Date-stamped : 22 Jun97 - 14:20 By Peter Deeley at Bristol First day of four: Gloucs (57-3) trail Middlesex (237) by 180 runs YOU knew it was going to be one of those strange sort of days on arriving here to find the electronic scoreboard out of action and Middlesex choosing a debutant about whom few of his own team- mates knew anything. That was the way it continued. By the time the system was back on line after lunch the Londoners were already 157 for seven and Mike Smith - on his way to 41 victims so early in the season - had taken out three of their top order in the space of 21 balls. One of Smith`s scalps, Mike Gatting, had enough adventures to last a season. He was dropped first ball, had a delivery from Smith flick the off-stump without removing the bail, and then was bowled next delivery by a screamer that moved away keeping low. Among the wreckage, a sparkling innings from Mark Ramprakash stood out. Losing the toss and being made to bat, he was rightly suspicious of a greenish pitch and a muggy atmosphere, yet produced a se- ries of the finest cover-drives which you would wish to see. There was a breath-taking six off Mark Alleyne, a flick off his toes over long-on and out of the ground, and a quartet of stinging boundaries off Shaun Young that helped him reach 53 in a Mid- dlesex score of 82 for five. This after their opening pair had dis- appeared, both leg before, in the first three overs. When Ramprakash was leg before himself, to Alleyne soon after lunch for 75, to another that failed to take off, he had braved the conditions for 2.75 hours and understandably looked queru- lous- ly at the the pitch. Sanity of a kind was restored though the ball continued to fly dangerously at times and several batsmen were hit. Keith Dutch, despite four raps on the hand, carried Middlesex to some respectability with a career-best 79. Dutch and James Hewitt so prospered in a stand of 86 for the eighth wicket it was difficult to see the earlier setbacks as any- thing but an aberration. But Smith came back into the fray after tea and finished with five wickets for 23. Gloucestershire enjoyed conditions no better in the final ses- sion and Monte Lynch had to leave the field after being hit on the hand and then the visor. The Middlesex new boy turned out to be Tim Bloomfield, from the Staines and Leleham club, who has impressed in some recent second team games. Replacing Phil Tufnell, who was at his home ground on international duty, he bowled two quick overs in the gathering gloom. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Britannic County Championship: An inspector calls to solve riddle of new Bristol pitch By Peter Deeley at Bristol Second day of four: Middlesex (237 & 78-6) lead Gloucs (99) by 216 runs A THREE-MAN panel from the England Cricket Board`s pitches ad- visory group travel here today to sit in judgment on a track where 25 wickets have so far fallen in 1.5 days` play - 12 of them in 51 overs yesterday. With five batsmen having been hit on the hand by lifting de- liveries off a cracked surface, Harry Brind, the board`s pitches in- spector, and his colleagues might need to call in at the lo- cal hospital A & E department. Monte Lynch has been there with a badly bruised left forefin- ger which at one time was thought to have been fractured. He came back to steer Gloucestershire beyond the follow-on mark and then retired for the second time. Late in the day, Mike Gatting, facing his second ball from Shaun Young, reacted violently to a knock but ignored the prof- fered towel and medicine - only to be out soon after offering no shot to Jonathan Lewis. This is the first senior game to be played on a pitch which was relaid in 1994 according to board guidelines. Groundsman David Bridle admitted that the bounce was variable but observed, reason- ably, that some of the shots which led to dismissals - particularly by the home batsmen - were suspect. The irony is that the other, older, pitches here have been flat surfaces conducive to lots of runs this summer. Glouces- ter- shire cannot be accused of preparing a track to suit their bowlers when the greater depth of the Middlesex pace attack has dominated the game. They imposed themselves without the help of Angus Fraser, who spent the second half of the day - after 53 overs had been lost to rain - limping with a twisted ankle. Gloucestershire collapsed from their overnight 57 for three to 99, the first time they have been dismissed for below three figures this summer. Richard Johnson did most damage, finishing with four for 27, and Tim Bloomfield backed him up with two wick- ets in succes- sive balls in his first game at this level. Tony Wright stuck to his task for 2.5 hours before trying to pull Bloomfield and skying a return catch. He was the sixth man out and, apart from Lynch, the only other home batsman to reach double figures. But for their 20 extras, Gloucestershire would certainly have been batting again before the close. Middlesex finished 138 ahead on first innings but Gloucester- shire have by no means given up the ghost in this battle in the higher reaches of the championship table. Aside from the dismissal of Gatting, they were entitled to celebrate the key wicket of Middlesex captain Mark Ram- prakash, the scourge of their bowlers in the first innings. In two excellent spells, Jon Lewis removed four key batsmen, leaving even Ramprakash flat-footed with the perfect delivery which left him late and hit middle and off stumps. