Aldridge's Five-Fire Start Lights Up Durham's Day Against Gloucestershire

Kasey Aldridge took five wickets on day one as Durham bowled out Gloucestershire and built a reply in the County Championship at Chester-le-Street.

Durham won the toss and chose to bowl first, and the decision paid off almost immediately. Brydon Carse, making his first red-ball appearance of the summer after a lay-off, removed Joe Phillips' middle stump to get things rolling. When Carse then had Miles Hammond chop on to his own stumps — the ball deflecting from bat onto the wicket — Gloucestershire were reeling at 13 for 3. Potts had earlier accounted for Cameron Bancroft, caught at first slip by David Bedingham, and the openers were gone inside the first half-hour BBC Sport.

James Bracey and Ollie Price stopped the rot with a partnership worth more than fifty, giving Gloucestershire a foothold after the early carnage. But Aldridge broke through twice in quick succession: Price was caught at second slip, then Tommy Boorman was caught behind the wicket by the wicketkeeper. Potts chipped in again, removing Daz Ahmed — also caught at second slip — and suddenly the lower order was exposed.

Ben Stokes got in on the act by uprooting Sai Kishore's leg stump, a clean strike that left the tail with nowhere to hide. Bracey, who had passed fifty for the sixth time this season, was next to go — trapped lbw by Aldridge. JT Langridge followed, caught at point, and Aldridge had his five-wicket haul. The 24-year-old bowling allrounder had done the heavy lifting through the middle and lower order, finishing with figures that told the story of Gloucestershire's innings: flashes of resistance, but not enough substance to last.

Bedingham, who had taken the catch at first slip to remove Bancroft earlier, then picked up the bat with intent. After Alex Lees fell to debutant JT Langridge — a Somerset loanee who had him caught behind — and Ben McKinney nicked off to a Daz Ahmed short ball, caught by Phillips, Durham needed calm. Will Rhodes and Bedingham provided it, with Bedingham playing the aggressor and going past fifty after the tea interval. Langridge struck again before stumps, removing Rhodes caught at first slip to give Gloucestershire a late foothold of their own BBC Sport.

Bad light ended the day prematurely, with 26 overs lost, and Durham trailed by 37 runs when play was called off ESPNcricinfo.

For Durham, sitting fifth in Division Two with 50 points before this final block of the season, the day could hardly have gone better with the ball. Carse's return gave the attack a sharper edge, Aldridge's five-wicket haul underlined his growing influence, and Stokes' cameo with the ball was a reminder of what he offers when available. Gloucestershire, beaten by an innings at Lord's in their opening match of the campaign, have struggled for batting depth all season and that weakness surfaced again here.

The task now is straightforward: Durham need to wipe off the 37-run deficit and build a lead on day two, weather permitting.