All posts by n8rngtd.top

While Derbyshire were gifted a way back into the game by some wasteful Surrey batting, their bowlers remained diligent to battle hard on a pitch that rewarded patience

Vithushan Ehantharajah at The Oval30-Aug-2013
ScorecardMark Footitt’s four wickets ensured Derbyshire remained in contention at The Oval•Getty Images

The Surrey scorecard tells the tale of unconverted starts and a lower-order collapse that saw the final four wickets fall in 13 balls, for the addition of just two runs. But while Derbyshire were gifted a way back into the game, their bowlers remained diligent to battle hard on a pitch that rewarded patience, whether with bat or ball.David Wainwright, back in the side as one of two spinners in the Derbyshire XI, enjoyed his best day of a modest season so far with 3 for 46. Mark Footitt bowled with impressive pace and attacking intent for his four scalps, removing Chris Tremlett and Tim Linley in successive balls to leave him on a hat-trick in the second innings.However, Surrey are ahead thanks to a brilliant 93 from Vikram Solanki, who rolled back the years and dug out a few classics hits – the wristy cover drive and dab through point – to entertain what was a good Friday crowd. Three figures were not meant to be for Solanki although all in attendance thought he merited a standing ovation when he trudged off just seven shy of a second hundred this season.His dismissal was as ugly as they come; a bottom edge down onto his pad before disturbing the stumps. An ungainly end to an innings so classy it made you feel like a better person simply for watching it.The wrists were supple yet strong, as the orthodox spin of Peter Burgoyne and Wainwright – right and left arm, respectively – were manipulated to both sides of the ground with such precision that you wondered whether Solanki was in pursuit of a symmetrical wagon wheel.Aesthetic perfection was still on course when he passed fifty with a skipping drive for a straight six off Burgoyne that finished dead straight. A few loose drives squirted behind point, along with a deflection through a vacant third slip that could be put down to nous rather than negligence. Solanki aside – who is the only player to pass fifty in the match so far – none of the Surrey batsmen who played themselves in stayed around long enough to make it count.Hashim Amla prodded Footitt to third slip after hitting Matt Higginbottom for two crunching square drives in his second over of the day. Rory Burns looked to be getting himself out of a rut before he paid for indecisive footwork to fall lbw to Burgoyne. Zander de Bruyn fell in similar fashion having accompanied Solanki well in a partnership of 96. He could argue that the ball failed to get up, but Wainwright should be credited for a well-disguised arm ball that hurried on.Steven Davies continued to frustrate. It is becoming impossible to enjoy his strokes without knowing a self-inflicted demise is but a juicy full toss away. Hitting his third ball for four – a crisp flick through midwicket after meeting a ball from Wainwright on the full – he inexplicably lobbed a full toss to Paul Borrington at cover, who somehow failed to hold on. The same combination would do for Davies 88 balls later, as he offered another tame catch which Borrington, now at midwicket, took simply.Gareth Batty can be excused from any gripes, his 35 taking Surrey’s first innings lead past 60. That his wicket proved to be the Jenga slab that brought about the collapse does his efforts a disservice and exonerates those before him from blame.The tail should also take responsibility for their poor returns this season. In the last week alone, run-heavy late-wicket stands from Derbyshire and Somerset have seen them win games against Middlesex – victories that saw both climb out of the relegation spots.Given how the pitch is holding up, there is every chance they will be needed for an awkward last innings chase.

Head coach Russell Domingo has indicated South Africa will go into the series with just one specialist spinner, likely to be Robin Peterson, but spin consultant Claude Henderson hopes the others can also play a role

