Wright and Hull Claim Three Apiece On Battling Opening Day
Mon 8 Sep 2025
By Jon Culley, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
Runaway Division Two leaders Leicestershire edged closer to winning promotion for the first time in their history even though Gloucestershire had the better of things at the Uptonsteel County Ground, finishing day one of their Rothesay County Championship clash on 382 for seven.
Needing 20 points from their final three fixtures to be sure of playing Division One cricket next season, they already have two of those. With third-placed Derbyshire able to claim only one batting point at Lord’s, they effectively need 16 more.
They have work to do here, though, with Gloucestershire in a strong position, even after losing Graeme Van Buuren for 101 from the penultimate ball of the day.
The South African-born all-rounder hit 14 fours and a six in a fine, 143-ball innings, supplemented by half-centuries from Ben Charlesworth (74), James Bracey (69) and Miles Hammond (50) after Gloucestershire’s interim skipper Bracey chose to bat first.
Chris Wright took three for 56 and left-arm quick Josh Hull three for 79, although the 21-year-old’s day ended when a second full toss above waist height saw him ordered out of the attack for the remainder of the innings.
Gloucestershire, themselves not mathematically out of the running for a promotion place, made two changes from their most recent Championship side. Cameron Bancroft and Todd Murphy have both returned to Australia.
Leicestershire made five. Peter Handscomb, whose captaincy has been an important element of the county winning six matches so far, has also gone home for the Australian domestic season, giving the armband to Ian Holland.
The availability of Shan Masood, who is staying on after his white-ball stint, and the arrival of Steve Eskinazi from Middlesex, bolstered the batting but with Rehan Ahmed on England duty and Ben Green recalled from loan by parent club Somerset, injuries to Tom Scriven and Liam Trevaskis further weakened their bowling hand.
They seemed to feel it in a morning session which, apart from 10 minutes or so during Hull’s opening burst of the day, belonged to the visitors, who were 129 for two at lunch after Charlesworth took 10 fours in reaching 52 from 75 balls.
Hull’s two successes came as 21-year-old Ben Phillips, opening in regular captain Bancroft’s place, was bowled off an inside edge by a yorker-length delivery and Ben Cox took a diving catch behind the stumps to remove Ollie Price for a duck.
Leicestershire stemmed the flow of boundaries in the afternoon, earning an important breakthrough when Wright produced a delivery from his heyday to hit the top of Charlesworth’s off stump.
Another came when Hammond, becoming increasingly frustrated despite reaching fifty for the eighth time this season, was tempted into pulling a shorter delivery from Hull and was caught at deep backward square.
Worryingly for the home side, Ben Mike limped off before the close with what looked like another recurrence of his recent hamstring problems.
Leicestershire had to wait until the second new ball became available to make another breakthrough but two wickets in the space of six overs gave them a second bowling bonus point, Bracey edging to second slip attempting to drive Holland before Wright found some extra bounce and the edge of Jack Taylor’s bat, then trapping Van Buuren in front to close proceedings for the day.
