LVCC: Gloucestershire 69-2 v Kent 213 (PTS: Glos 3 Kent 1)
LIVE coverage on www.gloscricketradio.co.uk
Gloucestershire's bowling attack put in a solid performance on day one against Kent at Beckenham as they dismissed another high quality line-up for just 231.
Admitted they were helped by some interesting shot selection from some batsmen, but sufficient pressure was created to take ten wickets and put the Shire into a strong position after a scorching day in south London.
The sun baked down all day and after Kent won the toss and decided to bat, a day of toil beckoned. But Glos were able to regularly chip away at the wickets and although many batsmen got starts - a lot of 30-plus scores featured on the Kent card - none went on and capitalised on what looked like a good batting wicket.
It was the Shire's ability to break partnerships that saw them bowl their hosts out for a small total and put them in command as they closed 69-2.
Porterfield drove hard at a spinning delivery from James Tredwell and Hamish Marshall received a beauty from Azhar Mahmood that found his outside edge. But Kadeer Ali scrapped away for his 18 and the hope will be for him to continue his time out in the middle and play himself back into form - the conditions are perfect.
Alex Gidman hit some late boundaries to also close unbeaten on 18 not out, and he will look to push on and press home the advantage the bowlers have created.
Official report: www.gloscricket.co.uk
Coverage continues tomorrow on www.gloscricketradio.co.uk
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Twenty20 misery ends in eighth defeat
T20: Glamorgan 151-4 beat Gloucestershire 148-7 by six wickets
Gloucestershire ended their frustrating Twenty20 campaign with defeat to Glamorgan on a dreadful afternoon in Bristol.
An incredible feeling of after the Lord Mayor's show was evident upon entering the ground, as the buzz of Friday's match was replaced by a sombre atmosphere that often comes with these Sunday matches.
Twenty20 should always be an evening event, the weekend fixtures never provide the same ingredients for the quick-fire game and people shouldn't be asked to hand their Sunday afternoon's to only 40-overs - people want a day out on a Sunday, and Twenty20 provides only a chance for some fresh air.
This Sunday event was perhaps the worst ever, with the heart and soul understandably lacking from the players who could have done without this week, and indeed the supporters who have been dragged down from the high of further championship success and the Friends Provident win.
David Brown's 56 from 35 balls was the only plus point on a pretty miserable day at Nevil Road, worsened further by the disgraceful behaviour from a number of Welsh supporters that saw police forced to intervene.
The worst thing to take away was that once again the Shire should have won. They set a competitive total, claimed early wickets - the visitors were wobbling at 54-4 - but then allowed Glamorgan back into the game as Gemaal Hussain went for 10-an-over in what turned into a comprehensive defeat.
Gloucestershire ended their frustrating Twenty20 campaign with defeat to Glamorgan on a dreadful afternoon in Bristol.
An incredible feeling of after the Lord Mayor's show was evident upon entering the ground, as the buzz of Friday's match was replaced by a sombre atmosphere that often comes with these Sunday matches.
Twenty20 should always be an evening event, the weekend fixtures never provide the same ingredients for the quick-fire game and people shouldn't be asked to hand their Sunday afternoon's to only 40-overs - people want a day out on a Sunday, and Twenty20 provides only a chance for some fresh air.
This Sunday event was perhaps the worst ever, with the heart and soul understandably lacking from the players who could have done without this week, and indeed the supporters who have been dragged down from the high of further championship success and the Friends Provident win.
David Brown's 56 from 35 balls was the only plus point on a pretty miserable day at Nevil Road, worsened further by the disgraceful behaviour from a number of Welsh supporters that saw police forced to intervene.
The worst thing to take away was that once again the Shire should have won. They set a competitive total, claimed early wickets - the visitors were wobbling at 54-4 - but then allowed Glamorgan back into the game as Gemaal Hussain went for 10-an-over in what turned into a comprehensive defeat.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Glos beaten in derby thriller
Gloucestershire threw away yet another Twenty20 match this season, as Somerset twice staged fightbacks to win the westcountry derby at Bristol by three wickets, in perhaps the best Twenty20 match ever played at Nevil Road.