Firdose Moonda in Sharjah09-Oct-2013If Claude Henderson, South Africa’s spin consultant, had it his way, he would “absolutely,” play all the slower bowlers available to him in the two Test series against Pakistan. Head coach Russell Domingo has indicated South Africa will go into the series with just one specialist spinner, likely to be Robin Peterson, but Henderson hopes the others can also play a role.”It’s going to be such a tough decision, especially if we know it will turn square, to decide who to leave out,” Henderson said. Along with Peterson, South Africa have recalled Pakistani-born legspinner Imran Tahir to the squad and have the services of JP Duminy, who is set to play a bigger role with the ball.None of them was able to extract much from the pitch during the practice match in Sharjah – one that Peterson called so flat it is “difficult to tell anything on, in terms of skill level”, but Henderson said they’ve all been hard at work to fight for a Test spot. He was particularly pleased with the progress Tahir had made after being dropped following a dismal showing in the Adelaide Test against Australia last year, when he conceded 260 runs and did not take a wicket.”It’s great to see Imran back after a tough time. It was really brave of him to come back and perform today. He is in a good space at the moment,” Henderson said. Tahir got better as the day went on but started with a spell that questioned whether he had made any progression at all. His first spell included too many full tosses and made use of too many variations, but he started to trouble the batsman towards the end of the day as he turned the ball a touch and zoned in on better lengths.In complete contrast, Peterson needed no time to adjust and immediately did a good holding job. He was also the first bowler to take a wicket. “Robin is improving day by day, in terms of tactics and technically,” Henderson said.Duminy was also economical and created chances towards the end of the day, one just missing Asad Shafiq’s outside edge, to endorse Peterson’s claim that he is a “genuine wicket-taker.” Duminy will likely bowl a significant number of overs in the Test series as South Africa groom him for greater things. “JP is now realising he can bowl and his challenge is now to become a good all-rounder,” Henderson said.With Duminy and Peterson likely to start, South Africa will have two slower bowling options but Peterson confirmed it remains a dream of his to play in an attack with Tahir: “I’d love to play in a Test match for South Africa with two specialist spinners. I love bowling with Imran and I think we work well together.”Despite equipping themselves adequately with spin, South Africa are being realistic about their prowess in that department. When asked to rate his spinners using Pakistan’s as a yardstick, Henderson refused. “I won’t compare my spinners to anyone else,” Henderson said. “I look at a guy and see how he can become the best bowler he can be. I will not say go and be like Saeed Ajmal, because that is the standard.”Even Azhar Ali, the Pakistan No. 3, would not be drawn into talking about the two attacks. An expert blocker, both on the field and in the press conference, he merely said it was “difficult to say” how South Africa’s spinners measure up but that it was “enjoyable batting against them.” Read what you will into that.It probably indicates what we all already know: that pace remains South Africa’s strength, even on subcontinent-like surfaces. That’s why what the fast bowlers ended up with may have had them questioning whether they will be able to get results on tracks on the tour.Only Morne Morkel took a wicket while Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander were made to work hard. Peterson does not believe the way they performed today is a reflection of how they will do in the coming two weeks. “Dale and Vernon are quality bowlers and when they put on that Test cap and walk over the white line, that’s something completely different,” Peterson said.The same has been said of Graeme Smith, who was the only South African in the top five not to score a half-century on the first day of the match. He will cross the boundary rope tomorrow to try and rectify that and show his readiness for next week’s Test.

Northamptonshire ended a run of 20 Championship matches without a win by beating Leicestershire by 92 runs at Grace Road

Press Association29-Apr-2015
ScorecardAzharullah did the early damage as Northamptonshire won their first Championship match since 2013•Getty Images

Northamptonshire ended a run of 20 Championship matches without a win by beating Leicestershire by 92 runs at Grace Road. Resuming on 44-1 in pursuit of 376 to win, Leicestershire lost three wickets in the first hour of play and, on a pitch that continued to offer occasional assistance to the seamers, never genuinely threatened to get close to their target.Angus Robson, 25 overnight, had added only seven to his score when his off stump was knocked out of the ground by an Azharullah delivery that straightened off the seam. Captain Mark Cosgrove was then given out leg before wicket for 2 to Olly Stone, a decision that surprised the left-handed batsman, who may have thought the ball was going over the stumps.There were no such doubts about the decision to send Neil Pinner on his way, however, Azharullah switching ends to trap the batsman plumb in front for 12, leaving Leicestershire on 93 for 4.Ned Eckersley and Niall O’Brien put together a partnership of 59 for the fifth wicket, but Northants struck again before lunch, Rory Kleinveldt ending Eckersley’s 111 ball innings of 37 with an in-swinger that won another leg before decision.Tom Wells became the fourth lbw victim of the day when he was beaten by Kleinveldt’s inswinger, but Niall O’Brien played with characteristic fluency in going to his half-century, hitting eight fours before inside-edging a Kleinveldt delivery into his stumps.Ben Raine went quickly, caught behind driving at Azharullah, but Leicestershire’s newly arrived overseas player Clint McKay hit out to good effect, as he had in the first innings, before top edging a hook into the hands of deep backward square leg. Ollie Freckingham and Charlie Shreck ensured Leicestershire’s defeat would be by less than 100 before Shreck went caught behind off Kleinveldt.Despite their victory, Northamptonshire were deducted two points for a slow over rate.Leicestershire coach, Andrew McDonald, said: “There were a lot of positives, but there were some crucial periods when we didn’t quite execute well. You look at a hundred-run deficit and you can probably find more than that where we could have been better.”Each day you learn about the players, and if we improve from here we’ll hold ourselves in good stead. We took 20 wickets, and created more than 20 opportunities, and that’s a real positive when last year we averaged 13 wickets a game.”

