Durham 331 for 8 (Bedingham 122) lead Gloucestershire 137 by 194 runs
David Bedingham's fifth century of the Rothesay County Championship season helped promotion-chasing Durham consolidate their dominance over Gloucestershire in their Division Two match-up.
Bedingham and Ben Stokes combined for a partnership worth 94 to hand Durham a first-innings lead within the first hour of play. The South African went on to notch three figures, but Gloucestershire struck back with quick wickets before lunch.
Durham's lead passed 150 in the afternoon session, with the impressive R Sai Kishore keeping the hosts' batting line-up in check. The rain then came with a vengeance and the tea break was brought forward. After a lengthy delay, play resumed and an Ollie Robinson cameo helped his side reach 331 for 8 at close, a lead of 194 runs. Despite the loss of time due to the weather, Durham are still in control of the game as they look to strengthen their promotion bid in the world's premier red ball competition.
Resuming on 100 for 3 and just 37 runs behind Gloucestershire's first-innings total, Bedingham and Stokes were looking to wipe out the deficit as soon as they could. Bedingham continued where he left off as he found the boundary with ease, with a straight drive off the bowling of JT Langridge the pick of his early shots.
Stokes played a glorious drive for four to take Durham into the lead, with an inexperienced Gloucestershire attack struggling to control the flow of runs. The pair's brutal onslaught continued, with Bedingham notching up his 21st first-class century for Durham. However, there was relief for Gloucestershire as Kishore picked up the prize wicket of Stokes, bowled by a beauty from the India spinner.
Five overs were lost due to a rain delay and it proved to come at a good time for Gloucestershire who struck through Mitch Killeen upon resumption, as Graham Clark edged straight to second slip. The visitors continued their fightback, with Daz Ahmed dismissing Bedingham for an excellent 122 after he holed out to long-on.
There was still plenty of work for the visitors to do, with Durham possessing a long batting line-up. The hosts looked to build on their lead after lunch, with Colin Ackermann and Robinson ticking along nicely.
Kishore struck back for Gloucestershire as he got Ackermann caught behind, but Durham kept plugging away and their lead passed 150. Robinson and Kasey Aldridge looked to pick up some quick runs but they were pegged back by Kishore and then the rain returned, much to the frustration of the players.
After a lengthy delay, the players returned for a shortened evening session, and Durham secured a second batting bonus point.
Aldridge was given another life as he edged a Killeen delivery, but Cameron Bancroft couldn't hold on to a regulation catch at slip. The Durham allrounder responded to that by smashing a Kishore ball down the ground for six. Robinson was then caught behind off his former team-mate Killeen, which was one of the last actions before bad light brought a close to the day's play.
