T20: Gloucestershire 162-8 beat Somerset 141-5 by 21 runs
Different day, different weather, different location and thankfully different result for Gloucestershire, as a much improved performance claimed a 21-run win over Somerset.
Taunton was bathed in sunshine all day and the compact ground was even more a pleasure to watch cricket than usual; anyone making the trip was treated to the conditions the sport was made for. In total contrast to Wednesday's misery in the cold empty Cardiff rubberdome, this was an exceptional afternoon out as Glos dominated their local rivals.
At the interval the general consensus was that Somserset were favourites chasing just above eight-an-over, but the Shire were back to their best in the field and the target was defended comfortably.
I was most pleased for Steve Kirby, who answered any critics with a devastating spell. He found a perfect line and length to limit scoring, and picked up both openers in a spell of 4-0-17-2. He led the attack that rose to the occasion wonderfully to give Glos their first Twenty20 win of the season.
The twin spin attack of Vikram Banerjee and Richard Dawson was an inspired selection, as their eight overs went for just 50. Dawson also contributed 27 from 20 balls to bolster the innings, just as it looked as if tumbling wickets were again going to thwart chances of setting a competitive total.
There was a failure to build a big partnership, as batsman made runs in brief flurries, aside Craig Spearman's swashbuckling 51 from 29 balls that was the highlight of a frustrating Glos innings that seemed 30 runs short; the fielding effort proved this not to be the case.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
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.
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.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Glos fail in small chase
T20: Worcestershire 145-7 beat Gloucestershire 122 by 23 runs
Gloucestershire again failed in half of the game at New Road to slip to an opening game defeat in the Twenty20 cup.
After performing well being asked to bowl first, the Shire restricted Worcestershire to just 145-7 from 20 overs, but a terribly-managed chase left Glos 23 runs short - a huge disappointment given the first half of the game and an opening stand of 41.
But Hamish Marshall played his usual quick-fire innings and that sparked a ridiculous collapse - worse than that experienced at the Oval recently, with nine wickets falling for just 52 runs.
Nobody, save Will Porterfield briefly and Jon Lewis' late heroics, dedicated a moment's thought to reading the game situation. The target was just above 7-an-over - quite frankly a doddle in Twenty20 - and yet the batsman played like they were chasing 17-an-over.
The key to a run-chase is to preserve wickets; even if the rate climbed to 8/9-an-over, so long as no less than seven wickets were intact, the target would have been easily achievable. But the gung-ho attitude the Glos batsman went out with was one of the most unprofessional things one has seen.
Alex Gidman's miserable form in one-day cricket continued, as his registered a fourth-ball duck. If he is only playing five specialist batsman, he has got to start weighing in with runs - if this continues then his place must surely be in doubt if the balance of the side is to remain as it is.
What made the defeat even more frustrating was that it had been an excellent effort by the Glos five-man attack, with Gemaal Hussain bowling with pace and enjoying a dream debut as his four overs claimed 2-17. In stark contrast to the other pace bowler, as Steve Kirby showed why he is always doubted in one-day cricket by going for above 10-an-over; although his extra pace did take three wickets.
Richard Dawson bowled tidily in conceding 26 in four overs, although nothing to suggest he will be a permanent replacement for Vikram Banerjee. Talking of spinners, the ex-Shire Ian Fisher popped up with 3-13 to shove two fingers up to the Nevil Road management and significantly contribute to the 23-run win.
Gloucestershire again failed in half of the game at New Road to slip to an opening game defeat in the Twenty20 cup.
After performing well being asked to bowl first, the Shire restricted Worcestershire to just 145-7 from 20 overs, but a terribly-managed chase left Glos 23 runs short - a huge disappointment given the first half of the game and an opening stand of 41.
But Hamish Marshall played his usual quick-fire innings and that sparked a ridiculous collapse - worse than that experienced at the Oval recently, with nine wickets falling for just 52 runs.
Nobody, save Will Porterfield briefly and Jon Lewis' late heroics, dedicated a moment's thought to reading the game situation. The target was just above 7-an-over - quite frankly a doddle in Twenty20 - and yet the batsman played like they were chasing 17-an-over.
The key to a run-chase is to preserve wickets; even if the rate climbed to 8/9-an-over, so long as no less than seven wickets were intact, the target would have been easily achievable. But the gung-ho attitude the Glos batsman went out with was one of the most unprofessional things one has seen.