After going unsold at player auctions over the last two years, Alex Hales has said he was elated to finally be part of the IPL, a tournament he considered “the pinnacle of T20 cricket”

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-2015After going unsold at player auctions over the last two years, England batsman Alex Hales has said he was elated to finally be part of the IPL, a tournament he considered “the pinnacle of T20 cricket”. Hales was drafted into the Mumbai Indians squad as a replacement for the injured Corey Anderson and joined the team ahead of their final league game against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Sunday.”I was disappointed because T20 cricket is probably the game that I favour the most and suits me best,” Hales told . I didn’t know what to expect from the auctions. I just went in with an open mind and I told myself that I wasn’t going to get too down if I wasn’t picked up in the auction. I would have obviously loved to be picked up but I wasn’t leaning towards it anyway.”I have been desperate to get into this competition now for a couple of years. For me to get a chance like this is a great honour. It is a great opportunity to come over here.”He described it as a “dream come true” to be picked even if it was at a late stage. “It is such a massive tournament; it has been my aim and goal to get into this tournament. When I found out for sure that I would be a part of it on Friday, it was just elation for me at that moment. It was like a dream come true to come and play in this tournament.”His excitement and eagerness seemed to got the better of tiredness and jet lag. “Once I got here, it was all about the adrenaline,” Hales said. “I think the excitement just took over all the tiredness. I am loving the atmosphere and everything that the IPL symbolises. I enjoyed watching the game from the dugout tonight. So far, the few hours that I have been here with the Mumbai Indians, I have loved my experience.”Hales said he was in awe of Mumbai’s star studded coaching staff and hoped to be a part of the squad for the years to come “The best thing about the IPL is being surrounded by quality players and experts. Getting a chance to share the dressing room with two of my heroes growing up – Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting – is great. These are guys you can pick the brains of so that you can develop your own game. I have been following the tournament closely back home. The run of form that Mumbai Indians have been since the last five games has been brilliant.”After experimenting with their team combination, Mumbai managed to find the right balance right at the business end of the tournament. With Lendl Simmons and Parthiv Patel having given Mumbai good starts, it is unlikely that they will play Hales.But the Nottinghamshire batsman isn’t disappointed and is prepared to wait. “I am itching to get a game but if the chance doesn’t come across this year, then will keep my fingers crossed to get a go next year.”

Mario Saliwa, a former South African first-class cricketer, died aged 31 last weekend

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-2015Former South African first-class cricketer Mario Saliwa has died aged 31. Reports suggested he had been stabbed last weekend.Saliwa played 67 first-class and 20 List A games for three teams – Free State, Kwa-Zulu Natal and Eagles (now called Knights) – between 2006 and 2010 and was described as “one of the most feared bowlers of his generation,” by Lions coach Geoffrey Toyana, who knew him well.Toyana, in a post on Facebook, said Saliwa was highly regarded as a youngster: “At some point in him we saw another Makhaya Ntini. We will always miss your bounce and unbelievable pace even the likes of Abongile Sodumo were not comfortable to face this guy.”CSA also paid their respects. “It is always tragic to see a young life being cut short in its prime. On behalf of the CSA family I extend our thoughts and condolences to his family, friends and cricketing colleagues,” Haroon Lorgat, CSA CEO said.

