 not out at stumps, with Gloucestershire leading by 149 runs and in a position to put their opponents under pressure on the final day.
They will want to add to that advantage in the morning, which could give Will Gidman the chance to attack his career-best score of 143.
At the close Will said: "Over the past three or four matches we have under-performed with the bat, but today was a positive day. Hopefully, we can kick on and make the most of it tomorrow.
"It is up to the captain if he wants another quick 50 or so or get straight in there with the ball.
"It is a decent deck. The new ball nipped about a bit, but it is up to us now to build on the advantage gained so far."
For more details on day three at the Ageas Bowl click on Cricket and then Match Reports.
