T20: Gloucestershire 403-5 v Derbyshire 19-0 (Pts: Glos 5, Derbys 1)
Gloucestershire enjoyed a good day as uninterrupted play was possible on day three at Chesterfield.
Resuming at 58-1, the Shire reached 403-5 as the batsman cashed in on a flat pitch and poor bowling. However, with no arrangement in place to declare innings, the game is set for a draw.
Hamish Marshall starred with the bat, making 158 beautiful runs in his best innings for a very long time. He played shots all round the wicket and executed perfect timing with regularity as he showed his class and only gave one chance as he batted throughout the afternoon, only for a loose stroke to dismiss him in the first over after tea.
Clearly disappointed with his dismissal as he walked off, Marshall was just 11 short of his highest score in first-class cricket. He had looked in total control and it was fantastic to see a great start finally be converted into a big score.
Alex Gidman also played well for his 135. He looked very nervy early on, and immediately after lunch where poor footwork almost cost him is wicket, but once he became settled the timing returned and a perfect back-foot drive through extra-cover was one of the highlights of the afternoon.
However, when both fell after tea, the innings almost stalled completely. Chris Taylor edged Glos to maximum batting points for the first time this season, to only leave time for three overs to bowl after the declaration.
And those three overs were some of the worst of the day. Derbyshire did not bowl well at all, far too erratic and no consistency meant pressure was never built, but Steve Kirby and Anthony Ireland had three slips and a gully in place, and proceeded to bowl at the batsman's legs - Chris Rogers struck four effortless boundaries and neither opener was tested, which was an opportunity lost in a situation where Glos had a good chance to pile the pressure on the opposition.
Monday, June 08, 2009
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Only an hour possible on day two
LVCC: Gloucestershire 58-1 v Derbyshire
Only an hour's play was possible on day two of the county championship at Chesterfield, with rain appearing just before lunch to prevent any play, and place tomorrow's action also in doubt.
Gloucestershire won the toss and, with bonus points in mind, decided to bat first.
Grant Hodnett made his first championship appearance of the season, and looked in good touch, comfortably rotating the strike and confidently coming forward; a wild edge over the slip cordon was his only error but a six over extra cover became the highlight of the morning.
The Shire did lose Kadeer Ali, whose return to the side could only yield one run, as he edged to slip from an Ian Hunter away-swinger.
After being hunched under a marquee, with it's roof steadily gathering water, for two days, it has been a frustrating experience for everyone, and the forecast is not good for the remainder of this match.
Only an hour's play was possible on day two of the county championship at Chesterfield, with rain appearing just before lunch to prevent any play, and place tomorrow's action also in doubt.
Gloucestershire won the toss and, with bonus points in mind, decided to bat first.
Grant Hodnett made his first championship appearance of the season, and looked in good touch, comfortably rotating the strike and confidently coming forward; a wild edge over the slip cordon was his only error but a six over extra cover became the highlight of the morning.
The Shire did lose Kadeer Ali, whose return to the side could only yield one run, as he edged to slip from an Ian Hunter away-swinger.
After being hunched under a marquee, with it's roof steadily gathering water, for two days, it has been a frustrating experience for everyone, and the forecast is not good for the remainder of this match.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Washout on first day at Chesterfield
Day one of the county championship match at Chesterfield was abandoned for the day without a ball being bowled. Heavy rainfall overnight and into the morning on the Queen's Park ground left the outfield covered in puddles and the rain didn't subside enough to warrant attempting to prepare the ground.
An interview with John Bracewell and Steve Snell is available from www.gloscricketradio.co.uk/listenlive
Commentary of the match is available online at http://www.gloscricketradio.co.uk/
The Gloucestershire cricket podcast is also available from the Glos Cricket Radio website and clicking on podcast.
An interview with John Bracewell and Steve Snell is available from www.gloscricketradio.co.uk/listenlive
Commentary of the match is available online at http://www.gloscricketradio.co.uk/
The Gloucestershire cricket podcast is also available from the Glos Cricket Radio website and clicking on podcast.
