County Championship: Durham's Ajaz Patel takes five wickets against Gloucestershire

Durham spinner Ajaz Patel claimed a season's best haul of 5-93 on day two in Bristol

Durham spinner Ajaz Patel put the skids under Gloucestershire on day two of an increasingly one-sided County Championship encounter in Bristol.

The slow left-armer claimed a season's best haul of 5-93 and England pace bowler Matthew Potts weighed in with 2-35 as Gloucestershire were reduced to 255-9 in reply to Durham's imposing first-innings 445.

Marcus Harris and Ben Charlesworth offered defiance aplenty in contributing battling half-centuries as the hosts advanced to 139-2, only to then suffer an alarming collapse in the final session, losing seven wickets for 88 runs.

Gloucestershire still require a further 41 runs to avoid the possibility of being made to follow on.

Potts removed Chris Dent lbw with a ball that came back into the left-hander and was destined to hit the top of middle and leg with the score on 10.

Harris was out for 52, caught behind off a quicker delivery from Patel and Miles Hammond and Jack Taylor came and went quickly.

Hammond lost his off stump to Ben Raine without offering a shot and departing for 21 and Taylor was bowled between bat and pad by Patel after striking two fours and a six in a brief innings of 16.

Relegated one place down the order owing to the joint burdens of captaincy and wicketkeeping, James Bracey departed with undue haste, making 14 before playing across the line to a Potts in-swinger and offering a catch to second slip as the hosts subsided from 139-2 to 189-5 either side of the tea interval.

Charlesworth raised his second 50 in as many innings from 134 balls but with the end of the day in sight, fatigue set in as he aimed a tired waft at a short-pitched ball from Bas de Leede and offered a straightforward catch to second slip as the hosts lurched to 216-6.

Matt Taylor then drove loosely to mid-on without scoring, Zafar Gohar reached forward and was stumped by Ollie Robinson for 18 and Zaman Akhter nicked to second slip for a duck as Patel claimed three wickets in five deliveries to leave Gloucestershire on 227-9.

Only tail-end defiance from Josh Shaw and Ajeet Dale enabled Gloucestershire to salvage a batting bonus point.

Resuming on 393-9, Durham's last pair of Patel and Paul Coughlin added a further 52 in 8.2 overs.

Coughlin quickly moved to his 50, a landmark which occupied 43 balls and included seven fours and a brace of sixes.

Matt Taylor eventually found Patel's outside edge and Bracey wrapped up proceedings with the visitors still five runs short of a fifth bonus point as Coughlin finished unbeaten on 59 in a valuable last-wicket stand of 71.

Report supplied by ECB Reporters' Network.