County Championship: Gloucestershire attack checks Derbyshire fightback

Luis Reece has passed 50 six times for Derbyshire this season, scoring 704 runs

Anuj Dal completed career-best figures of 6-69 to launch a determined Derbyshire fightback on the second day of the County Championship match with Gloucestershire at Bristol.

The 27-year-old seamer doubled his tally of three first-day victims to help restrict the hosts to 377 all out, from an overnight 333-6, including a superb catch off his own bowling to dismiss Ollie Price for 132.

Derbyshire openers Harry Came (68) and Luis Reece (77) then shared with an opening partnership of 132 before their side closed on 260-6, with skipper Leus du Plooy unbeaten on 44.

Gloucestershire began the day hopeful of a 400-plus total, but had added only eight runs when Dal dived full length to his right to cling one-handed onto a low return catch offered by Price, who had faced 194 balls and hit 18 fours.

It was 366-8 when Josh Shaw was also caught and bowled for 18, Sam Conners capitalising on a sharp chance, and debutant Ed Middleton, on nine, fell leg before to Dal.

Play was then interrupted by a shower and 12 overs of the 104 due to be bowled in the day were lost.

On the resumption, Dal had Dom Goodman caught behind to end the innings and left the pitch holding the ball aloft - the second time in as many games that he had claimed five wickets or more in an innings.

It looked like being a tough afternoon for Gloucestershire's injury-hit bowling attack on a dry pitch offering little assistance to seam or spin.

So it proved, although the home side's fortunes would have been lifted had they had they not spilled three catches, the first a straightforward chance to wicketkeeper James Bracey, moving to his right, offered by Came on 39.

Luke Charlesworth was the unlucky bowler and he suffered again soon afterwards when Miles Hammond failed to cling onto a high chance at point, Reece this time profiting with his score on 22.

Came was later given another life on 64, with Price unable to grasp an fast edge into his midriff at slip off Zafar Gohar.

Those scares apart, the two openers looked comfortable, Reece bringing up the century stand and his own 50 with three off Goodman.

Two off the same bowler took Came to his half-century off 89 balls, with seven fours, and by tea the visitors were sitting pretty at 128 without loss.

The third ball after the interval saw Charlesworth's luck change as he earned an lbw verdict against Came.

Reece's 142-ball innings ended with the total on 169 in the 49th over as he skied a pull shot off the tall Goodman to Zafar Gohar at fine leg.

Then Hammond atoned for his earlier error with a direct hit at the wicketkeeper's end to brilliantly run out Brooke Guest for 15, attempting a single after Wayne Madsen had played a delivery from Goodman to point.

When Madsen surprisingly surrendered his wicket, lbw for 11 trying to reverse sweep Gohar, Derbyshire were 203-4, still 174 behind.

But du Plooy had arrived at the crease with more than 1,000 Championship runs already behind him this season and managed to steady the ship, ably assisted by Matt Lamb in bright early evening sunshine.

Lamb produced a swashbuckling back-foot stroke though backward point for four off Charlesworth before clinching Derbyshire's first batting point with a boundary off Gohar. But with the score still on 251, he carelessly pulled a short ball from Gohar straight to Chris Dent at mid-wicket and departed for 24.

The fifth-wicket stand had been worth 49, but Conners' promotion in the order quickly backfired when he edged a catch to Bracey to give Gohar a third wicket and du Plooy now holds the key to his side at least gaining first innings parity.

Report supplied by ECB Reporters' Network.