Friday, June 05, 2009
Four-day fixture to revive Glos
SATURDAY 6th JUNE - TUESDAY 9th JUNE
Derbyshire v Gloucestershire
Chesterfield, LVCC, 11:00
LIVE coverage on www.gloscricketradio.co.uk
Gloucestershire will resume their county championship campaign on Saturday with a trip to Chesterfield to face Derbyshire; the match will be broadcast live by www.gloscricketradio.co.uk.
Currently top of division two, the Shire will look to put the disappointment of the Twenty20 matches behind them, and regain the form that saw them play their best cricket for a few seasons.
Without the pressures of the short-format, batsman can look to occupy the crease and build innings - something not possible in twenty overs - but a traditionally bowler-friendly out-ground pitch could make that task somewhat harder, particularly against an attack that have only failed to claim one bowling point so far this season.
Vikram Banerjee is surprisingly omitted from the squad, so Richard Dawson will play if a spinner is required, in a side that will be expected to contain five bowlers.
A decision is required whether to reinstate Chris Taylor, or whether Kadeer Ali will earn a recall or Grant Hodnett will gain his first four-day start of the season.
Derbyshire v Gloucestershire
Chesterfield, LVCC, 11:00
LIVE coverage on www.gloscricketradio.co.uk
Gloucestershire will resume their county championship campaign on Saturday with a trip to Chesterfield to face Derbyshire; the match will be broadcast live by www.gloscricketradio.co.uk.
Currently top of division two, the Shire will look to put the disappointment of the Twenty20 matches behind them, and regain the form that saw them play their best cricket for a few seasons.
Without the pressures of the short-format, batsman can look to occupy the crease and build innings - something not possible in twenty overs - but a traditionally bowler-friendly out-ground pitch could make that task somewhat harder, particularly against an attack that have only failed to claim one bowling point so far this season.
Vikram Banerjee is surprisingly omitted from the squad, so Richard Dawson will play if a spinner is required, in a side that will be expected to contain five bowlers.
A decision is required whether to reinstate Chris Taylor, or whether Kadeer Ali will earn a recall or Grant Hodnett will gain his first four-day start of the season.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Glos go down again
T20: Warwickshire 139-6 beat Gloucestershire 135-7 by four wickets
Gloucestershire slumped to a fifth Twenty20 defeat at Edgbaston, and with it their chances of getting out the group all but disappeared.
The disastrous dismissal (again) of Hamish Marshall as he was run out by the bowler having played the ball back up the pitch, set the tone in a scrappy innings where the Shire could only post 135, and despite chipping away at the Warwickshire batsman, the target was never going to be demanding enough. So what has gone wrong once again in the 20-over format?
Well clearly the loss of James Franklin as been a key factor. The loss of the all-rounder has created a serious imbalance in the side. Franklin had been performing steadily with the ball, but crucially had found some form with the bat; innings in several Friends Provident games saw Franklin begin to justify his recruitment. But his replacement in the side has gone to a genuine bowler, that has left Glos with a horrifically long tail.
Admittedly, I favoured the decision to play just five batsman - all players of quality, and players that should be backed. However, one-day cricket often works best with plenty of bits-and-pieces cricketers: the Paul Collingwood's and Dimi Mascarenas' of this world. So perhaps Rob Woodman or David Brown warranted inclusion as a like-for-like replacement for Franklin?
Granted, the side have not batted well at all, but surely bolstering the batting would be no more a shot for the confidence of the top order, but a sensible insurance policy to avoid what has been described as "an end being opened": the removal of enough recognised batsman to bring in the lesser players to place more pressure on the player at the other end - a trick that has brought the downfall of the Shire so far in this competition.
Unless runs are on the board, a team has no chance of victory - so a gamble on small numbers to get those runs cannot continue. Albeit unlucky with Franklin and Will Porterfield's international duty, players that are genuinely recognised to bat have to be introduced because not enough runs are being scored.
