LV= County Championship Div Two

Gloucestershire 193 and 282-9; Kent 235

HAMISH MARSHALL and Geraint Jones saved the day for Gloucestershire and set up a potentially exciting fourth and final day at Bristol.

Having bowled out Kent, finally, for 235 in the morning session, Gloucestershire found themselves staring down the barrel of defeat, inside three days, as Darren Stevens and Ivan Thomas reduced them to 81-4, shortly after lunch.

However, Marshall and the former Kent wicket keeper Jones added 134 for the fifth wicket to give Gloucestershire the chance of winning a third successive Championship game.

Resuming on their overnight total of 223-9, Kent lost their last wicket when Adam Riley top-edged a pull shot, off the bowling of Liam Norwell, to wicket keeper Gareth Roderick.

It was Norwell's 32nd first-class wicket of the season and left him with the impressive figures of 4-44 off 24 overs.

On a wicket that provided the bowlers with a degree of encouragement, Gloucestershire batted well in the early stages of their second innings. Openers Chris Dent and Roderick put on 59 for the first wicket with both batsmen looking set for the day. However, the introduction of Darren Stevens turned the game back in Kent's favour as Gloucestershire preceded to lose four wickets for just 22 runs in 9.3 overs.

Dent, who struck three boundaries in his 48-ball stay at the crease, was first to go, when he played on to a regulation delivery from Stevens. Eight runs later, off the final ball of the morning session, Ian Cockbain became victim number two for Stevens. That was 67-2.

If the final throes of the morning session were disappointing, for Gloucestershire, the early stages of the afternoon session were equally as frustrating.

First, Peter Handscomb flashed at a short and wide delivery from Thomas and was duly caught by wicket keeper Sam Billings. Then, Roderick departed in similar fashion, caught at slip by Stevens, once again off the bowling of Thomas.

Thankfully, for Gloucestershire, Marshall and Jones batted with far greater application to add 134 for the fifth wicket. Marshall passed 50 off 84 balls and finally reached 13,000 first-class runs, courtesy of four overthrows.

Jones, who signed a two-year contract in the winter, reached his half-century off 92 balls, with six fours.

Marshall eventually holed out to Fabian Cowdrey at backward point off the bowling of Matt Coles, for 83, before Kieran Noema-Barnett departed without scoring and Jones for 55, trapped lbw by Thomas.

Craig Miles and David Payne put on 36 for the eighth wicket as Gloucestershire finished the day on 282-9, leading by 240 with one second innings wicket in hand.

Gloucestershire's Hamish Marshall said: "We had to battle today and we lost some wickets at crucial times. However, we had one good partnership and that has set us up nicely. There was also some good batting from the tail which is always important.

"Tomorrow's a big day. We've got 240 on the board already and who knows there might be a few more in the morning. I think we are pretty happy with our position.

"Personally, I am making some runs at the moment and I was told when I came off the pitch that I had gone through 13,000 runs. But I don't want to get ahead of myself and I would swap that record for a win tomorrow."