Legspinner Karn Sharma has been ruled out of India’s tour of Zimbabwe due to a fractured finger in his left hand

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Jul-20152:20

Kalra: An opportunity for Axar and Harbhajan

Legspinner Karn Sharma has been ruled out of India’s tour of Zimbabwe due to a fractured finger in his left hand. The BCCI said there would not be a replacement, which means India will now have only 14 players to pick from for the three ODIs and two T20s.”It is unfortunate for Karn that he had to miss out because of injury,” India captain Ajinkya Rahane said. “He was a crucial part of our team.”Rahane said the reduction in squad strength didn’t make selection any easier. “It is not easy as a captain to select 11 players because all the players in the squad are equally important for the captain and it is really challenging to pick the best 11.”Karn had played the fourth and fifth ODIs of the home series against Sri Lanka in November last year, taking no wickets for 125 runs in 19 overs. His unavailability leaves India with only two spin options – offspinner Harbhajan Singh and left-armer Axar Patel – for the series in Zimbabwe.India depart for Harare on July 7 and are scheduled to play ODIs on July 10, 12 and 14, followed by Twenty20 internationals on July 17 and 19. Rahane was named captain of a second-string squad that was missing MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan and Umesh Yadav.Revised squad: Ajinkya Rahane (capt), M Vijay, Ambati Rayudu, Manoj Tiwary, Kedar Jadhav, Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, Harbhajan Singh, Axar Patel, Dhawal Kulkarni, Stuart Binny, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Sandeep Sharma

Outstanding fielding made the difference as Gloucestershire made it two wins in as many games in an exciting finish to a wonderful Royal London Cup game at Grace Road

ECB/PA31-Jul-2015
ScorecardGareth Roderick’s hundred gave Gloucestershire a total that proved just enough in the end•Getty Images

Outstanding fielding made the difference as Gloucestershire made it two wins in as many games in an exciting finish to a wonderful Royal London Cup game at Grace Road.Leicestershire had looked dead and buried when they subsided to 128 for 5 chasing 316 to win, before a partnership of 96 in 13.3 overs between 20-year-old Aadil Ali (84 from 86 balls) and 21-year-old Michael Burgess (49 from 44) dragged the Foxes back into the game.Rob Taylor then hit an unbeaten 42 from just 23 balls, leaving Clint McKay required to hit three off the last ball to win the game. The Australian drove David Payne hard towards extra cover, but Gloucestershire captain Michael Klinger pulled off a fine diving stop and a run-out, restricting the hosts to just a single.Gloucestershire beat Derbyshire off the final ball in their previous game and Klinger said it was “nice” to win some tight matches for a change.“We lost our discipline a bit towards the end with our bowling, and we knew they could bat all the way down, but David Payne bowled a tight last over,” said Klinger, who had earlier lost one of his bowlers, James Fuller, who had to be withdrawn from the attack after bowling consecutive beamers – the second time this season the young pace bowler has had to be withdrawn from the attack.”James does not mean to bowl beamers, but it is the second time he’s done it this season and it gives me something else to worry about,” said Klinger.Gloucestershire scored quickly from the start after being put in by Foxes skipper Mark Cosgrove. Gareth Roderick, initially in company with Chris Dent and then with Klinger, paced his innings superbly, taking full advantage of some loose bowling and fielding by the hosts to go to his century off 114 balls.Geraint Jones took up the attack in style, hitting a List A career-best 87 off 61 balls in his 205th appearance before being caught at long-on off McKay, comfortably the pick of the Leicestershire bowlers with 2 for 31. Benny Howell kept the momentum going with an unbeaten 28 off 17.Cosgrove, Angus Robson and Ned Eckersley all gave their wickets away cheaply after getting in, but youngsters Ali and Burgess – the latter making his home debut – played without apparent nerves, and Ali looked unfortunate to be given out caught behind off after a half-hearted appeal.Taylor hit out strongly but lost the strike off the final ball, and Klinger’s excellent fielding saw the visitors home.”We know we’re going in the right direction, and it was tough not to get over the line, but the bottom line is we have to get results. Even so, we’ll take alot of confidence into the match against Yorkshire on Monday,” Burgess said.

