Glos slump to worst defeat of campaign

T20: Warwickshire 144-3 (16.1 overs) beat Gloucestershire 141 (19.4) by seven wickets

Gloucestershire produced another dire performance to slump to a fifth defeat out of six Twenty20 matches and were officially eliminated from the competition and now face next year in division two of the new T20 league.

Unbelievably for a side on such good form in all other cricket, Glos were again totally off the pace in a 20-over match, with a performance that lacked any interest whatsoever and totally let down the supporters that had turned up.

For a second time this year Glos were rolled by Warwickshire as their 141 target was easily overcome with nearly four overs remaining. Jonathan Trott's 73 not out guided the Bears home, but had Chris Taylor not spilled a very straightforward chance very early on in Trott's innings things could have been different; a costly drop indeed.

The Shire lost too many wickets and therefore no partnerships were developed, and the chances to build a big score were severely hindered. Hamish Marshall made 25 before going unnecessarily hard at a sweep shot and top edging a catch, and James Franklin's 19 was ended via an outlandish shot after several boundaries already in the over.

The visitor's bowling was nothing out of the ordinary, but Glos failed to play the situation and never gave themselves a base to work from, and their total was well below par, despite a well made 33 from David Brown.