Glos begin CB40 season with 3 wicket win over Glamorgan

Gloucestershire 198 for 7 (Gidman 63, Harris 3-39) beat Glamorgan 197 for 8 (Walters 79, Lewis 4-41) by three wickets
 
Gloucestershire secured a relatively comfortable win over Glamorgan to get their CB40 campaign off to a solid start. Having bowled well to restrict Glamorgan to 198-7, Glos were always favourites after the skipper and O'Mish put on 117 for the second wicket. Gidman scored 63 and Marshall 55, before both perished to shots that Gidman described as ones 'Hamish and I will not want to remember', which led to the traditional mini-collapse to 146-5. However, young spinning all-rounder Ed Young guided the boys to victory with a composed 32 not out.

The successful chase followed a tight bowling performance, with Lewis and tearaway Kiwi paceman James Fuller reducing Glamorgan to 21-3, before Surrey reject Stuart Walters, along with Ben Wright and keeper Mark Wallace, helped drag the Dragons up to a reasonable total. Ed Young also bowled well, taking 1-24 from his 8 overs of slow left arm. Richard Dawson bowled 4 overs for 20, but that's to be expected from a man more used to putting the cones out at training these days.

This has already been pointed out by the Glos la la la blog, but it is worth emphasising- Glamorgan have not generally been a factor in this competition in recent years and this was a game Glos needed to win. Better teams will need to be overcome to get through Group C into the semi finals. The competition format, which sees only the three group winners, plus the best runner up qualifiying, means that consistent results are needed, otherwise your campaign can be over long before the interminable group matches are finished. Come to think of it, it sounds exactly like what the domestic Twenty20 competition has become.

Gloucestershire travel to Canterbury today to play Kent in the Championship. An important game having suffered a hiding from Glamorgan in our last CC match in Cardiff. No significant changes expected, with O'Mish stepping in to replace the injured Chris Dent. The Jessop Tavern View predicts a flashy 40, before a loose shot leads to his downfall. We're happy for you to prove us wrong, Hamish...