Alex Gidman's miserable form in one-day cricket continued, as his registered a fourth-ball duck. If he is only playing five specialist batsman, he has got to start weighing in with runs - if this continues then his place must surely be in doubt if the balance of the side is to remain as it is.
What made the defeat even more frustrating was that it had been an excellent effort by the Glos five-man attack, with Gemaal Hussain bowling with pace and enjoying a dream debut as his four overs claimed 2-17. In stark contrast to the other pace bowler, as Steve Kirby showed why he is always doubted in one-day cricket by going for above 10-an-over; although his extra pace did take three wickets.
Richard Dawson bowled tidily in conceding 26 in four overs, although nothing to suggest he will be a permanent replacement for Vikram Banerjee. Talking of spinners, the ex-Shire Ian Fisher popped up with 3-13 to shove two fingers up to the Nevil Road management and significantly contribute to the 23-run win.
The return of Twenty20
This week's fixtures:
Worcestershire (a)
New Road, 17:30
Glamorgan (a)
Sophia Gardens, 19:00
Somerset (a)
Taunton, 17:30
Gloucestershire get their Twenty20 campaign underway later today when they will travel to New Road to face Worcestershire.
Having played some excellent one-day cricket so far this season, the hope will be the 50-over success can be transferred into the 20-over arena, as progress in this competition could lead to a lucrative champions league invitation.
But many members will be settling for improvement on last year's debacle, where only one win was recorded. An improvement in weather wouldn't go a miss either, following the complete washout of both West Country derbies.
No better place to start the recovery than at New Road, which saw a disastrous bowling performance from Glos in last year's opening fixture, who, defending a competitive 168, were humbled by nine wickets as the captaincy and team morale looked very shaky.
The second game sees a trip across the Severn to face a Glamorgan side that reached the quarter-final stage last year, but on paper do not possess the most threatening of outfits and the Shire will be encouraged by their six-wicket win in the Friends Provident Trophy last summer. With rain forecast for the early part of the week, it will be an interesting test for the sophia gardens ground come 7pm Wednesday.
On Friday, the Shire will travel down to Taunton for a derby match against Somerset that is sure to produce another fabulous game of cricket. Having conceded a world record score in 2006 on their way to defeat by 117-runs, the 2007 meeting produced complete reversal in fortunes as Carl Greenidge's finest (only?) hour helped Glos to an eight wicket win.
A trip to Taunton is always highly anticipated by Gloucestershire supporters, and Friday will be a great chance to get one over our rivals in what is sure to be a great game of cricket.
With only 20-overs, required run-rates can escalate extremely quickly and chasing any score is a difficult task. Glos need to play to their strengths; get a score on the board and bowl and field like Gloucestershire teams have always done. There is no doubting we have a very capable squad, who will be full of confidence.
Early wins are needed to get the ball rolling - momentum played a part in the Friends Provident success and it can do also in this tournament. If points can be acquired sooner rather than later, it makes qualification that much easier; and qualification should be a more than realistic aim.
Richard Dawson and Gemaal Hussain have been included in the squad for Worcester. Alex Gidman has said that five bowlers will be picked - perhaps he was reading this blog? As the author has always called for our batsman to be backed to get the runs, and enough bowling should be picked to avoid an awkward fifth-bowler scenario.
And can someone please tell somebody to remove the poster on the Jessop's stand, advertising LAST YEAR'S T20 fixtures - quite embarrassing to say the least, and another example of the club's very lacklustre approach to marketing.
Worcestershire (a)
New Road, 17:30
Glamorgan (a)
Sophia Gardens, 19:00
Somerset (a)
Taunton, 17:30
Gloucestershire get their Twenty20 campaign underway later today when they will travel to New Road to face Worcestershire.
Having played some excellent one-day cricket so far this season, the hope will be the 50-over success can be transferred into the 20-over arena, as progress in this competition could lead to a lucrative champions league invitation.
But many members will be settling for improvement on last year's debacle, where only one win was recorded. An improvement in weather wouldn't go a miss either, following the complete washout of both West Country derbies.
No better place to start the recovery than at New Road, which saw a disastrous bowling performance from Glos in last year's opening fixture, who, defending a competitive 168, were humbled by nine wickets as the captaincy and team morale looked very shaky.