Thankfully, the fancy dress/facemask bonanza failed to materialise as once again Gloucestershire v Somerset sold itself, serving up a real cracker of a match in the late Bristol sunshine, although the spectacle was soured by a penalty-run fiasco before the start of the 19th over of the Somerset innings.
Despite a streaker, a few balls sent beyond the stands, and numerous umpire conferences over the state of the ball, the officials decided that the Shire had failed to bowl their overs in the allotted timescale - vigorously enforced by the Sky TV schedules. The penalty took Somerset to within four, robbing everyone of the tense 10 from 12 ball target that had been set up. Had Sky not been present, I have no doubts that over rate would never have been considered.
The home side dominated the opening 10 overs of both innings. Having gone at 12-an-over batting first, the Shire again lost wickets at bad times and the last 10 overs was a real scrap; James Franklin and David Brown playing very irresponsible shots given the situation, as Glos were bowled out in the 20th over.
For once, the powerplay fired Gloucestershire off to a great start. Kadeer Ali hit seven boundaries in 33 off 13 balls before Hamish Marshall and Will Porterfield continued the onslaught in a 63 stand. But the ridiculous run-out of Marshall proved the turning point in the innings, as the Shire failed to rebuild, and what should have been a score above 200 ended with 173.
With Langer, Trescothick, Hildreth and de Bruyn all dismissed with only 23 on the board, the game was pretty much up for Somerset. The home fans were off to the bar to toast another victory over their rivals, only to return from the long queues to have missed Peter Trego's powerful 49 from 26 balls which propelled the visitors back into the game.
Trego was dismissed with the required rate still 10-per-over, but no-one legislated for Craig Kieswetter's amazing ability to score big runs in TV matches. He played a phenomenal innings, exploiting Bristol's short straight boundaries and won Somerset the match with his 84 from 42 balls.
However, questions must be asked of the lengths that the Shire bowled. There were far too many length deliveries, and Kieswetter was able to swing through the line with regularity, in a game Gloucestershire will be glad was a dead rubber for them.
Thankfully, the fancy dress/facemask bonanza failed to materialise as once again Gloucestershire v Somerset sold itself, serving up a real cracker of a match in the late Bristol sunshine, although the spectacle was soured by a penalty-run fiasco before the start of the 19th over of the Somerset innings.
Despite a streaker, a few balls sent beyond the stands, and numerous umpire conferences over the state of the ball, the officials decided that the Shire had failed to bowl their overs in the allotted timescale - vigorously enforced by the Sky TV schedules. The penalty took Somerset to within four, robbing everyone of the tense 10 from 12 ball target that had been set up. Had Sky not been present, I have no doubts that over rate would never have been considered.
The home side dominated the opening 10 overs of both innings. Having gone at 12-an-over batting first, the Shire again lost wickets at bad times and the last 10 overs was a real scrap; James Franklin and David Brown playing very irresponsible shots given the situation, as Glos were bowled out in the 20th over.
For once, the powerplay fired Gloucestershire off to a great start. Kadeer Ali hit seven boundaries in 33 off 13 balls before Hamish Marshall and Will Porterfield continued the onslaught in a 63 stand. But the ridiculous run-out of Marshall proved the turning point in the innings, as the Shire failed to rebuild, and what should have been a score above 200 ended with 173.
With Langer, Trescothick, Hildreth and de Bruyn all dismissed with only 23 on the board, the game was pretty much up for Somerset. The home fans were off to the bar to toast another victory over their rivals, only to return from the long queues to have missed Peter Trego's powerful 49 from 26 balls which propelled the visitors back into the game.
Trego was dismissed with the required rate still 10-per-over, but no-one legislated for Craig Kieswetter's amazing ability to score big runs in TV matches. He played a phenomenal innings, exploiting Bristol's short straight boundaries and won Somerset the match with his 84 from 42 balls.
