Gloucestershire make painstaking progress

Gloucestershire remedied some of their early-season batting problems with a determined approach that enabled them to share the first-day honours at Edgbaston.

Having collected just two batting points in their first four games, Gloucestershire doubled their total but they needed 104 overs to get to 250.

They were kept in check by a tight Warwickshire attack on a decent batting pitch and were indebted to three half-century partnerships for holding things together.

Kim Barnett and Dominic Hewson put on 80 for the first wicket before they both fell to Vasbert Drakes in an over in which the paceman took three wickets.

Skipper Mark Alleyne and Chris Taylor then added 98 in 45 painstaking overs to rebuild the innings and, after they went in quick succession, it was left to Tim Hancock and Reggie Williams to regroup with an unbroken seventh-wicket stand worth 61.

Alleyne's 53 was his highest score of the season and Taylor's 44 his best of the summer but both fell when Warwickshire bowled off-spinner Neil Smith and Mark Wagh in tandem.

Taylor was leg before working Wagh's fourth ball to leg and Alleyne, who struck five fours and faced 147 balls, then pushed Smith to slip.

Jeremy Snape also perished to Smith when he carved him to point but Hancock and Williams nudged Gloucestershire closer to 300 in an innings for the first time this season as they closed on 261 for six.

Earlier Drakes flattened Kim Barnett's middle stump as the former England batsman pushed forward and was bowled through the gate, Hewson edged low to second slip where David Hemp held the catch and Matt Windows went lbw working to leg as he shuffled in front of his stumps.