All-rounders are capable of producing cricket that can work in one-day cricket, so why not get both Woodman and Brown in the side, in place of the one-dimensional cricketers that have not been doing their jobs and have seen the Shire slump out of the Twenty20 cup.
Gloucestershire slumped to a fifth Twenty20 defeat at Edgbaston, and with it their chances of getting out the group all but disappeared.
The disastrous dismissal (again) of Hamish Marshall as he was run out by the bowler having played the ball back up the pitch, set the tone in a scrappy innings where the Shire could only post 135, and despite chipping away at the Warwickshire batsman, the target was never going to be demanding enough. So what has gone wrong once again in the 20-over format?
Well clearly the loss of James Franklin as been a key factor. The loss of the all-rounder has created a serious imbalance in the side. Franklin had been performing steadily with the ball, but crucially had found some form with the bat; innings in several Friends Provident games saw Franklin begin to justify his recruitment. But his replacement in the side has gone to a genuine bowler, that has left Glos with a horrifically long tail.
Admittedly, I favoured the decision to play just five batsman - all players of quality, and players that should be backed. However, one-day cricket often works best with plenty of bits-and-pieces cricketers: the Paul Collingwood's and Dimi Mascarenas' of this world. So perhaps Rob Woodman or David Brown warranted inclusion as a like-for-like replacement for Franklin?
Granted, the side have not batted well at all, but surely bolstering the batting would be no more a shot for the confidence of the top order, but a sensible insurance policy to avoid what has been described as "an end being opened": the removal of enough recognised batsman to bring in the lesser players to place more pressure on the player at the other end - a trick that has brought the downfall of the Shire so far in this competition.
Unless runs are on the board, a team has no chance of victory - so a gamble on small numbers to get those runs cannot continue. Albeit unlucky with Franklin and Will Porterfield's international duty, players that are genuinely recognised to bat have to be introduced because not enough runs are being scored.
All-rounders are capable of producing cricket that can work in one-day cricket, so why not get both Woodman and Brown in the side, in place of the one-dimensional cricketers that have not been doing their jobs and have seen the Shire slump out of the Twenty20 cup.
Another chase, another defeat
T20: Northants 162 beat Gloucestershire 152-7 by 10 runs
Gloucestershire again went down in the second-innings of a Twenty20 match, as their chances of progression were left hanging by a thread, as a seemingly impossible-to-lose chase turned to defeat to leave the Shire on the verge of elimination.
Chasing 163 to win at Bristol seemed a cakewalk after Hamish Marshall blitzed through the powerplay at above 10-an-over to leave what was sure to be a comfortable stroll to the winning margin, but his quite unnecessary dismissal in the final over of powerplay turned the match.
He had played some quite delightful strokes making 42 from 22 balls and the required rate had tumbled to a very modest Twenty20 level. However, Glos' achilles heel again intervened and six middle order wickets went down for just 40 runs, and the 33 from 18 balls proved too much for the tail.
There was a collective sigh of disappointment as the game slipped away from the home side, as most people expected to be driving home as Gemaal Hussain swung and missed at the penultimate ball, needed two sixes for victory. What a disappointment it was. Marshall played wonderfully to set the position up, but the experience of neither Spearman or Taylor could steer the Shire home when required.
It required someone to assert themselves and play properly in knocking off what was close to a run-a-ball after Marshall's innings, but no-one stood up and, as has been experienced, required rates can escalate rapidly in the short form of the game. Batsman were blocking three balls before even looking where they could perhaps score - a repeat of Monday's game when the target was also in sight, but slipped away.
It had been a decent performance in the field, with two possible hat-tricks dampening the Northants innings well, but the performance with the bat has effectively made tomorrow's match at Edgbaston a do-or-die scenario - and we've not even reached the second phase of the group stages.
Gloucestershire again went down in the second-innings of a Twenty20 match, as their chances of progression were left hanging by a thread, as a seemingly impossible-to-lose chase turned to defeat to leave the Shire on the verge of elimination.
