DAY 2 Close: Glamorgan 216 & 283-7 lead Gloucestershire 243 by 256 runs (PTS: Glam 4, Glos 4)
LIVE ball-by-ball commentary on www.gloscricketradio.co.uk
Gloucestershire will have to produce some special cricket to win this crucial county championship match from here. Mark Cosgrove's 123 helped Glamorgan to a lead that Gloucestershire simply do not know how to chase down.
The visitors built in several useful partnerships but the 99 that Cosgrove and Jamie Dalrymple added tipped the balance of power towards the Welsh county.
Jon Lewis was convinced he had Dalrymple lbw first ball after he had dismissed Ben Wright by the same method. Andy Hick's decision to turn down the raucous appeal could be a very important decision.
Gloucestershire did respond briefly. Gemaal Hussain and Steve Kirby produced double strikes after tea but Glamorgan rallied, chiefly through Mark Wallace, who brought up his second half-century of the match from 63 balls - three fewer than his first-innings effort.
Wallace looked in great touch and maneuvered the bowling around effectively before twice reverse-sweeping Vikram Banerjee - who again enjoyed a fruitless afternoon.
Robert Croft joined Wallace to begin another eight-wicket stand as Gloucestershire began dreaming of an unheard-of fourth-innings chase.
Coverage continues tomorrow on www.gloscricketradio.co.uk
Official report: www.gloscricket.co.uk
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
Tense Day One of crucial match at Cheltenham
DAY 1 Close: Gloucestershire 145-5 trail Glamorgan 216 by 71 runs
A crucial county championship match unfolded in tense fashion on day one at Cheltenham, with Gloucestershire just the happier of the two sides. A crucial game is very delicately poised.
Having reduced their visitors to 104-7, Gloucestershire would have been disappointed to concede a record eighth-wicket stand that pushed Glamorgan to 216. However, the score was as good as could have been hoped for on a firm pitch.
The overhead conditions convinced Alex Gidman to bowl first and his four-man attack delivered. But after Mark Wallace and Robert Croft had dug in sufficiently, they lost their way slightly as the experienced pair put on 105.
Replying after tea, Gloucestershire began brightly. 55 was contributed by Will Porterfield and Jon Batty in an extremely rare half-century opening stand.
But both fell in consecutive overs. Batty to poor footwork - another start thrown away - and Porterfield edged behind after looking in great touch.
Alex Gidman also wasted a chance & Hamish Marshall chipped a long hop down deep midwicket's throat as once again, a lack of discipline wasted an opportunity for the hosts.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Glos open Festival with solid Win
CB40: Gloucestershire 294-6 beat Yorkshire 229ao by 65 runs
Gloucestershire batted brilliantly to set up an excellent victory on day one of the Cheltenham Festival.
Yorkshire - previously undefeated in the Cyldesdale Bank 40 League - are a main contender to qualify from Group B. Gloucestershire batted them under intense pressure & then blew out four wickets in five overs to take a vice-grip of the game.
Chris Taylor picked up from a great platform presented by Alex Gidman and James Franklin to make 83 not out as the home side posted their best 40-over score this season.
Adam Lythe responded for the visitors with 84 very attractive runs but he was the only top-order player to get among the runs & once Anthony McGrath's resistance was ended, Yorkshire petered out to lose comfortable.
More to follow...
Monday, July 26, 2010
Glos squeeze past Derby to go top
CB40: Gloucestershire 152-5 beat Derbyshire 225-8 by one run D/L
Gloucestershire squeezed their way to the top of Group B of the Clydesdale Bank 40 League with the narrowest of victories on the Duckworth-Lewis method.
Under heavy drizzle at the Racecourse ground, Chris Taylor struck the third ball of the 29th over for two runs out to deep extra-cover before the umpires took the players off the field. They didn't return. Taylor's two had pushed his side over the Duckworth-Lewis par score and Gloucestershire won by a run.
