Phillips hundred highlights final-day scramble for bonus points

Gloucestershire's Joe Phillips hit his maiden first class century as the rain-ruined Rothesay County Championship Division Two match with Middlesex ended in an inevitable draw.

After the third day washout, a still wet outfield prevented any play until 1.25pm, with a minimum of 68 overs left in the game. Resuming their first innings on 54 for 1, a deficit of 391, Gloucestershire extended it to 400 for 9 by stumps, 21-year-old Cornishman Phillips making 136 from 182 balls, with 19 fours.

Miles Hammond contributed an attractive 71 and Cameron Bancroft 58. But there had been too little time on a placid pitch for the teams to conjure a decisive outcome and both had to settle for 15 points.

Following an early lunch at 12.45pm, Phillips and skipper Bancroft played confidently on a pitch still proving surprisingly straightforward to bat on considering it was shaved at both ends.

Unbeaten on 11 at the start, Phillips had a scare on 34 when advancing down the pitch to offspinner Josh De Caires and edging between wicketkeeper and first slip for four. It was a rare moment of anxiety for Gloucestershire as Bancroft was first to his half-century, off 104 balls, with nine fours.

The experienced Aussie was looking in prime form and it was a surprise when, with the total advanced to 126, he was bowled off a bottom edge aiming to pull a boundary off left-arm seamer Noah Cornwell.

By then Phillips was treating the sparse crowd to a range of sweetly-timed strokes off front and back foot, a single to deep cover off Luke Hollman's legspin taking him to fifty off 92 deliveries, with five fours. Two more boundaries followed from fierce pull shots in the same Cornwell over.

Ollie Price was soon looking equally at home on the two-tone coloured surface. A glorious square drive for four off Ryan Higgins took Truro-born Phillips past his previous best first-class score of 80, made on the same ground against Worcestershire in 2023.

By tea, he had moved to 96 and, with Price unbeaten on 33, Gloucestershire were 209 for 2, still trailing by 236. A looping full toss from Sam Robson gave Phillips the chance to strike the boundary that brought up his century off 145 balls. It was his 15th four and he raised a clenched fist in the air to celebrate.

Price departed soon afterwards for 34, caught behind top-edging a sweep off Robson's leg-breaks. The dismissal meant a first bowling point for Middlesex on a day their promotion hopes suffered a damaging blow with Glamorgan's victory over Lancashire.

Phillips and Hammond took Gloucestershire to 250 and a batting point. With more bonus points up for grabs, neither team wanted to shake hands on the draw.

Using his feet well to attack the spinners, Phillips continued on his merry way, while Hammond also went on the attack at every opportunity. Their entertaining stand of 66 in 12.1 overs ended when Phillips holed out to long-on off Higgins.

Cheltenham-born Hammond, who often flourishes at the Festival, advanced to smack a straight six off De Caires as Gloucestershire progressed to a second batting point, losing James Bracey cheaply, caught at mid-on off De Caires with the total on 299.

Hollman earned Middlesex a second bowling point when having Graeme van Buuren caught at slip. But Hammond moved to a fluent half-century off 63 balls before Zaman Akhter was seventh man out, caught at backward square leg sweeping a ball from Hollman with eight overs remaining.

A Hammond six off Hollman took Gloucestershire to a third batting point before he fell aiming to clear long-on off Higgins. With three overs remaining, Middlesex took the second new ball and Cornwell had Matt Taylor caught behind to give his side maximum bowling points.

There was still time for a Josh Shaw six off Higgins as he and Todd Murphy helped the hosts reach 400 in the very last over. Both teams could feel happy at the end of a thoroughly entertaining final hour.