The second game sees a trip across the Severn to face a Glamorgan side that reached the quarter-final stage last year, but on paper do not possess the most threatening of outfits and the Shire will be encouraged by their six-wicket win in the Friends Provident Trophy last summer. With rain forecast for the early part of the week, it will be an interesting test for the sophia gardens ground come 7pm Wednesday.
On Friday, the Shire will travel down to Taunton for a derby match against Somerset that is sure to produce another fabulous game of cricket. Having conceded a world record score in 2006 on their way to defeat by 117-runs, the 2007 meeting produced complete reversal in fortunes as Carl Greenidge's finest (only?) hour helped Glos to an eight wicket win.
A trip to Taunton is always highly anticipated by Gloucestershire supporters, and Friday will be a great chance to get one over our rivals in what is sure to be a great game of cricket.
With only 20-overs, required run-rates can escalate extremely quickly and chasing any score is a difficult task. Glos need to play to their strengths; get a score on the board and bowl and field like Gloucestershire teams have always done. There is no doubting we have a very capable squad, who will be full of confidence.
Early wins are needed to get the ball rolling - momentum played a part in the Friends Provident success and it can do also in this tournament. If points can be acquired sooner rather than later, it makes qualification that much easier; and qualification should be a more than realistic aim.
Richard Dawson and Gemaal Hussain have been included in the squad for Worcester. Alex Gidman has said that five bowlers will be picked - perhaps he was reading this blog? As the author has always called for our batsman to be backed to get the runs, and enough bowling should be picked to avoid an awkward fifth-bowler scenario.
And can someone please tell somebody to remove the poster on the Jessop's stand, advertising LAST YEAR'S T20 fixtures - quite embarrassing to say the least, and another example of the club's very lacklustre approach to marketing.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
"No problem" for Clark
Gloucestershire chief-executive Tom Richardson has declared that a deal is in place to bring the Australian fast-bowler Stuart Clark to Nevil Road on a short-term deal.
Speaking to http://www.gloscricket.co.uk/ Richardson said providing Clark could acquire a visa it was "no problem" that the Sydney-born international would be joining Glos.
So a quality replacement has been found to fill James Franklin's absence, and one would envisage Clark having a major impact in the two championship fixtures his deal covers. His addition to the bowling attack will help Glos' chances of taking 20 wickets against Derbyshire and Middlesex and continuing their excellent start to the season.
However, the issue still exists over whether it's right that counties should be handing warm-ups to Australian players ahead of the Ashes. That is a concern because we are obviously all England supporters and want success for the national team, but a great chance to bolster the squad surely cannot be overlooked? It is a difficult decision, because it is not good practise to fall out of favour with the ECB, but Gloucestershire have a duty to their members and this is certainly a positive move.
Speaking to http://www.gloscricket.co.uk/ Richardson said providing Clark could acquire a visa it was "no problem" that the Sydney-born international would be joining Glos.
So a quality replacement has been found to fill James Franklin's absence, and one would envisage Clark having a major impact in the two championship fixtures his deal covers. His addition to the bowling attack will help Glos' chances of taking 20 wickets against Derbyshire and Middlesex and continuing their excellent start to the season.
However, the issue still exists over whether it's right that counties should be handing warm-ups to Australian players ahead of the Ashes. That is a concern because we are obviously all England supporters and want success for the national team, but a great chance to bolster the squad surely cannot be overlooked? It is a difficult decision, because it is not good practise to fall out of favour with the ECB, but Gloucestershire have a duty to their members and this is certainly a positive move.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Defeated shire claim top spot - Q/F date resolved
FPT: Gloucestershire 254-8 lost to Durham 255-6 by four wickets
Gloucestershire went down by four wickets at Durham in their final Friends Provident Trophy group match, but still qualified top of Group C by virtue of Sussex's defeat to Surrey.
At the Riverside, there were echos of last season's pro40 match, as Glos were inserted and reduced to 13-3. It took another recovery operation from James Franklin (85) and Steve Adshead (87) to bail out the top four, who between them contributed just 19 runs.
Franklin and Adshead seem to like batting with one another, as another fabulous stand of 175 was built on a steady beginning, before good acceleration - particularly from Adshead who again played shots of a man in-form - pushed the score up to something very defendable. Taken on merit, the effort was decent considering they had been asked to bat and posted a competitive score, but delving deeper into the details shows just what an effort it was.
