Tailenders ensure draw for Gloucestershire
Chris Dent and Jon Lewis put on an unbroken 101 for the ninth wicket to ensure a draw for Gloucestershire in their Division Two match with Essex at Bristol
01-Jun-2011
Chris Dent and Jon Lewis put on an unbroken 101 for the ninth wicket to ensure a draw for Gloucestershire in their Division Two match with Essex at Bristol. The home side looked in danger of defeat when they were 209 for 8 in mid-afternoon and only 143 ahead overall.
But young batsman Dent, with 70, and long-serving seamer Lewis, with a run-a-ball 50, frustrated Essex with a partnership that spanned 19 overs. Essex's cause was hampered from the 46th over onwards by the bowling absence of Ryan ten Doeschate, who was ordered from the attack by umpire Steve Garrett for delivering two beamers in an over.
Gloucestershire had begun the day on 37 for 2 and Essex struck twice in the first 10 overs to raise their hopes of victory. New Zealander Kane Williamson was caught behind off Chris Wright for 31, and Chris Taylor edged David Masters to Matthew Walker at second slip.
The Gidman brothers, Alex and Will, revived the innings with a fifth-wicket stand of 70 in 15 overs, which ended when the former was lbw to Ten Doeschate for 42. The Netherlands allrounder was ordered from the attack in his next over, but it was still looking good for Essex when Will Gidman played across a delivery from Reece Topley just after lunch and was lbw for 32.
Dent and Ed Young frustrated the visitors for 15 overs before Young's attempted cut at Ravi Bopara only resulted in an edge to James Foster behind the stumps. It became 209 for 8 when Walker took a one-handed, low catch at second slip off Bopara to dismiss Ian Saxelby for six.
But that was Essex's last success of the day as Dent and Lewis played some fine attacking strokeplay to rescue a draw for Gloucestershire. The second new ball was taken just after tea, but there were few alarms for either batsman.
Dent, in his first Championship outing since he fractured a finger against Glamorgan in mid-April, reached his 110-ball half-century by cutting Topley to the cover boundary.
Topley conceded three boundaries in his next over, as Lewis hit him for four to long-on and fine leg and Dent cut him to the third-man rope. Lewis drove Masters for a straight six and, soon after, brought up his third half-century of the season with a single to deep square leg off Bopara. It came from 50 balls and included six fours as well the six.
Alex Gidman immediately declared the Gloucestershire innings and the players shook hands on a draw.
