Payne and Klinger fight Gloucs corner

Gloucestershire 183 and 133 for 4 (Klinger 43*) lead Leicestershire 218 (Robson 62, Payne 5-36) by 98 runs
Scorecard

Seam bowlers continued to dominate on the second day of the Specsavers County Championship match between Gloucestershire and Leicestershire at Cheltenham.

David Payne finished with 5 for 36 as Leicestershire were bowled out for 218 in reply to the hosts' 183, having begun the day on 122 for 5. Angus Robson top scored with 62, while Ned Eckersley and Ben Raine made important contributions.

When Gloucestershire batted again there was more evidence of swing and seam movement as they progressed to 133 for 4 before rain brought play to a premature conclusion. Skipper Michael Klinger was unbeaten on 43, with Chris Dent having made 34. Neil Dexter claimed 2 for 11 to match his first-innings figures and the home side were precariously placed with a lead of just 98 going into the third day.

The morning session saw the pitch still offering plenty of assistance to the bowlers after 15 wickets had fallen on day one. Leicestershire's remaining batsmen had to show application to gain a slender, but useful first-innings lead of 35.

Left-armer Payne took the last three wickets of the innings, sending back Clint McKay, Richard Jones and Charlie Shreck, having bowled without much luck on the previous evening.

Robson, unbeaten on 49 overnight, had reached a battling half-century off 148 balls, with nine fours, before falling to Craig Miles, having added 73 for the sixth wicket with Eckersley, who also went to Miles, having faced 106 balls and hit three fours.

At one point, Leicestershire looked well placed at 201 for 7, but Payne then ensured their advantage was a small one, wrapping up the tail with three wickets in as many overs.

Lunch was taken at the change of innings and Gloucestershire made a solid enough start, with openers Dent and Will Tavare wiping out the deficit. But with the total on 39, Tavare edged Charlie Shreck through to Mark Cosgrove at second slip and departed for 18.

Graeme van Buuren made only 3 before being bowled driving at Raine and it was 80 for 3 when Dent fell to a superb low catch by Cosgrove in the slips off Dexter.

Hamish Marshall, playing his last Championship innings at Cheltenham before leaving Gloucestershire at the end of the season, also went cheaply to Dexter, edging to Robson at first slip. But Klinger showed his quality by stemming the tide and was unbeaten on 32 at tea, which was taken with Gloucestershire 113 for 4 and leading by 78.

Jack Taylor followed his first innings half-century by helping his skipper add a further 20 runs after the break when rain started falling at soon after 4.30pm. It was light drizzle to start with, but when it became more persistent umpires Michael Gough and Graham Lloyd called play off for the day at 6pm.