County Championship Division Two roundup: A day to remember for Tom Price as Gloucestershire battle back

The Cricketer wraps up the best of the action on day one of the third round of LV= Insurance County Championship matches in 2023

Worcester (first day of four): Gloucestershire 231, Worcestershire 118-7 - Worcestershire are 113 runs behind with three first-innings wickets remaining

Tom Price scored his maiden first-class century for Gloucestershire and then took a hat-trick to transform his side's fortunes after they had plunged to 45 for 7 on the opening day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match at New Road.

The 23-year-old reached three figures off 93 balls with four sixes and 11 fours and shepherded his side to a more respectable 231 all out.

He then dismissed Azhar Ali, Jack Haynes and Worcestershire club captain Brett D'Oliveira – all caught behind by keeper James Bracey – to register the second hat-trick of his career.

Academy product Price, who had been dismissed for a pair on his debut against Worcestershire in 2020, continued his good start to the season after scoring a half-century and taking six wickets against Glamorgan.

He received excellent support from the rest of the lower order including Ajeet Singh Dale who partnered him in a last-wicket stand of 49.

Joe Leach maintained his impressive form with a four-wicket haul for the home side.

Michael Jones, one of three Durham players to bring up half-centuries on day one (Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Cardiff (first day of four): Durham 382-6 v Glamorgan

The first day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match between Glamorgan and Durham in Cardiff saw the visitors reach 382 for 6 having been put into bat. Fifties from Michael Jones, Scott Borthwick and Brydon Carse leave Durham in front heading into day two.

Despite having picked a seam heavy attack there was two wickets for Marnus Labuschagne as Glamorgan chipped away at the Durham batting line up on a surface where pace and movement were hard to come by.

The pick of the Glamorgan seamers was Timm van der Gugten who finished the day with 2 for 60.

Having scored at just under four runs an over, Durham will be the happier of the teams, especially considering Glamorgan’s decision to bowl first.

Tom Alsop recovered from a tough opening round (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Hove (first day of four): Sussex 275-5 v Yorkshire

Tom Alsop's 95 and an unbeaten half-century by Ollie Carter ensured Sussex had the edge on day one of their LV= Insurance County Championship encounter with Yorkshire.

When rain arrived at the 1st Central County Ground at 5.25pm, with 17 overs of the day's allocation not bowled, they had reached 275 for 5 from 73 overs. 

Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace has asked the Hove ground staff to leave a little more grass on the pitches this season to offer more encouragement to bowlers than has been the case in recent years.

And while there was some assistance for a disciplined Yorkshire attack with the new ball when Sussex found themselves 124 for 4 six overs after lunch their batters had largely contributed to their own downfall, with Ali Orr, Tom Haines and Tom Clark all guilty of misjudgements.

That theme continued when Alsop got out to the second ball after tea in sight of his hundred when he miss-timed a pull off part-time seamer George Hill and Dom Bess didn’t have to move in taking the catch on the mid-wicket boundary.

But Alsop had helped Carter put on 94 in 27 overs for the fifth wicket to tip the balance Sussex’s way and Fynn Hudson-Prentice then gave Carter solid support in an unbroken sixth-wicket alliance of 57 before the weather closed in.

Related Topics

• Tom Alsop stabilises Sussex to leave Yorkshire playing catchup on the south coast