The visitors could have been winning by a considerable margin but for Wayne Madsen. He was the mainstay of the Derbyshire innings with 65 from 56 balls and shared a run-a-ball stand of 67 in the middle overs with Greg Smith.
That partnership provided the home side with a mini-platform in the closing stages but Gary Park's 20 from 12 balls only helped Derbyshire to a par score.
With rain threatening, Gloucestershire needed to get on top of the chase and an 83-run opening stand was the perfect answer. But they were pegged back significantly by losing six wickets in 12 overs.
The match was evenly poised but rain ruined what could have been a tense finish and Taylor's final act saw Gloucestershire scrape away the points.
Gloucestershire squeezed their way to the top of Group B of the Clydesdale Bank 40 League with the narrowest of victories on the Duckworth-Lewis method.
Under heavy drizzle at the Racecourse ground, Chris Taylor struck the third ball of the 29th over for two runs out to deep extra-cover before the umpires took the players off the field. They didn't return. Taylor's two had pushed his side over the Duckworth-Lewis par score and Gloucestershire won by a run.
The visitors could have been winning by a considerable margin but for Wayne Madsen. He was the mainstay of the Derbyshire innings with 65 from 56 balls and shared a run-a-ball stand of 67 in the middle overs with Greg Smith.
That partnership provided the home side with a mini-platform in the closing stages but Gary Park's 20 from 12 balls only helped Derbyshire to a par score.
With rain threatening, Gloucestershire needed to get on top of the chase and an 83-run opening stand was the perfect answer. But they were pegged back significantly by losing six wickets in 12 overs.
The match was evenly poised but rain ruined what could have been a tense finish and Taylor's final act saw Gloucestershire scrape away the points.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Glos take another thrashing to end miserable campaign
t20: Surrey 150-4 beat Gloucestershire 147-9 by six wickets
Gloucestershire ended their worst-ever t20 campaign by taking a total stuffing from Surrey. The London-based county took under 12 overs to chase 147.
Steve Davies played a wonderful innings of 73 from just 30 balls to blast Surrey to their total.
No-one has played such an innings for Gloucestershire on a regular basis, and hence they haven't been consistently competitive.
Gloucestershire can only take moments of solace from a campaign where they have been so off the pace, bottom position in the south group hasn't told the full story.
Their 11 defeats have been almost exclusively complete hammerings. They so regularly failed to get into matches and the humiliation on Sky against Hampshire compounded the misery. t20 is most certainly not Gloucestershire's game.
More to follow...
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Glos again overpowered by their rivals
t20: Somerset 153-4 beat Gloucestershire 152-9 by six wickets
Somerset again waltzed past their rivals' target to complete a t20 double.
The visitors took just 16.5 overs to overhaul Gloucestershire's mediocre score as their powerful batting line-up again proved why theY are one of the most dangerous t20 outfits.
Gloucestershire actually built potential for a competitive score but the wheels were stripped from their innings as six wickets went down for the loss of just 20 runs.
A great deal rests on James Franklin. The over-reliance on him has been exposed on various occasions throughout this tournament and 20 from 17 balls wasn't enough to propel his side to a good score.
Alex Gidman has provided a few useful scores since he has opened the batting but again he got out before he was able to provide a great contribution.
The collapse killed Gloucestershire's innings and everybody knew 152 was about to be gobbled up.
Marcus Trescothick, while being a truly brilliant batsmen, is no longer the king-pin in the Somerset line-up. It was a great boost for the home supporters when Steve Kirby cleaned him up for just one but the depth in the visitor's batting was demonstrated in truly arrogant fashion as Kieron Pollard walked to the wicket at number six.
Understandably, it was outrageously demoralising for Gloucestershire, who, like at Taunton when his innings blasted down a very stiff target, again blew the boys from Bristol totally out of the water with two fours and three sixes.
