Wednesday 15 April 2015 22:59, UK
Opener Chris Dent made an unbeaten century as Gloucestershire successfully batted out the final day of their LV= County Championship Division Two clash with Northamptonshire.
The visitors had been set a huge 454 to win at Wantage Road and, having begun day four on 35-0, they comfortably avoided defeat, finishing on 267-2 as the match petered out.
Dent and his opening partner Will Tavare had looked solid on Tuesday night and they continued their good work on Wednesday, taking their partnership to 137.
Tavare was eventually bowled by Azharullah for 66 but Gareth Roderick proved a very able replacement.
Another 81 were added while Roderick (52) was at the crease, before he was trapped in front by Rob Keogh just before tea.
However, that was the final wicket to fall on the day, as Peter Handscomb (25 not out) was another batsman who proved tricky to dismiss.
And opener Dent deservedly reached his century just before the draw was agreed, batting just over six hours for his 104, which came off 285 balls and featured 17 boundaries.
The match was Richard Dawson's first as Gloucestershire's head coach and he said: “Chris and Will batted like we asked them to and managed to set up a great draw.
"For Chris to bat that long, his decision making was outstanding, and, at the start of the season, it was an outstanding effort.”
The match between Leicestershire and Glamorgan at Grace Road also finished in a fairly tame draw.
Leading by 78 on first-innings, Glamorgan began the final day placed a little precariously on 47-3 but Chris Cooke steadied the ship with a fine innings of 81.
Craig Meschede then came in down the order and hit 33 not out off 29 balls, allowing the visitors to declare on 227-7.
Leicestershire were never likely to make a bid for the 306 they needed for victory and a collapse to defeat looked possible when they lost two early wickets.
Dan Redfern fell to Graham Wagg for a duck and it was 1-2 when first-innings centurion Ned Eckersley was dismissed by Meschede for one.
But Angus Robson made 18 before he was bowled by Dean Cosker and Mark Cosgrove and Neil Pinner then guided the hosts safely to stumps.
Skipper Cosgrove finished unbeaten on 58 against his former county and Pinner contributed 42 not out to the unbroken stand of 99 which took Leicestershire to 141-3.
Cosgrove said: "Every time we got challenged we fought back. We came up with the goods, and I couldn't have asked more from them.
"We're going to be aggressive this year and take games on but, from none for two chasing 300 in 50 overs on a last day track, we just had to bat some time, and we did that really well."
Glamorgan head coach Toby Radford said: "I think we played some excellent cricket over the four days.
"With three wickets down early we thought we had a real sniff and a good chance of winning the game. I'm a little bit disappointed we couldn't cross the line but, overall, I'm pleased to take some points away."
