Play was delayed for five minutes in the 2024 County Championship fixture between Gloucestershire and Yorkshire at Bristol after a ball was lost under the covers.

In a scene familiar to recreational cricketers up and down the land, play was put on pause on the third day of the Division Two fixture as the players, support staff and even spectators did their best to retrieve the lost ball.

The break in play took place just over an hour into the morning session of day three. Yorkshire openers Adam Lyth and Finlay Bean consolidated the visitors’ dominance, eventually putting on 180 for the first wicket withLyth registering the 34th first-class hundred of his career.

Having started their second innings with a 67-run lead, Yorkshire pressed home their advantage on the third day. As well as the openers’ runs, Shan Masood hit 40 from No.3 before Joe Root hit 51 before falling to Zaman Akhter for the second time in the match.

The search for the lost ball was ultimately futile. After five minutes of searching the umpires called for a change of ball. The ball change did not bring about a change of fortune for the home side, who, despite taking four wickets over the next three hours, continued to leak runs at a rate of around five runs an over.

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