Head coach David Ripley says that he was disappointed that the bad weather in Bristol put paid to any hopes of Northamptonshire getting a Specsavers County Championship win over Gloucestershire.
By the tea interval of day two Northamptonshire had built up a 48-run lead, and were looking to build on the strong bowling performance seen in Gloucestershire’s first innings.
But the visitors were stymied by the weather, firstly by bad light and rain which cut short the second day, then the rain which saw all of day three abandoned, and finally heavy storms on day four which reduced play to just five overs.
Umpires Mike Burns and Paul Pollard took the decision at 1pm following an early lunch. Although the sun was shining by then, several heavy storms had made the outfield unplayable.
Ripley and his team were entitled to feel the more frustrated as they were the only likely winners had a full day been possible. But a draw was always the most predictable outcome.
“We are disappointed because we had nudged ahead in the game on the back of our bowling performance on the first day,” he said.
“We still had a lot to do today and needed to repeat that bowling effort. Winning was always a bit of a long shot, but we would have backed ourselves.
“The pitch had done a bit all game and was under cover for a day yesterday, so conditions might have suited our seam attack, but we shall never know.
“We now face Sussex at home next week and it’s the last chance for players to impress and sign off what we feel has been a disappointing season. We have played some good cricket at home and want to send ourselves off for the winter on the back of a strong four-day performance.”
Both teams took eight points from the game, leaving Gloucestershire seventh and Northants ninth in the Second Division table.