Craig Spearman moved to within one run of a century to help Gloucestershire assume complete control of their Frizzell County Championship Division Two clash with Nottinghamshire at Bristol.

The former New Zealand Test batsman looked in imperious form as the hosts closed on 165 for two, just 32 behind Notts' disappointing first-innings total.

However, Gloucestershire owe their dominance largely to James Averis, whose career-best figures of five for 51 saw Notts dismissed in 57 overs.

Ben Gannon helped himself to three wickets and Jon Lewis took one, while Darren Bicknell, Usman Afzaal and Nicky Boje all failed to progress beyond the 30s.

SCOREBOARD

Division One

Canterbury: Yorkshire 239 (C White 104, A Khan 6-52) v Kent 61-0. Old Trafford: Sussex 345-7 (C J Adams 159 no) v Lancashire. Taunton: Somerset 390-3 (J Cox 176, M J Wood 79, M Burns 52) v Leicestershire. Edgbaston: Warwickshire 274-9 (N V Knight 151 no) v Hampshire.

Division Two

Cardiff: Durham 162 (M L Love 71, S D Thomas 7-33) v Glamorgan 117-5. Bristol: Nottinghamshire 197 (J M M Averis 5-51) v Gloucestershire 165-2 (C M Spearman 99 no). Northampton: Middlesex 367-5 (S G Koenig 101, P N Weekes 92 no, R M S Weston 72) v Northamptonshire. New Road: Worcestershire 367 (A J Bichel 65, B F Smith 61, A Singh 60) v Essex 9-0.

Other Matches

Fenner's: Surrey 402-4 dec (M R Ramprakash 121, R Clarke 107 no, N Shahid 65) v Cambridge UCCE 25-0. Derby: Derbyshire 330-7 dec (M P Dowman 101) v Loughborough UCCE 27-2