Kane Williamson’s sixth straight 50-plus score in ODIs lifted New Zealand to 273 for 6, but legspinner Graeme Cremer and offspinner John Nyumbu took 5 for 96 between them to prevent the visitors from making so much more

The Report by Arun Venugopal07-Aug-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
1:38

Williamson’s 90 leads NZ to series win

New Zealand’s total of 273 appeared to be inadequate on a few occasions, particularly when Hamilton Masakadza was raining powerful blows, but the visitors eventually whipped up sufficient bowling ammo to snuff out Zimbabwe’s challenge and win their first ODI series after the World Cup. Sean Williams, with 63 off 62, took the game deep but once he holed out to deep midwicket in the 46th over, Zimbabwe were effectively down for the count.After captain Kane Williamson had made 90 off 109 balls – his sixth consecutive fifty-plus score – to guide New Zealand’s innings, Zimbabwe’s fairly placid chase was scuppered by wickets at inopportune moments. It was Mitchell McClenaghan, who finished with three wickets, who triggered the first slide by dismissing Chamu Chibhabha after the batsman put on 97 runs for the opening wicket along with Masakadza.Masakadza’s dismissal in the next over set Zimbabwe back further. The nature of his exit would particularly rankle the opener: he deposited a long hop from Williamson straight into deep midwicket’s palms. Zimbabwe continued to lose their wickets softly, as captain Elton Chigumbura drove legspinner Ish Sodhi straight to covers.The home side’s hopes lifted again when Williams and Craig Ervine put on 45 runs for the fourth wicket. But, Ervine’s dismissal in the 33rd over when he backed up too far only for bowler Ben Wheeler to effect a direct hit sent Zimbabwe towards a freefall. Apart from some persistent hustling from McClenaghan and Wheeler, the spinners, Nathan McCullum and Sodhi, played a part in suffocating Zimbabwe.After being inserted in the morning, New Zealand betrayed caution in the beginning – the tempo not dissimilar to that in the first ODI which was played on the same surface – rather than any attempt at smash-mouth stuff. Their first fifty runs, in fact, came off 76 balls – their second slowest in ODIs against Zimbabwe since 2001.Guptill, who played out a maiden in the first over, ensured he accounted for Tinashe Panyangara’s difficult angles. Panyangara, like he has often done this series, bowled from wide of the crease, and was either getting the ball to stay the course or shape away. The breakthrough for Zimbabwe, however, came through offspinner John Nyumbu, playing his first game of the series, in the 10th over.Williamson, though, came in and weaved substantial partnerships with Martin Guptill and Grant Elliott. Williamson had spoken at the toss about the difficulty of identifying a “good total”, and he ensured nothing was left to chance. Between the 11th and 41st overs, Williamson’s presence was the only constant even as the way he batted kept changing over the course of the innings.During the early part of his 56-run association with Guptill, Williamson played a risk-averse game, not giving in to twitchy urges to score. But even then, he did not miss out on bashing loose deliveries, like in the 17th over when he carted Chibhabha over wide long on for six, and then, after three dot balls, slapped a back-foot punch uppishly between long off and sweeper cover.Williamson was equally efficient against the spinners, using his feet to drill Nyumbu on the on side whenever the ball was tossed up. On other occasions, he shuffled across off stump to get inside the line of Nyumbu’s deliveries, most of which turned appreciably from outside off to middle or leg. Williamson, on 53, also enjoyed a reprieve in the 26th over when Regis Chakabva missed a stumping off Sikandar Raza’s bowling. It was at this point that Williamson was cranking up his scoring rate.Legspinner Graeme Cremer, though, kept Williamson and Guptill guessing by melding slow flight with sharp turn. Guptill was excised by one such delivery that took his edge and was pouched at slip. Soon after, Colin Munro played across the line only for the leg-break to fizz through a big bat-pad gap.Williamson, along with Grant Elliott, then added 70 runs in 13.1 overs to set New Zealand up for a strong finish, but their dismissals in successive overs nearly derailed the visitors. While Elliott was out sweeping to Cremer, his leading edge going only as far as short fine leg, Williamson was subdued in the 90s for the fourth time in his last six innings at long on where Ervine showed incredible presence of mind. Cremer and Nyumbu finished with 5 for 96 between them and stunted the visitors’ progress in the middle stages.New Zealand’s scoring, however, received a leg-up through some late hitting from James Neesham, replacing an injured Ross Taylor in the XI, and Nathan McCullum, who raised 50 runs in 4.1 overs for an unbroken seventh-wicket stand. They pushed the visitors’ score beyond 260, as New Zealand muscled 54 runs in the last five overs. Those strikes proved decisive in the end.

