While predictions of a scorching day two proved unfounded, Gloucestershire's clinical cricket means they deserve to feel the warm glow of victory.

The late loss of Owais Shah could prove fatal to Middlesex after half-centuries from James Franklin, Jon Lewis and acting captain Craig Spearman put the Division Two leaders on course for their third Championship win of the season.

Lewis has plenty of time for Andrew Strauss, but it doubtless gave him huge satisfaction to send the England skipper packing for a third-ball duck.

It was an embarrassing misjudgement by Strauss – shouldering arms and losing his off-stump – yet Nick Compton failed to heed the warning as he fell in identical fashion.

Steve Kirby got rid of another international, trapping Eoin Morgan with a ball that jabbed back, but Ashes hopeful Shah was relatively untroubled in notching 57.

Perhaps crucially, he was eventually undone by a Vikram Banerjee delivery that turned and bounced and Spearman's sharp slip catch.

Nightwatchman Steven Finn quickly followed, bowled by Kirby, and the men from Lord's still trailed by 60 with five second innings wickets in hand.

Having made batting look much easier, Spearman became the first of five scalps for ex-Gloucestershire paceman David Burton, fencing outside off stump and edging to keeper David Nash.

The nomadic Burton – Middlesex are the sixth first-class county he has served at the age of 23 – struck again when Chris Taylor was leg before with the score on 200.

Only 25 had been added when Steve Snell top-edged a sweep off Shaun Udal to Gareth Berg just before lunch.

It was a different story in the afternoon session, although Franklin's classy 67 owed much to sensible assessment of the match situation rather than any fireworks.

Lewis has made it a mission to cement a place at number eight, and he required only 55 deliveries to pass the half-century mark.

By then he had lost the company of Franklin. The Kiwi was trapped in front by the increasingly impressive Burton, who then got rid of Lewis via the safe hands of Neil Dexter at gully.

Banerjee was caught behind off Udal, and the hosts had to settle for three batting points and a lead of 189 when Anthony Ireland scooped Burton to a diving Morgan at mid-on.