Gloucestershire `164 for 6 (Ahmed 33*, Balderson 3-35, Anderson 2-33) vs Lancashire

Anderson, who struck with the second ball of the match in a fine opening nine-over spell of 1 for 13, finished with 2 for 33 while Balderson was excellent with his three wickets in the afternoon session, putting the visitors in early trouble after most of the morning had been lost to the weather.

Balderson ended the day with 3 for 35 and also produced a great pick-up-and-throw from mid-on to run out Miles Hammond in the evening session to cap a fine performance on a day where 35 overs were lost to rain.

Ed Middleton, moved up to open with Cameron Bancroft having returned to Australia, edged both of the two balls he received from Anderson, the first bringing two runs to third man with the second nestling in the gloves of Matty Hurst after the batter feathered an outswinger.

Joe Phillips, dropped on 0 at third slip by Ben Walkden off Anderson, and Ollie Price survived a testing opening thirty minutes to reach 11 for 1 from seven overs before rain took the players from the field until after lunch.

The Lancashire attack continued to enjoy the upper hand finding assistance from the pitch in blustery conditions not particularly suited for batting and it was 57 balls before the first boundary arrived, Price clipping Stanley to midwicket before he pounced on a rare loose ball from Anderson to punch it for four through cover point.

Price, who struck a double century on his previous visit to this ground, dominated the scoring in a second-wicket partnership of 42 with Phillips before Balderson’s introduction into the attack after lunch brought reward for the hosts.

The Lancashire all-rounder nipped one back to bowl Phillips through the gate for 8, and two balls later produced a seaming delivery that Price edged to Hurst for 29.

And Balderson returned after a further thirty-minute delay for rain to claim the wicket of the in-form James Bracey when the stand-in Gloucestershire captain edged behind for 21 to leave the visitors on 69 for 4.

Miles Hammond and Kamran Dhariwal staged a mini-recovery either side of tea, adding 37 runs with Dhariwal, making his first-class debut, confidently striking boundaries off the first two deliveries from Anderson after the break.

The wily Lancashire skipper soon found an inside edge to give Hurst a fourth catch after the debutant had made 20 and worse was to follow for the visitors when Balderson’s direct hit ran out Hammond for 19 as the batters attempted a quick single.

More rain then took 45 minutes out of the day, and in the remaining 15 overs Ahmed and Kishore produced a nicely constructed partnership of 45 that included Ahmed pulling Balderson to midwicket for six just before play ended at 6.23pm in brilliant sunshine.