Leaders Durham build big lead over Gloucs

Rothesay County Championship, Division Two, Chester-le-Street (day two)

Gloucestershire 137: Bracey 60; Aldridge 5-16

Durham 331-8: Bedingham 122; Ahmed 2-52

Durham (5 pts) lead Gloucs (2 pts) by 194 runs

Match scorecard

David Bedingham's fifth century of the County Championship season helped promotion chasing Durham consolidate their dominance over Gloucestershire in their Division Two match-up.

Bedingham and Ben Stokes combined for a partnership worth 94 to hand Durham a first innings lead within the first hour of play. The South African then passed three figures for the fifth time this season, but Gloucestershire struck back with a few quick wickets before lunch.

Durham's lead passed 150 in the afternoon session, with the impressive Sai Kishore keeping the hosts' batting line-up in check. The rain then came with a vengeance and the tea break was brought forward.

After a lengthy delay, play resumed and an Ollie Robinson cameo helped his side reach 331-8 at close, a lead of 194 runs. Despite the loss of time due to the weather, Durham are still in control of the game as they look to strengthen their promotion bid.

Resuming on 100-3 and just 37 runs behind Gloucestershire's first innings total, Bedingham and Stokes were looking to wipe out the deficit as soon as they could.

Bedingham continued where he left off as he found the boundary with ease, with a straight drive off the bowling of JT Langridge the pick of his early shots.

Stokes played a glorious drive for four to take Durham into the lead, with an inexperienced Gloucestershire attack struggling to control the flow of runs.

The pair's brutal onslaught continued, with Bedingham notching up his 21st first-class century for Durham. However, there was relief for Gloucestershire as Kishore picked up the prized wicket of Stokes, with the Indian spinner bowling the former England captain with a beauty.

Five overs were lost due to a rain delay and it proved to come at a good time for the visitors who struck through Mitch Killeen upon resumption, as Graham Clark edged straight to second slip.

The visitors continued their fightback, with Daz Ahmed dismissing Bedingham for an excellent 122 after he holed out to long-on.

There was still plenty of work for the visitors to do, with Durham possessing a long batting line-up. The hosts looked to build on their lead after lunch, with Colin Ackermann and Robinson ticking along nicely.

Kishore struck back for Gloucestershire as he got Ackermann caught behind, but Durham kept plugging away and their lead passed 150.

Robinson and Kasey Aldridge looked to pick up some quick runs but they were pegged back by Kishore and then the rain returned, much to the frustration of the players.

After a lengthy delay, the players returned for a shortened evening session, and Durham secured a second batting bonus point.

Aldridge was given another life as he edged a Killeen delivery, but Cameron Bancroft couldn't hold on to a regulation catch at slip. The Durham all-rounder responded to that by smashing a Kishore ball down the ground for six.

Robinson was then caught behind at the hands of his former team-mate Killeen, which was one of the last actions before bad light brought a close to the day's play.

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