However, questions must be asked of the lengths that the Shire bowled. There were far too many length deliveries, and Kieswetter was able to swing through the line with regularity, in a game Gloucestershire will be glad was a dead rubber for them.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Glos scrape to unlikely win
T20: Gloucestershire 134-8 (19.5 overs) beat Northamptonshire 133 (20 overs) by two wickets
Gloucestershire defied the odds as a much changed side scraped past group-leaders Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.
The bowling again was the highlight for the Shire, as they bowled Northants out for just 133, but the batting again struggled and despite only chasing six-and-a-half per over, Glos managed to lose eight wickets and scrambled to their target with one ball to spare.
The big positive, aside the meaningless result, was that Grant Hodnett made 60 from 46 balls. He is another player to have worked hard over the winter and again showed why his is worthy of a place in the 1st X1; his main rival, Kadeer Ali, made 21 not out, but his form recently that has shown Hodnett to surely be ahead of him in the pecking order.
Jon Lewis and Steve Kirby were both rested, but recent signing Gemaal Hussain again stepped up to the mark and followed up his debut at Worcester with another great spell, his 3-22 and wickets for James Franklin and Ian Saxelby meant the Shire could return home with a half smile on their faces.
Gloucestershire defied the odds as a much changed side scraped past group-leaders Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.
The bowling again was the highlight for the Shire, as they bowled Northants out for just 133, but the batting again struggled and despite only chasing six-and-a-half per over, Glos managed to lose eight wickets and scrambled to their target with one ball to spare.
The big positive, aside the meaningless result, was that Grant Hodnett made 60 from 46 balls. He is another player to have worked hard over the winter and again showed why his is worthy of a place in the 1st X1; his main rival, Kadeer Ali, made 21 not out, but his form recently that has shown Hodnett to surely be ahead of him in the pecking order.
Jon Lewis and Steve Kirby were both rested, but recent signing Gemaal Hussain again stepped up to the mark and followed up his debut at Worcester with another great spell, his 3-22 and wickets for James Franklin and Ian Saxelby meant the Shire could return home with a half smile on their faces.
Monday, June 22, 2009
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.
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.
Supporters to take week off
This week's fixtures
Monday: Warwickshire (h) 17:30
Tuesday: Nothamptonshire (a) 17:30
Friday: Somerset (h) 17:30
Sunday: Glamorgan (h) 14:30
Gloucestershire have four games left in their Twenty20 cup campaign, with all games realistically dead rubbers as only a mathematical miracle could see the Shire sneak through as a best third-place.
That unlikely scenario would require Glos to win all four remaining fixtures, and despite their excellent season thus far, an aspect of their cricket as been lacking in the 20-over games, as only one of five matches have been won.
As a result, a squad of 18 players has been named, and all players will be likely to feature a some point during the week.
The disappointment is that three home games remain - against Warwickshire later today, the derby against Somerset on Friday and then against Glamorgan on Sunday - and crowds will be down with the Shire having nothing to play for.
Friday's match against Somerset - a near sell-out in recent years - has been reduced to a fancy dress event in an attempt to pull in a bigger audience. A quite embarrassing publicity stunt occurred on the Hammond roof last Friday, with staff appearing as gladiators and many members wondering why the cast of the Sky One gameshow had turned up to watch the cricket.
A far better policy would have been to reduce ticket prices or offer some promotion to entice the punters, instead of trying even harder to dilute the already watered down cricket Twenty20 serves up; at least the poster in the Jessops stand has finally been changed, albeit several months late.
Alex Gidman will sit out the first two matches this week as he continues to recover from a back spasm and rightly wants to ensure his fitness for next week's important fixtures.
Monday: Warwickshire (h) 17:30
Tuesday: Nothamptonshire (a) 17:30
Friday: Somerset (h) 17:30
Sunday: Glamorgan (h) 14:30
Gloucestershire have four games left in their Twenty20 cup campaign, with all games realistically dead rubbers as only a mathematical miracle could see the Shire sneak through as a best third-place.
