All the action was contained in the first 12 deliveries of Yorkshire's Championship match at Cheltenham yesterday where a cloudburst abruptly ended the first day's play with Gloucestershire on 33 for two from 11.1 overs.

Rain the previous day left the outfield so soggy that the game could not begin until 1.40pm and there was then a stoppage which cost nine overs before the spectacular deluge flooded the ground.

Although there seemed plenty in it for the pacemen in the few overs that were possible, the general feeling was that the pitch would increasingly take spin and Yorkshire included both of their slow bowlers, Andy Gray and Richard Dawson.

Gloucestershire went one step further by bringing in former Yorkshire left-armer, Ian Fisher, to team up with fellow spinners Martyn Ball and Shoaib Malik.

Winning the toss, Gloucestershire decided to bat first but were in trouble from Chris Silverwood's fourth ball, off which New Zealander Chris Spearman attempted a forcing shot only to get a thick inside edge into his stumps.

Tim Hancock was off the mark second ball, cutting Silverwood for four, but Gloucestershire's other opener, Phil Weston, also fell for a duck as he pushed hesitantly forward at the last delivery of Steven Kirby's opening over and gave a catch to Simon Guy.

Gloucestershire were in trouble at four for two, but Hancock and Matthew Windows moved the score on with some positive batting, several boundaries coming from strong cover drives, and the recovery was just gaining momentum when the monsoons set in.