Veteran Barnett holds Gloucestershire together

Kim Barnett's unbeaten 92 led Gloucestershire to 247-7 on the first day of the Cricinfo Championship Division Two match with Middlesex at Bristol.

Play ended 20 overs early because of bad light and 40-year-old Barnett, the oldest player on the county circuit, will have his sights on the 58th first-class hundred of his career when he resumes tomorrow.

At 58-3 in the morning and then 162-6 in mid-afternoon, Gloucestershire looked to be heading for a below-par score on a typically slow County Ground pitch.

But Barnett was in obdurate mood and he found good partners throughout the day in Ian Harvey, Reggie Williams and Mike Cawdron.

Home skipper Mark Alleyne elected to bat first when he won the toss and, following an opening stand of 43 between Tim Hancock and Rob Cunliffe, Simon Cook claimed three wickets for seven runs in the space of 12 balls.

He had Hancock caught at extra cover, Matt Windows at mid-off and Cunliffe snapped up by wicket-keeper David Nash.

Harvey, back in the team after a chest problem ruled him out of the Benson & Hedges Cup defeat by Somerset on Monday, then helped Barnett add 93 for the fourth wicket.

The Australian struck seven boundaries in his 41 before he attempted to cut an Angus Fraser delivery which bounced a bit more than expected and he was caught by Nash.

Alleyne fell for a duck, lbw as he pushed well forward to Tim Bloomfield, and Jeremy Snape quickly followed him back to the pavilion after he drove a catch to Cook at extra cover off Bloomfield.

Williams, however, provided gritty support to Barnett in a seventh-wicket stand of 55. The Gloucestershire wicket-keeper took ten balls to get off the mark with a single and then required a further 32 deiveries to score again.

Williams became Nash's third victim behind the stumps when he drove at Paul Weekes's off-spin, but that was Middlesex's last success of the day.

Cawdron was unbeaten on 15 when umpires Neil Mallender and Allan Jones brought the players off the field just after 5.30pm.