That unlikely scenario would require Glos to win all four remaining fixtures, and despite their excellent season thus far, an aspect of their cricket as been lacking in the 20-over games, as only one of five matches have been won.
As a result, a squad of 18 players has been named, and all players will be likely to feature a some point during the week.
The disappointment is that three home games remain - against Warwickshire later today, the derby against Somerset on Friday and then against Glamorgan on Sunday - and crowds will be down with the Shire having nothing to play for.
Friday's match against Somerset - a near sell-out in recent years - has been reduced to a fancy dress event in an attempt to pull in a bigger audience. A quite embarrassing publicity stunt occurred on the Hammond roof last Friday, with staff appearing as gladiators and many members wondering why the cast of the Sky One gameshow had turned up to watch the cricket.
A far better policy would have been to reduce ticket prices or offer some promotion to entice the punters, instead of trying even harder to dilute the already watered down cricket Twenty20 serves up; at least the poster in the Jessops stand has finally been changed, albeit several months late.
Alex Gidman will sit out the first two matches this week as he continues to recover from a back spasm and rightly wants to ensure his fitness for next week's important fixtures.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Glos revival continues with crushing win
DAY 3 Close: Gloucestershire 342 & 45-1 beat Middlesex 153 & 233 by nine wickets (PTS: Glos 20, Midd 3)
Gloucestershire extended their advantage at the top of the county championship division two after completing a nine-wicket victory over Middlesex at Bristol.
The victory was achieved courtesy of a wonderful bowling performance throughout the match. The problem in previous season has been the lack of ability to take 20 wickets, but this season, the Shire have assembled a threatening bowling attack.
Not only have Jon Lewis and Steve Kirby returned right to the top of their games, but the bowlers being introduced around these two have developed excellently to a point where there is no longer the feeling of an easy ride once the opening pair have been negotiated.
Anthony Ireland has worked hard over the winter, gained a yard of pace, and now bowls with the control required to take wickets in first-class cricket. Vikram Banerjee also, has progressed to be the first-choice spinner, and now really thinks about his bowling and is able to vary his pace and flight well, although does have a tendency to bowl a little short.
Alongside those four, the Shire have James Franklin - who didn't enjoy too much luck in this match - but whose natural angle provides great variety and the overseas seems to be adding far more than he achieved in previous spells with Glos and Glamorgan; his first-innings 67 pushed the home side's lead from useful to almost unassailable in terms of Middlesex's chances to save the match.
Middlesex are a useful outfit and with Andrew Strauss, Owais Shah and Eion Morgan in the line-up, it was a fantastic achievement for Glos to restrict them to just 386 runs in the match. If batsman could take their starts to big scores, the Shire will have a team extremely difficult to beat.
Gloucestershire extended their advantage at the top of the county championship division two after completing a nine-wicket victory over Middlesex at Bristol.
The victory was achieved courtesy of a wonderful bowling performance throughout the match. The problem in previous season has been the lack of ability to take 20 wickets, but this season, the Shire have assembled a threatening bowling attack.
Not only have Jon Lewis and Steve Kirby returned right to the top of their games, but the bowlers being introduced around these two have developed excellently to a point where there is no longer the feeling of an easy ride once the opening pair have been negotiated.
Anthony Ireland has worked hard over the winter, gained a yard of pace, and now bowls with the control required to take wickets in first-class cricket. Vikram Banerjee also, has progressed to be the first-choice spinner, and now really thinks about his bowling and is able to vary his pace and flight well, although does have a tendency to bowl a little short.
Alongside those four, the Shire have James Franklin - who didn't enjoy too much luck in this match - but whose natural angle provides great variety and the overseas seems to be adding far more than he achieved in previous spells with Glos and Glamorgan; his first-innings 67 pushed the home side's lead from useful to almost unassailable in terms of Middlesex's chances to save the match.
Middlesex are a useful outfit and with Andrew Strauss, Owais Shah and Eion Morgan in the line-up, it was a fantastic achievement for Glos to restrict them to just 386 runs in the match. If batsman could take their starts to big scores, the Shire will have a team extremely difficult to beat.
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