ONLY 15.3 overs were possible because of rain on the third day of Worcestershire’s Specsavers County Championship Division Two match against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham.

Starting the day on 20-0 in their second innings with a lead of 103 the hosts progressed to 62-1 before the weather intervened.

Worcestershire paceman John Hastings picked up the only wicket to fall.

The Australian all-rounder bowled a probing spell and was rewarded when Cameron Bancroft (22) nicked through to Ross Whiteley who held onto a low catch at first slip with 33 on the board.

Bancroft and Chris Dent had been watchful against Joe Leach and Hastings whose first four overs of the innings were maidens.

Dent was particularly circumspect and managed just one scoring shot off 42 balls with a boundary wide of the slips off Hastings.

Will Tavare was more adventurous and moved onto 23 from 29 deliveries with four boundaries when an early lunch was taken because of bad light.

Dent was unbeaten on 11, having faced 70 deliveries.

That proved the end of proceedings as heavy and persistent rain forced umpires Ian Blackwell and Russell Evans to abandon play for the day at 3.20pm.

Gloucestershire lead by 145 and it could take some imaginative captaincy to produce a decisive result tomorrow.