Glos lose in drab affair

T20: Glamorgan 166-6 beat Gloucestershire 127 by 39 runs

Gloucestershire slumped to their second consecutive Twenty20 defeat as they went down by 39 runs in a truly awful cricketing display by the Shire.

There was a distinct lack of determination or passion on display by Glos, who never got into the game on a damp, chilly evening in the virtually empty Sophia Gardens. The batting again failed and although the author favours the current balance of the team, alterations must surely have to be considered.

Chasing above eight-an-over, an opening flurry was followed by what is becoming a customary collapse by the Glos order. There is such a lack of being able to consolidate and this is creating pressure down the order that in Twenty20, there is little time to recover from.

Will Porterfield played some nice strokes before being bowled by a good slower ball; 9-36 followed, including another failure for Alex Gidman, who's place in the team must surely be coming under scrutiny following a series of poor one-day performances.

The bowling display would have to go down as the worst this season, as the overweight journeyman of county cricket - Mark Cosgrove - was able to take the Glos attack apart in his 52 from 39 balls.

Too many four balls were sent down and Gemaal Hussain in particular, looked as if he was simply running into bowl without thinking.

To their credit the Shire fought back in the second-half of the Glamorgan innings, as the 10-an-over 86 opening stand was pegged back, largely thanks to Richard Dawson's 0-18 from four overs. But in amongst the improvement was several misfields that gave away needless runs and allowed the home side to accumulate their total.