Despite starring with bat and ball himself, Jon Lewis hailed the impact of spinner Vikram Banerjee as Gloucestershire closed in on victory over Middlesex.

Ex-skipper Lewis hit 54 and bagged two vital wickets as the visitors ended day two of the County Championship match in Bristol on 129-5, still 60 short of avoiding an innings defeat.

Afterwards, he pinpointed the dismissal of Ashes hopeful Owais Shah for 57 by Banerjee as a huge moment in a one-sided match.

"It was a fantastic delivery that turned and bounced on a wicket that is not spinning a lot," said Lewis.

"He did a brilliant job for us, allowing the seamers to rotate and bowl short sharp spells from one end, so he deserved it."

Highlight of the day for Lewis came when he dismissed his friend and England captain Andrew Strauss for a third-ball duck.

He said: "Obviously we all want Andrew to get some runs before the Ashes but not here at Bristol this week.

"I think he's got another game before he strides out against Australia, so it was nice to knock his poles out."

The veteran seamer followed James Franklin and Craig Spearman in passing 50 in Gloucestershire's total of 342.

In fine form with the bat in Championship cricket, Lewis now knows the onus is on the bowlers to complete the job and consolidate Gloucestershire's lead at the top of Division Two.

"We might need to be patient but the approach won't be rocket science – we need to bowl straight and at the stumps as much as possible on this pitch," he said.

"It was good to get a sizeable lead of 189 on first innings because the wicket is pretty flat now.

"Myself and James put on a good partnership after Craig Spearman and Chris Taylor laid the foundations in the morning.

"I was eight short of my career best, which was disappointing, but I still think I'm a bit high in the order at number eight."