REPORT: Gloucestershire take advantage after Price double century
Today's match report presented by C&C Insurance Brokers
A superb career-best unbeaten 253 by Ollie Price steered Gloucestershire to 589 for eight – their highest total against Lancashire – and a first innings lead of 139 runs on the third day of this Rothesay County Championship game at Emirates Old Trafford.
Tom Bailey and Tom Hartley each claimed a brace of wickets on a tough day in the field for Lancashire who will likely need to bat out the remainder of this match for a draw at some point tomorrow.
The tone for the day was set from the very first ball of the morning from George Balderson which Price straight drove for four.
Price and Miles Hammond quickly picked up where they left off the previous evening, with Gloucestershire resuming on 184 for two, by adding 93 fairly untroubled runs to their partnership from the opening 23 overs.
The breakthrough Lancashire desperately sought came six overs before lunch moments after Price had reached his century from 208 balls and his third wicket partnership with Hammond had produced 202 runs.
Hammond, on 97 and seeking to join his partner on three figures, had missed with three consecutive drives outside off stump from Bailey who promptly brought the fourth delivery back into the left hander to rip out his middle stump.
Lancashire were further encouraged when Bailey struck again early in the afternoon finding just enough movement to nip the ball past Cameron’s Green’s forward defence to hit off stump the ball after he had been driven superbly through cover for four by the batter.
That left Gloucestershire on 310 for four and the visitors consolidated their position with another good partnership of 85 runs between Price and James Bracey who twice clubbed Hartley for six in making 44 before edging Luke Wells to Keaton Jennings at first slip.
Price passed his career best, made against Yorkshire last year, when driving Wells for four to reach his 150 from 293 balls but lost Graeme van Buuren for 13 just before tea to a well-judged diving catch by Marcus Harris running in from fine leg after the batter had top-edged a pull when Balderson banged one in short with Gloucestershire 425 for six.
The moment of the day came soon after the break when Ollie Price, now joined by brother Tom, reached his double hundred off 358 balls (484 minutes, 28 fours) with a trademark drive through extra cover for two off John Turner, becoming only the third Gloucestershire batter to score a double century against Lancashire after Wally Hammond and Charlie Barnett.
The Prices took Gloucestershire past the Red Rose total with a partnership of 72 and after Tom gloved Turner to Jennings at slip for 32, Zaman Akhtar joined Ollie to accelerate the scoring with 60 runs added for the eighth wicket off 51 balls during the final hour of play.
Ollie Price capped a fine day when he reached 250 off 403 balls in the penultimate over.
“I think it’s just an unbelievable knock from a very talented and exciting young player,” said Red Rose Head Coach Dale Benkenstein.
“I think it's against the sort of grain of where England cricket's going, I suppose, everyone trying to play every shot in the book. Ollie is a traditional batsman, he gets runs, and when he gets in, he doesn't throw it away.
“He’s a very young player as well, so very exciting and just not great to be on the receiving end.”
Assessing the situation of the game, Benkenstein added:
“I think we've fought hard, and I was very pleased with the way we fielded, the energy, all the things that you asked for that are controllable.
I thought we created chances, it's a good wicket, but there's been enough bounce and carry there that I think has kept everyone in the game.
“There’s still a lot of cricket left in the game and we've obviously got to try and get these two wickets and then bat very well tomorrow to get a draw in the game.
“We really have to try and fight. It is a tough game, but just try and make it as hard as we can for them to get the runs and then we have to bowl them out and assume that the smaller the lead is, then the more the game is in our hands again.
“I think it probably shows now that if we had got probably 100 or more runs in our innings, we would have kept them in the field a bit longer and maybe made the game a bit more even.
“Credit to them, they've got themselves in a position where we're left to fight again.
“So, we've still got a bit of work to do tomorrow with the ball and then we've got to really get stuck in with the bat.”
Ken Grime
Photos: Luke Adams & Dan Adams