Chasing 163 to win at Bristol seemed a cakewalk after Hamish Marshall blitzed through the powerplay at above 10-an-over to leave what was sure to be a comfortable stroll to the winning margin, but his quite unnecessary dismissal in the final over of powerplay turned the match.
He had played some quite delightful strokes making 42 from 22 balls and the required rate had tumbled to a very modest Twenty20 level. However, Glos' achilles heel again intervened and six middle order wickets went down for just 40 runs, and the 33 from 18 balls proved too much for the tail.
There was a collective sigh of disappointment as the game slipped away from the home side, as most people expected to be driving home as Gemaal Hussain swung and missed at the penultimate ball, needed two sixes for victory. What a disappointment it was. Marshall played wonderfully to set the position up, but the experience of neither Spearman or Taylor could steer the Shire home when required.
It required someone to assert themselves and play properly in knocking off what was close to a run-a-ball after Marshall's innings, but no-one stood up and, as has been experienced, required rates can escalate rapidly in the short form of the game. Batsman were blocking three balls before even looking where they could perhaps score - a repeat of Monday's game when the target was also in sight, but slipped away.
It had been a decent performance in the field, with two possible hat-tricks dampening the Northants innings well, but the performance with the bat has effectively made tomorrow's match at Edgbaston a do-or-die scenario - and we've not even reached the second phase of the group stages.
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Glos fail in Worcs chase
T20: Worcestershire 188-9 beat Gloucestershire 175-8 by 13 runs
Gloucestershire lost their sixth straight one-day match to Worcestershire, as they fell 13 short of chasing the visitors' 188 at Bristol.
Again Glos failed to produce good enough all-round cricket to win and conceded above nine-an-over: surprising considering their recent successes have been in the field.
Steve Kirby's 2-28 from four overs were not backed up, as the Shire twice let Worcester get away, after a middle period that clawed the innings back from a 102 opening stand.
The bizarre experiment of opening with Vikram Banerjee failed miserably, and Banerjee's impact was completely neutralised - contributing to Glos facing their highest target in this year's competition.
The chase was actually quite admirable, and for a while the Shire had a sniff as Alex Gidman finally made some runs. His 64 shared a partnership of 94 with Hamish Marshall, but quick wickets scuppered the response, and the target eventually gained the better of the home side.
Just two points from four matches is exactly the opposite of what was required, and the pressure is now on to find a couple of wins to keep the Shire's interest in the competition continuing to the later period of the group stages.
Stuart Clark will no longer be joining Gloucestershire because he failed to achieve a work permit in the required time frame.
I cannot understand how the authorities have allowed this to happen. The system is quite ridiculous when a very straightforward application has to endure such a procedure, and is very much to the detriment of the Shire.
Gloucestershire lost their sixth straight one-day match to Worcestershire, as they fell 13 short of chasing the visitors' 188 at Bristol.
Again Glos failed to produce good enough all-round cricket to win and conceded above nine-an-over: surprising considering their recent successes have been in the field.
Steve Kirby's 2-28 from four overs were not backed up, as the Shire twice let Worcester get away, after a middle period that clawed the innings back from a 102 opening stand.
The bizarre experiment of opening with Vikram Banerjee failed miserably, and Banerjee's impact was completely neutralised - contributing to Glos facing their highest target in this year's competition.
The chase was actually quite admirable, and for a while the Shire had a sniff as Alex Gidman finally made some runs. His 64 shared a partnership of 94 with Hamish Marshall, but quick wickets scuppered the response, and the target eventually gained the better of the home side.
Just two points from four matches is exactly the opposite of what was required, and the pressure is now on to find a couple of wins to keep the Shire's interest in the competition continuing to the later period of the group stages.
Stuart Clark will no longer be joining Gloucestershire because he failed to achieve a work permit in the required time frame.
I cannot understand how the authorities have allowed this to happen. The system is quite ridiculous when a very straightforward application has to endure such a procedure, and is very much to the detriment of the Shire.
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