Marcus Harris scores third century of season to put Leicestershire in dominant spot

Marcus Harris continued his impressive form with a third LV=Insurance County Championship century as Leicestershire closed on a dominant 357 for 5 on day one of their match against Group Two leaders Gloucestershire.

The left-handed opener, who hopes a strong season in England will be enough to retain his place in the Australian Test team when the Ashes series begins in December, followed his 183 in last week's win over Middlesex with 148.

Colin Ackermann, who posted his first hundred of the season against Middlesex and shared a match-winning 243-run partnership with Harris, made 57, the pair adding 160 for the third wicket, before Lewis Hill, who made 56, helped add a further 75 before Harris was out.

All three Harris centuries have come at Leicestershire's Uptonsteel County Ground and in the space of his last four innings there. His 10 innings all told for the county have yielded 557 runs at 61.88, following his 695 at 63.18 for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield.

The 28-year-old hit 21 fours, timing the ball beautifully through the off side in particular, although the one that took him to his 18th first-class hundred was a flick off the legs off Josh Shaw.

He fell on 148 midway through the evening session when New Zealand all-rounder Glenn Phillips, Gloucestershire's overseas replacement for Kraigg Brathwaite, claimed a second debut wicket with his off spin, Harris playing back to be leg before to one that straightened up.

The third-wicket stand had been broken two balls after tea when Miles Hammond, the other off-spinner in the Gloucestershire line-up, had Ackermann reaching a long way for a flighted delivery which then spun back sharply to bowl the Leicestershire captain.

Shortly before tea, Hammond thought he had dismissed Harris on 109 via a catch at short leg before umpire Nick Cook explained that the ball had hit the ground first.

Hill went past fifty for the fifth time this season but was bowled shortly before the close by Dan Worrall, who almost had a second when Hammond got his fingertips to a difficult chance at second slip offered by Harry Swindells on 17.

Earlier, after Ackermann had won the toss, Hassan Azad was caught at fourth slip in left-armer David Payne's second over with the new ball, his seventh dismissal in single figures in nine innings.

Sam Evans helped Harris with the early groundwork against the new ball before flicking Phillips straight to short leg as Leicestershire lunched on 89 for 2.