Williams and Brookes put Glos on top at Derbyshire

Rothesay County Championship, Division Two, Central Co-op County Ground, Derby (day two)

Gloucestershire 498: Hammond 145, Williams 98, Brookes 89, Middleton 46; Bashir 3-116

Derbyshire 144-3: Madsen 62*; van Buuren 1-13

Derbyshire (2 pts) trail Gloucestershire (2 pts) by 354 runs with seven wickets remaining

Match scorecard

Henry Brookes and Will Williams narrowly missed out on a place in the record books but put Gloucestershire in a strong position on the second day of the County Championship Division Two match against Derbyshire at the Central Co-op County Ground.

Williams made 98 and Brookes 89, both career-bests, and shared a partnership of 191, just two short of Gloucestershire's all-time ninth wicket record stand set by WG Grace and Sidney Kitcat in 1896.

They carried the visitors to 498 with England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir finishing with 3-116 from 31.1 overs.

Williams then removed Matt Montgomery but Wayne Madsen marked his first innings of the season after recovering from a shoulder injury with an unbeaten 62 as Derbyshire closed on 144-3, still 354 behind.

The prospect of Gloucestershire passing 400 looked remote when they lost their overnight pair in the space of four overs to leave them 301-8.

Miles Hammond added only five before a brilliant diving one handed catch by Ben Aitchison at second slip in the third over of the morning removed him for 145.

Aitchison then brought one back to deceive Ed Middleton (46) who shouldered arms and lost his off stump.

But that was Derbyshire's last success of the session with Brookes and Williams first denying them a third bowling point and then growing in confidence as the hosts lost their way.

Williams twice dispatched Bashir over the ropes, the second a one-handed slog-sweep into the car park, and by lunch, the pair had added 90 from 140 balls.

There was no respite for the home side after the interval with the previous highest ninth wicket stand of 99 for Gloucestershire against Derbyshire quickly eclipsed before Brookes and Williams opened up against the spinners.