County Championship: Gloucestershire hope to win after Bears batting crumbles at Bristol

Tom Price's four-wicket burst in Warwickshire's second innings took his match tally to six

Tom Price spearheaded a dramatic late Gloucestershire fightback on day two of a compelling County Championship match against fellow Division One strugglers Warwickshire.

Dismissed for 274 earlier in the day, Warwickshire bowled out the hosts for 255 to establish a slender first-innings lead of 19, thanks largely to a superb return of 5-90 from Indian off spinner Jayant Yadav.

Warwickshire had earlier resumed their first innings on 255-8, but Hannon-Dalby and Sidebottom fell in quick succession to leave Sibley high and dry on 120 not out.

But, second time around, Price produced a blistering spell with the new ball to remove Sibley, Sam Hain, Will Rhodes and Yadav, while David Payne accounted for Rob Yates as the Bears slumped to 58-5 at the close, a lead of just 77.

Although Gloucestershire face having to bat last on a turning pitch which is expected to deteriorate further, they will consider themselves favourites to register a first win of the season in red-ball cricket and plunge Warwickshire deeper into the relegation mire.

Needing to beat bottom-of-the-table Gloucestershire to keep pace with fellow strugglers Kent, Warwickshire will take heart from the performance of Yadav, who accounted for key batters Chris Dent, James Bracey and Graeme van Buuren before returning to mop up the tail in the final session.

Gloucestershire were indebted to Jack Taylor, who top-scored with 71 from 106 balls and shared in a sixth-wicket stand of 90 with Van Buuren to rescue the home side from the wreckage of 95-5.

But Price then turned the contest on its head, pinning Sibley lbw without scoring, accounting for Hain in identical fashion and then having Rhodes and Yadav caught at the wicket, while Payne bowled an out-of-sorts Yates.

Alex Davies managed to stop the rot, reaching the close unbeaten on 41 - and he and Jacob Bethell, who was out on loan with Gloucestershire earlier in the season, will be required to summon further resistance in the morning.

Gloucestershire seamer Tom Price:

"It was great to get Dom Sibley for nought. He was the rock we could not get past on the first day and getting him early gave us a great deal of encouragement.

"Funnily enough, I felt I bowled better with the new ball on day one without getting the rewards. This time the luck was on my side and I got on a roll. That's just how cricket goes sometimes.

"Obviously, with the pitch taking spin and the bounce becoming uneven, we don't want to let them get too far ahead on the third day. We are aware that we need to take five wickets as quickly as possible."

Warwickshire sporting director Paul Farbrace:

"It was a very tough last hour. There have been some crazy sessions and mad hours elsewhere in the country this week and this was our turn.

"But Alex Davies showed some real fight to see it through to the close and, providing we can put on more runs and get to at least 150, we could still be okay.

"Anything above that and the pressure starts to swing the other way. The pitch is turning and there is a little bit more bounce around."

Report supplied by the ECB Reporters' Network.