Nottinghamshire were left feeling frustrated as Gloucestershire batted throughout the final day to secure a draw in their Specsavers County Championship game at Bristol.
On a day when the placid nature of the surface gave little assistance to any of the bowlers the home side had reached 254 for five, a lead of 22, when the captains agreed to shake hands with 10 overs remaining.
Luke Fletcher finished with two for 58, and Harry Gurney, with two for 62, were the most successful Nottinghamshire bowlers but Graeme van Buuren held firm, closing on 88 not out.
Paul Franks felt there were similarities with the recent game against Glamorgan at Cardiff.
“I thought that the surface here made the Cardiff one look fast and bouncy," he said.
"We can’t be faulted for our endeavour, we can’t be faulted for the way we went about trying to win the game over the course of the four days and we’re very frustrated to have given the effort.
“The quality of our play has just fallen short and we’ve not quite got to where we wanted to get to.”
Needing nine wickets for victory, Notts made an ideal start to the day by making two early strikes, both by Gurney.
The left-arm quick, sharing the bowling duties with Fletcher, struck with his third delivery of the morning and followed it up with a further success in his next over.
Will Tavare, who had made seven, looked palpably lbw and a similar piece of around the wicket bowling also accounted for Gareth Roderick for two.
The remainder of the opening session passed without any significant incident as Notts pressed and Gloucestershire resisted.
Chris Dent worked his way to a patient 50 from 115 balls, having hit six boundaries. He received solid support from Graeme van Buuren and the pair took their side to 100 for three at lunch, still 132 behind.
The early afternoon brought a surprise for Nottinghamshire followers as Riki Wessels entered the attack for the first time since 2014.
On as the seventh bowler to be used he sent down two cheap overs of leg spin but was denied a third because a wicket had been bagged at the other end.
Dent’s concentration failed him as he tried an adventurous pull against Brett Hutton and became the fourth leg before victim of the innings.
Any Notts thoughts of running through the middle and lower order were put on hold as van Buuren and Phil Mustard dug in for the rest of the afternoon.
Van Buuren reached his 50 from 170 balls with five fours and was then challenged by an eighth bowler, Cheteshwar Pujara – who sent down two overs for 10.
The immediate post-tea period saw Notts take the second new ball and Fletcher made it count by removing Mustard for 39, thanks to a leaping catch at point by Jake Libby.
A streaky four through the slips took van Buuren to 83 but provided greater concern as it forced Steven Mullaney from the field with a damaged finger.
The closing moments were played out with Notts having three substitutes on the field – all Test players – in Brendan Taylor, Stuart Broad and James Pattinson.
Notts continued to press but once the hosts had wiped out their deficit it was plainly obvious that a positive result wasn’t forthcoming, given that only 23 wickets had fallen in the entire four days – and nine of those to leg before wicket decisions.
The outcome delivered 11 points for Notts, who remain undefeated and strengthen their lead at the top of the Division Two table.
Focus now switches to Tuesday and the Royal London One-Day cup match at Taunton against Somerset.
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