Handscomb steers Foxes to draw on old stomping ground

Peter Handscomb struck the visitors' seventh half-century of the match before the two sides shook hands on a draw

Vitality County Championship, Division Two, Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol (day four)

Leicestershire 402 & 304-5: Patel 75, Handscomb 63*, Holland 56; de Lange 2-31

Gloucestershire 544-4 dec: Charlesworth 210, Bracey 207*; Green 2-99

Leicestershire (13pts) drew with Gloucestershire (16pts)

Match scorecard

Peter Handscomb’s half-century against his former club foiled a spirited last-day effort by Gloucestershire’s bowlers and earned Leicestershire a County Championship Division Two draw at Bristol.

The experienced Australian made 63 not out as the visitors reached 304 for five in their second innings from an overnight 41 without loss, a lead of 162, by the time bad light ended play with up to 27 overs left.

Gloucestershire took 16 points from the game and Leicestershire 13.

There was a sense of inevitability as Rishi Patel progressed serenely to a half-century off 79 balls, with eight fours, making good use of the sweep against Ollie Price, who he lofted over long-on for six in the 33rd over.

Two overs later Patel perished for 75 attempting a repeat of that shot, this time failing to clear Dom Goodman on the boundary.

But the stand of 142 in 34.2 overs with first innings centurion Ian Holland had wiped out Gloucestershire’s sizeable first innings lead.

Marchant de Lange was rewarded for bending his back from the Pavilion End when Lewis Hill, on 11, could only fend a lifting delivery to Chris Dent at short leg. By lunch, Leicestershire had reached 169 for two, with Holland one short of his fifty.

Gloucestershire hopes were briefly raised when Zaman Akhter took a brilliant catch at backward square, holding onto a pull shot from Ajinkya Rahane off de Lange. Akhter then induced an inside edge onto his stumps from Holland, who had reached a painstaking half-century off 127 balls.

At 180 for four, Leicestershire were just 38 runs in front.

But Handscomb and Rehan Ahmed calmed any nerves in the visiting dressing room with a stand of 63 in 13.3 overs, ended when Rehan edged a delivery from Price through to wicketkeeper James Bracey and departed for 23.

Seven years removed from his overseas stint at Bristol, Handscomb went to an untroubled half-century off 73 balls, with seven fours, and was unbeaten at tea, with Louis Kimber 29 not out in a Leicestershire total of 286 for five – a lead of 144.

At soon after 4.15pm, the umpires decided the light was too poor.

Only six wickets had fallen in two days and the draw, which had long seemed the only likely outcome, was confirmed at 4.30pm.

Report supplied by the ECB Reporter's Network