Rothesay County Championship, Division Two, Seat Distinctive Stadium, Bristol (day two)
Middlesex 326 & 17-0: Hollman 10*
Gloucestershire 296: Ahmed 90*, Sai Kishore 71; Hollman 3-36
Middlesex (5 pts) lead Gloucestershire (4 pts) by 47 runs
Daz Ahmed and Sai Kishore shared an eighth-wicket stand of 144 to dig Gloucestershire out of a gap on the second day of the County Championship Division Two match with Middlesex.
After the guests had added simply two runs to their in a single day first innings rating of 324-9, JT Langridge claiming the final wicket for figures of 3-82, Gloucestershire slipped from 79-1 in reply to 128-7.
However that was nearly as good because it obtained for Middlesex. South Asian Cricket Academy product Ahmed hit a career-best 90 not out off 117 balls, with six fours and three sixes, whereas India A spinner Kishore contributed 71 from 131 deliveries, clearing the ropes seven instances.
Their mixed efforts noticed Gloucestershire bowled out for 296, simply 30 runs behind. By the shut, Middlesex had made 17 with out loss of their second innings and led by 47.
Langridge has proved a shrewd late season signing for Gloucestershire. The 20-year-old Devonian, on mortgage from Somerset, took his wicket tally to 13 in three Championship appearances when bowling Dan Ferns within the fourth over of the morning. Toby Roland-Jones was left 45 not out.
The hosts had progressed to 42 in reply when Joe Phillips, on 23, edged a defensive push off seamer Sebastian Morgan by way of to wicketkeeper Harry Duke. Ollie Worth and Tommy Boorman had been compelled to battle exhausting as they progressed the rating to 68-1 at lunch.
Worth had taken 74 balls over his 15 and was unable so as to add within the afternoon session earlier than Ryan Higgins despatched his center stump cartwheeling. Three balls later Miles Hammond edged to second slip and departed for a duck with the scoreboard studying 79-3.
Boorman fought tenaciously for his 32 off 54 deliveries earlier than struggling the identical destiny as Worth, his center stump uprooted by the impressed Higgins to make it 100 for 4. Kamran Dhariwal then fell for a 25-ball duck, caught behind defending a ball from Morgan.
Higgins, a Championship promotion winner with Gloucestershire in 2019, completed his spell from the Ashley Down Street Finish with figures of 3-16 from 11 overs, 5 of them maidens.
Gloucestershire had been in grave hazard of following on when Ed Middleton recorded the third duck of the innings, leg earlier than to Morgan. At 128-7, the house facet trailed by 198 runs.
However 25-year-old Ahmed steadily grew in stature to be unbeaten on 36 at tea, with Kishore providing staunch assist on 18. At that time the stand was price 45.
A pulled single by Ahmed off Ferns took Gloucestershire previous the follow-on determine. His subsequent single, from a Morgan no-ball, introduced up the half-century stand.
Ahmed’s personal fifty was reached with a push into the off facet off Higgins, having confronted 87 balls and hit three fours and a six. The following goal was to cross his earlier highest firstclass rating of 52, made within the earlier recreation towards Lancashire at Outdated Trafford.
That was completed with a boundary off Ferns. All of the whereas Kishore was gaining in confidence, damaging Higgins’ figures with a giant six over long-off. The 29-year-old left-hander cleared the ropes on 4 different events in a 114-ball half-century, his first for Gloucestershire.
One other most adopted off Zafar Gohar as Kishore and Ahmed took their stand previous the century mark. Ahmed joined within the aggression with a straight six off leg-spinner Luke Hollman and shortly the hosts had been celebrating an unlikely batting level.
Kishore finally perished to a catch within the deep off Hollman, who pinned Matt Taylor lbw along with his subsequent ball earlier than ending the innings by bowling Langridge with Ahmed ten wanting a maiden century.
Middlesex had been left with ten overs to bat. Openers Hollman and Sam Robson watchfully noticed them by way of to stumps.
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