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Covers stay on to keep inspectors in the dark By Peter Deeley at Bristol THE four-man pitches inspectorate from the England Cricket Board were forced to remain under cover until late in the day here yes- terday, like the contro- versial wicket they came to examine. When the rain finally relented the group, led by John Carr, the board`s cricket operations manager, spent more than half an hour out in the middle with groundsman David Bridle. Carr - who holds the record individual score for Middlesex against Gloucestershire with an unbeaten 261 at Lord`s three years ago - had come from Lord`s with county representatives Hugh Davies of Glamorgan, Bill Hughes (Hampshire) and David Dunckley (Lanca- shire). The inspectors hoped to see some play in order to form a final judgment but the weather defeated them. When play was due to begin at 5.30 another downpour arrived forcing abandonment of the whole day`s play. Carr will now stay overnight along with Harry Brind, the ECB adviser on pitches, and other members are expected to return today, when they will also inspect television footage of play. If the weather prevents further play in the match - with Middle- sex leading by 216 runs - then the case against Gloucestershire could well be "not proven". However Brind has been an eye-witness to events since the first day, having been summoned early by the umpires. He has seen for himself the effect of the patchwork mosaic, on which 25 wickets have al- ready gone down in 1.5 days` play and five batsmen have been hit on the hand. The pitch, being used for the first time at first-class level, is one of three here which were relaid in 1994, based on Lord`s guidelines. Philip August, Gloucestershire`s secretary, said of the coun- ty`s first-innings debacle: "This isn`t a 99-run wicket. Some of the shots left a lot to be desired. There`s some unevenness of bounce but that`s to be expected in a new pitch." This latest problem rounds off an unhappy week for Gloucester- shire. On Monday they lost here to Worcestershire when victo- ry would have taken them back to the top of the championship. Twenty-four hours earlier police were called in to ugly crowd scenes at the Sunday meeting between the sides. The county were let- ting children accompanied by parents in free and have since been "inundated" with complaints about bad language and drunk- en- ness, according to chief executive Colin Sexstone. "We`re determined to stamp out such disgraceful scenes," Sexs- tone said, announcing that with effect from tomorrow`s game, against Middlesex, Gloucestershire are to introduce re- strictions on alcohol consumption. Both bars in the Jessop Tavern will be closed from the start of play until six and stewards will search spectators to ensure that drink brought into the ground is limited to "sensible" per- sonal con- sumption. Sexstone commented: "These actions are deeply regretted but this is the minimum action necessary to allow cricket to be played in a friendly and family atmosphere. Gloucestershire are not alone in experiencing this problem." Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Smith papers over the cracks By Peter Deeley at Bristol Middlesex beat Gloucesterhire by 44 runs MIKE SMITH`S 42 wickets at little over 15 runs apiece for Gloucestershire at this early stage in the season holds out the promise of an international future for the 29-year-old exiled Tyke. So the left-armer is in pole position when it comes to opin- ions on this controversial wicket - playing its first senior game since it was relaid in 1994 - which is presently under scrutiny by an in- spectorate from Lord`s. After one and a half days in which 25 wickets fell, Glouces- tershire acknowledge that the mosaic of cracks is leading to variable bounce. But Smith says: "This is no worse than our game at Headingley when Michael Vaughan broke his wrist. Every ball that has risen has tended to hit the batsman, but the pitch isn`t that bad. "Dismissals have tended to make the rest more hesitant. Per- haps they are hanging back when they should be going forward." One man who does not seem inflicted with such doubt is Mark Alleyne, growing in confidence now he has assumed the Gloucester- shire captaincy. He yesterday showed how the lifting ball should be played as he became the first home batsman in the match to reach a half-century. After the home side, set 263 in a minimum of 89 overs, had slumped to 60 for four, Alleyne shared in a fighting partner- ship with Jack Russell which gave Gloucestershire an outside chance of victo- ry. The Lord`s quartet, aided by ECB pitches inspector Harry Brind, were waiting until the end of the game to give their ver- dict. What they particularly wanted to see was how the ball would behave in the hands of Middlesex`s Richard Johnson. But first Johnson rattled up a quickfire 31 off 15 balls as Middlesex added early runs before declaring. Then Johnson quick- ly re- moved Gloucestershire`s openers, Tony Wright fencing at a lifting ball and Nick Trainor trapped leg before. He then "nut- ted" Robert Cun- liffe with one that rose from just short of a length. Maybe unsettled by this, Cunliffe got an inside edge pushing forward to Angus Fraser and Australian Shaun Young soon fol- lowed, chasing a legside delivery from James Hewitt. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)