Zimbabwe Cricket has agreed in principle to play a two-match Test series against Bangladesh, originally slated for January 2016, in November this year, BCB president Nazmul Hassan has said

Mohammad Isam07-Oct-2015

Approvals given during the BCB board meeting

• BCB calendar for the 2015-16 cricket season

• Draft system for BPL

• BCB’s anti-corruption and anti-doping codes

• Pacer hunt programme

• Indoor facilities in Mirpur, similar to the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane

• Contract extension of all selectors, panel umpires and development coaches

Zimbabwe Cricket has agreed in principle to play a two-match Test series against Bangladesh, originally slated for January 2016, in November this year, BCB president Nazmul Hassan has said. The two boards will discuss the schedule on the sidelines of the ICC meeting in Dubai later this week.The revised schedule comes as a relief for Bangladesh who faced the possibility of no international cricket for the remainder of 2015 after Australia postponed their two-match Test series earlier this month due to security concerns.Zimbabwe were originally scheduled to tour Bangladesh in January 2016 for two Tests, three ODIs and two Twenty20 internationals. With the Tests being held earlier, Zimbabwe will return in January for the limited-overs leg.”They have principally agreed to play in November,” Hassan said. “We haven’t decided on the schedule yet but we will discuss it in the ICC meeting. The three-match ODI series and two T20s that were scheduled in the Zimbabwe tour will now be played in January.”It was learned that the BCB is likely to change the venues of the two Tests to Dhaka and Chittagong, as opposed to Sylhet and Khulna where it was scheduled to be held. It was also learned that BCB will try to fit in a practice match for the visitors although the window is quite short.Zimbabwe end their international commitments at home on October 29 while the Bangladesh Premier League is set to start from November 21 or 22, so the BCB and ZC have about three weeks to fit in two Tests and a practice match, which is likely to be a three-dayer.

James Kettleborough and Aneurin Donald hit career-best first-class scores on the opening day of Glamorgan’s LV=County Championship match with Gloucestershire at Bristol

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Sep-2015
ScorecardAneurin Donald was within sight of his maiden first-class hundred at the close•Getty Images

James Kettleborough and Aneurin Donald hit career-best first-class scores on the opening day of Glamorgan’s LV=County Championship match with Gloucestershire at Bristol.Opener Kettleborough contributed 81 to a total of 338 for 4 after his side had won the toss, while 18-year-old Donald made an unbeaten 91. Chris Cooke chipped in with 65 while James Fuller was pick of the home attack with two for 42 from 16 overs.The visitors were initially made to work hard for their runs after a wet outfield delayed the start by an hour until 11.30am. By lunch, Jacques Rudolph and Kettleborough had taken the score to 22 without loss from 14 overs.Fuller extracted some lift from the Ashley Down Road End, while left-arm seamer David Payne, last-over hero of the Royal London One-Day Cup final victory over Surrey, repeatedly swung the ball away from left-hander Rudolph.The afternoon session saw Rudolph pinned lbw for 17, surprised by a Payne inswinger, while Fuller picked up the wicket of Colin Ingram, caught behind driving for 30.At tea, 22-year-old Kettleborough was unbeaten on 78, having overtaken his previous best score of 73, made for Northamptonshire against Middlesex at Lord’s last season.His half-century had come off 82 balls, with 10 fours, after he had been dropped in the slips off Tom Hampton on 18 following a short rain break.Glamorgan had reached 161 for 2 from 44 overs at tea, with Donald on 26. He added 56 with Kettleborough, whose hopes of a maiden century were dashed when he was caught behind pushing defensively at Payne, having faced 127 balls and extended his boundary count to 14.At 165 for 3, Cooke’s arrival to join Donald saw the scoring-rate accelerate as they went on the attack against Hampton and Kieran Noema-Barnett, adding 101 in 18 overs.Cooke raced to a 54-ball half-century, with 8 fours, after Donald had reached the same landmark from 70 deliveries, neither offering a chance.It was a surprise when Cooke fell to a top-edged pull-shot off Fuller, safely pouched by Payne at fine leg with the total on 266.Donald kept his composure to still be there at stumps just nine short of a maiden century, having faced 122 balls and overtaken his previous best first-class score of 67, made against Essex at Chelmsford this season. David Lloyd was unbeaten on 29.Another shower took the players off briefly before the close and in all 19 overs were lost to the day’s play.Gloucestershire wicketkeeper Gareth Roderick was forced off by a hand injury in the final session. Academy player James Bracey, 18, replaced him with Glamorgan’s permission.