Lancashire seam bowlers James Anderson and George Balderson combined to take five wickets on 8 September 2026 at Emirates Old Trafford in Manchester. They reduced Gloucestershire to 164 for 6 on day one of their Rothesay County Championship Division Two match.
Lancashire took firm control of this contest between the bottom two sides in Division Two. Heavy rain interruptions forced the umpires to take 35 overs out of the day’s play. Both teams finally left the field at 6.23 pm under late evening sunshine.
Gloucestershire Early Batting Struggles
Gloucestershire captain James Bracey won the toss and chose to bat. Ed Middleton and Joe Phillips opened for the visitors. Anderson made an immediate impact with the second ball of the opening over. He dismissed Middleton for 2 runs off two balls.
Anderson finished an impressive nine-over opening stint with figures of 1 wicket for 13 runs. Phillips and Ollie Price guided Gloucestershire to 11 for 1 in seven overs before a heavy rain shower halted play for the rest of the morning.
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Balderson Takes Three Wickets After Lunch
The play resumed after lunch. Gloucestershire needed 57 deliveries to hit their first boundary when Price clipped Stanley to midwicket. Price then punched a rare loose delivery from Anderson through cover point for four runs. Price had scored a double century on his previous visit to Old Trafford. He dominated a second-wicket stand of 42 runs alongside Phillips.
Lancashire all-rounder George Balderson bowled out Price for 29 runs off 65 balls. Price edged the ball to Hurst, who took his second catch of the day. These two quick wickets brought Gloucestershire to 45 for 3.
Rain stopped play again for 30 minutes shortly after Balderson’s double strike. Balderson struck again immediately after this weather interruption. Gloucestershire scored 69 runs for 4. Balderson ended the day with 3 for 35 from 16 overs.
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Anderson Strikes Again Before Direct Hit Run Out
Miles Hammond and Kamran Dhariwal staged a recovery either side of the tea break. The pair added 37 runs for the fifth wicket to push Gloucestershire past 100 runs. Dhariwal hit Anderson’s first two deliveries for consecutive boundaries.
The 44-year-old Anderson found Dhariwal’s inside edge to give Hurst his fourth catch of the innings. Dhariwal departed for 20 runs off 35 balls. Anderson finished the day with 2 for 33 from 19 overs, including eight maiden overs. Hammond lost his wicket in a direct hit run out for 19 runs off 67 balls, leaving Gloucestershire at 119 for 6.
Ahmed and Kishore Build Unbroken Seventh-Wicket Stand
A further rain delay took 45 minutes out of the late evening session. When play resumed for the remaining 15 overs, Daaryoush Ahmed and Sai Kishore played an important partnership.
Ahmed top-scored for Gloucestershire with an unbeaten 33 runs off 64 balls. Kishore supported Ahmed with 20 not out off 56 balls.
They made an unbroken seventh-wicket partnership of 45 runs, which stood as the highest partnership of the day. Their effort carried Gloucestershire to 164 for 6 at stumps. Lancashire earned two bonus points from the first day, while Gloucestershire took zero points.
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