Day Three
Result: Gloucestershire (174 & 119/4; Salisbury 3/41) beat Durham (158 & 132) by 6 wickets
Gloucestershire secured their first win of the Specsavers County Championship Division Two season by defeating Durham by six wickets at Emirates Riverside.
The visitors required only 53 runs to win in the morning after the opening partnership between Chris Dent and Miles Hammond had knocked off over half of their target of 117 the previous evening. Although they lost three further wickets, Gloucestershire were able to ease their way to their maiden Championship victory of the term to move up into third in the table.
Gloucestershire began the day only one wicket down but they lost their nightwatchman Josh Shaw without adding to their overnight total as Chris Rushworth made the breakthrough, as Ned Eckersley claimed a routine catch to send him on his way.
Hammond made a solid knock of 36 to put Gloucestershire on the verge of victory. However, Matt Salisbury struck with his first ball of day three to deny the opener the chance to see his team over the line, edging behind to Eckersley. Salisbury then bowled George Hankins just before Jeff Bracey and Gareth Roderick were able to see out the comfortable win.
Durham host Derbyshire and Northamptonshire in back-to-back matches at the beginning of June where they are in need of improvement to end their winless run in the Championship.
Day Two
Close, Day Two: Gloucestershire (174 & 64/1) require 53 more runs to beat Durham (158 & 132)
Gloucestershire require only another 57 runs with nine wickets in hand to beat Durham at Emirates Riverside in their Specsavers County Championship clash.
The visitors were only able to 54 runs to their first-innings total on day two, although it was enough to hold a slender advantage as Chris Rushworth and Brydon Carse did the damage for the hosts.
But Durham couldn’t take full advantage & only made 132 in their first innings. Cameron Bancroft top scored with 40, providing resistance with a patient knock.
Openers Chris Dent and Miles Hammond knocked off over half of the 117 needed for the victory, leaving the visitors requiring only another
Gloucestershire began day two 120-5, trailing the home side by 38 runs. Ben Raine made an impact in his first over when he dismissed Benny Howell, who failed to add to his overnight score of 27. Rushworth compounded Durham’s bright start to the day when he removed Ryan Higgins and Josh Shaw, clean bowling the latter for 18.
Graeme van Buuren and Matt Taylor added late runs to guide Gloucestershire into a lead of 16 as Carse ended the innings, claiming the final two wickets.
David Payne handed the visitors the perfect start to Durham’s second innings, dismissing Alex Lees lbw for a first-ball duck. Ryan Pringle countered by scoring six boundaries, but he played a loose shot on 30 on the stroke of lunch and was caught at mid-on off the bowling of Shaw.
The right-arm seamer then put Gloucestershire in control after the interval, removing Gareth Harte and Jack Burnham in successive deliveries. Bancroft and Liam Trevaskis held firm for almost 23 overs, fending off accurate bowling from the visitors.
The two players were approaching their fifty partnership, but Trevaskis took on a quick single and a slight hesitation from his partner at the other end broke the stand at 48. A direct hit from Van Buuren running in from cover dismissed the Durham skipper.
Trevaskis fell shortly after his captain for 21 to Payne before Taylor and Higgins combined to take two wickets apiece to wrap up the final four wickets for 35 runs.
Chris Dent and Miles Hammond were able to see off the threat of the new ball. Rushworth and Raine attempted to apply pressure, but the Gloucestershire openers whittled down the target, reaching their fifty partnership in 108 deliveries.
Matt Salisbury ended the stand at 60 as Dent edged behind to Eckersley, but the visitors remained on course for victory.
Day One
Matt Salisbury dragged Durham back into contention as Gloucestershire closed five down at the end of Day One of the Specsavers County Championship match at Emirates Riverside.
David Payne was the pick of the bowlers taking 4/40 as Durham were dismissed for just 158 in two sessions – Matt Taylor, Ryan Higgins and Josh Shaw taking two wickets apiece. Jack Burnham (43) and Ben Raine (42) making noteworthy impacts with the bat.
In reply, Durham restricted Gloucestershire to 120/5 at the close of play, Salisbury taking 3/18 with James Bracey the top scorer for the visitors with 35.
In an opening spell of 8-3-11-3, Payne dismissed Durham captain Cameron Bancroft (0), opener Alex Lees (4) and Gareth Harte (0) in quick succession, after Ryan Higgins had trapped Ryan Pringle – making his first Championship appearance since 2017 – LBW for 9 as Durham fell to 17/4.
Liam Trevaskis and Burnham began the process of re-building the Durham innings before the former lofted a simple catch to Higgins at cover off the bowling of Matt Taylor at 31/5.
Burnham and Eckersley resumed on 54/5 after lunch, but the latter fell soon after the interval as he misjudged a delivery by Ryan Higgins – LBW for 12.
Burnham and Ben Raine picked up the scoring rate as the hosts surpassed 100. A partnership of 46 came to an end when Burnham edged Matt Taylor behind for 43. Carse came and went for a golden duck, tickling a Josh Shaw ball to James Bracey with the score at 109/8.
Raine picked up the scoring rate in tandem with Matt Salisbury, finally falling to Shaw for 42 – caught behind by Bracey. Salisbury advanced the score on to 158 before he was bowled by the returning Payne who improved his figures to 4/40 in his 19.4 over.
Chris Dent and Miles Hammond opened for Gloucestershire with a very watchful stand of 27 before Carse produced an in-swinging yorker to the left-handed Hammond – catching the back pad in front of leg stump.
The introduction of Salisbury from the Finchale End proved fruitful as he produced a wonderful eight over spell which saw the dismissals of Dent (23), Hankins (0) and Roderick (1) seaming and swinging the ball in both directions as Durham clawed themselves back into proceedings.
But a partnership of 35 between Bracey and Benny Howell wrestled the initiative back for the visitors before the returning Chris Rushworth dismissed the former caught behind by Eckersley for 35 – the score 102/5.
Howell and night-watchmen Shaw dutifully saw out the remaining overs to leave the visitors just 38 runs behind Durham on 120/5 – Howell 27*, Shaw 8*.