Ian Harvey blasted the fastest first-class century of the season asGloucestershire piled up 418-5 on a one-sided opening day at Bristol

Richard Latham05-Sep-2001Ian Harvey blasted the fastest first-class century of the season asGloucestershire piled up 418-5 on a one-sided opening day at Bristol.The Australian all-rounder came in at number five, with the total on 290-3,and proceeded to reach three-figures in just 61 balls, with 6 sixes and 12fours.Four of the sixes were pull shots off seamer Graeme Welch, while the othertwo dispatched spinners Lian Wharton and Nathan Dumelow straight back overtheir heads.It was a devastating exhibition. Harvey took 35 deliveries to reach fiftyand had faced only 65 balls in his 68-minute innings when bowled by Welchattempting another big hit.His amazing effort eclipsed an earlier fine innings from opener DominicHewson who hit a career-best 168, batting for five minutes short of fivehours and hitting 29 boundaries in his 252-ball innings.For struggling Derbyshire the tone of another disappointing day was set whenskipper Michael Di Venuto dropped Hewson at second slip before he had scoredin only the third over of the match, sent down by Welch.Hewson, whose only previous first-class hundred had come against declarationbowling at Derby this season, played with increasing confidence and treatedspectators to some sweetly-timed shots, particularly through the off-side.He eventually fell lbw swinging across a straight ball from left-arm spinnerWharton. But that only brought in Harvey to dominate to such an extentthat Kim Barnett contributed only three to a fourth-wicket stand of 95.Barnett was bowled by Nathan Dumelow, having made 34 of the 52 runs heneeded to reach 1,000 for the season. And by the time Harvey had his stumpsscattered by Welch, aiming another big hit, Gloucestershire had passed the400-mark.