However, Durham managed this chase far better than their attempt at Bristol. A 63 opening stand set the tone for the reply, as meaningful partnerships were built to waltz the home side to victory. Glos couldn't find the wickets that were required to apply the pressure, and when they did pinch one, failed to bag another cheaply enough to enable the tension to rise sufficiently.
Gloucestershire have drawn Nottinghamshire at home in the quarter-finals. This game will take place at Bristol on Tuesday 16th June with a 12:00pm start.
Gloucestershire went down by four wickets at Durham in their final Friends Provident Trophy group match, but still qualified top of Group C by virtue of Sussex's defeat to Surrey.
At the Riverside, there were echos of last season's pro40 match, as Glos were inserted and reduced to 13-3. It took another recovery operation from James Franklin (85) and Steve Adshead (87) to bail out the top four, who between them contributed just 19 runs.
Franklin and Adshead seem to like batting with one another, as another fabulous stand of 175 was built on a steady beginning, before good acceleration - particularly from Adshead who again played shots of a man in-form - pushed the score up to something very defendable. Taken on merit, the effort was decent considering they had been asked to bat and posted a competitive score, but delving deeper into the details shows just what an effort it was.
However, Durham managed this chase far better than their attempt at Bristol. A 63 opening stand set the tone for the reply, as meaningful partnerships were built to waltz the home side to victory. Glos couldn't find the wickets that were required to apply the pressure, and when they did pinch one, failed to bag another cheaply enough to enable the tension to rise sufficiently.
Gloucestershire have drawn Nottinghamshire at home in the quarter-finals. This game will take place at Bristol on Tuesday 16th June with a 12:00pm start.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Glos line up Clark
Gloucestershire have indicated they would be interested in signing Australian fast bowler Stuart Clark as cover for James Franklin.
With Franklin set to be away throughout June, the Shire are lining up potential replacements, and Clark, who will join up with the Australian ashes squad, has been sounded out as a candidate.
Questions will again be asked of whether counties should be offering preparation to the Australian players ahead of an ashes series, so one is caught between a rock and a hard place as to which opinion to take.
With a Glos hat on, the signing of an international front-line bowler would be a excellent addition to a squad set to face championship games against Derbyshire, Middlesex and Kent in June, amongst the Twenty20 fixtures. However, do we want to be branded as the county that gave the Aussie's a boost before the ashes?
While the argument over Middlesex's Phil Hughes can swing both ways - with some arguing that his exposure in the county game will give the England backroom staff a chance to assess him, giving the home side an advantage, with a bowler however, I believe the benefits can only be stacked on one side of the fence - and that side is not in the northern hemisphere.
It is good to see that the club are weighing up for a big name replacement of our oversees player - one assumed we would make do for a month. But an Australian isn't the easiest nationality to digest, particularly at this time. Although winning back the ashes against a more prepared Australia would taste all the sweeter!
Gemaal Hussain, a 26-year old fast-bowler, has been signed on a two-year deal following successes in the Birmingham league and a trial with the Shire earlier this year.
With Franklin set to be away throughout June, the Shire are lining up potential replacements, and Clark, who will join up with the Australian ashes squad, has been sounded out as a candidate.
Questions will again be asked of whether counties should be offering preparation to the Australian players ahead of an ashes series, so one is caught between a rock and a hard place as to which opinion to take.
With a Glos hat on, the signing of an international front-line bowler would be a excellent addition to a squad set to face championship games against Derbyshire, Middlesex and Kent in June, amongst the Twenty20 fixtures. However, do we want to be branded as the county that gave the Aussie's a boost before the ashes?
While the argument over Middlesex's Phil Hughes can swing both ways - with some arguing that his exposure in the county game will give the England backroom staff a chance to assess him, giving the home side an advantage, with a bowler however, I believe the benefits can only be stacked on one side of the fence - and that side is not in the northern hemisphere.
It is good to see that the club are weighing up for a big name replacement of our oversees player - one assumed we would make do for a month. But an Australian isn't the easiest nationality to digest, particularly at this time. Although winning back the ashes against a more prepared Australia would taste all the sweeter!
Gemaal Hussain, a 26-year old fast-bowler, has been signed on a two-year deal following successes in the Birmingham league and a trial with the Shire earlier this year.
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