The worst thing about Pollard is that he only cost Somerset £20,000 for the whole tournament. The biggest steal in county cricket, considering his IPL auction price of $750,000. One wonders how much Aaron Redmond - who's cricket proved unsuitable for t20 - and Ian Butler - who's injury-ridden past always made him a gamble - took from the Gloucestershire coffers.
Somerset again waltzed past their rivals' target to complete a t20 double.
The visitors took just 16.5 overs to overhaul Gloucestershire's mediocre score as their powerful batting line-up again proved why theY are one of the most dangerous t20 outfits.
Gloucestershire actually built potential for a competitive score but the wheels were stripped from their innings as six wickets went down for the loss of just 20 runs.
A great deal rests on James Franklin. The over-reliance on him has been exposed on various occasions throughout this tournament and 20 from 17 balls wasn't enough to propel his side to a good score.
Alex Gidman has provided a few useful scores since he has opened the batting but again he got out before he was able to provide a great contribution.
The collapse killed Gloucestershire's innings and everybody knew 152 was about to be gobbled up.
Marcus Trescothick, while being a truly brilliant batsmen, is no longer the king-pin in the Somerset line-up. It was a great boost for the home supporters when Steve Kirby cleaned him up for just one but the depth in the visitor's batting was demonstrated in truly arrogant fashion as Kieron Pollard walked to the wicket at number six.
Understandably, it was outrageously demoralising for Gloucestershire, who, like at Taunton when his innings blasted down a very stiff target, again blew the boys from Bristol totally out of the water with two fours and three sixes.
The worst thing about Pollard is that he only cost Somerset £20,000 for the whole tournament. The biggest steal in county cricket, considering his IPL auction price of $750,000. One wonders how much Aaron Redmond - who's cricket proved unsuitable for t20 - and Ian Butler - who's injury-ridden past always made him a gamble - took from the Gloucestershire coffers.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Glos hammered out of t20
t20: Essex 163-3 beat Gloucestershire 162-5 by seven wickets
Gloucestershire's exit from the revamped t20 competition was confirmed with a trouncing at Chelmsford.
In the previous two year's the misery hasn't been drawn out for quite so long but in 2010, supporters have had to live through 14 matches-worth of indifferent cricket spread over five weeks before bowing out.
Gloucestershire were without James Franklin and more importantly, the in-form Will Porterfield. The loss of two top-order players who have proved very effective in this year's competition was a major loss, as Aaron Redmond again played an average run-a-ball innings and Alex Gidman failed to progress from a good start with 30 from 18 balls.
Steve Snell's late impetus was vital because the visitors looked horrendously short of batting. Gloucestershire could only post a score that has proved a casual flick off the legs for chasing at Chelmsford - particularly with Essex's strong line-up.
Gloucestershire also had no bowling to defend any score. A curious mix of bowling, including three spinners and weakened without Steve Kirby, couldn't contain Alastair Cook nor Ravi Bopara. It was their 119 opening stand that set-up a comfortable chase, despite Essex completing victory with only eight balls to spare.
Gloucestershire's exit from the revamped t20 competition was confirmed with a trouncing at Chelmsford.
In the previous two year's the misery hasn't been drawn out for quite so long but in 2010, supporters have had to live through 14 matches-worth of indifferent cricket spread over five weeks before bowing out.
Gloucestershire were without James Franklin and more importantly, the in-form Will Porterfield. The loss of two top-order players who have proved very effective in this year's competition was a major loss, as Aaron Redmond again played an average run-a-ball innings and Alex Gidman failed to progress from a good start with 30 from 18 balls.
Steve Snell's late impetus was vital because the visitors looked horrendously short of batting. Gloucestershire could only post a score that has proved a casual flick off the legs for chasing at Chelmsford - particularly with Essex's strong line-up.
Gloucestershire also had no bowling to defend any score. A curious mix of bowling, including three spinners and weakened without Steve Kirby, couldn't contain Alastair Cook nor Ravi Bopara. It was their 119 opening stand that set-up a comfortable chase, despite Essex completing victory with only eight balls to spare.
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