Hamish Marshall: an apology.

Here at the Jessop Tavern View we are not men who are afraid to admit we were wrong and eat humble pie. Therefore let us bury the hatchet, and praise the wonder of vice captain Hamish O'Marshall's face-saving hundred. Coming in just as Gloucestershire's second innings was on the verge of wobbling, O'Mish first steadied the ship, and then took the game away from the opposition as only a man with two test centuries to his name can. O'Mish was majestic, striking 18 fours and two sixes to compile 84 of his 102 runs in boundaries. By the time the declaration came, O'Mish had faced only 123 balls. Awesome.

Now remember that this was against a university side. Also, figure in the fact that Marshall was so desperate for this hundred that he delayed a declaration so that he could reach three figures. Now we know it was hardly a vital declaration, but should a man who has scored test match hundreds really need to reach 3 figures against a bunch of students. Clearly he did.

Now we have been pretty harsh on Marshall this season. Actually, make that the last two seasons. In fact, scrap that. Make it the last 3 seasons. You see Marshall hasn't scored a hundred for Gloucestershire in proper cricket since May 2009. That's 3 years ago. Remember, this is a man who is paid money to score hundreds. If you performed that badly in your job for 3 years, would you still be employed? Well, maybe if you were employed by Gloucestershire you would be. In fact, you may well be in the running to be chief exec.

Just look at these stats for Marshall:

2006       1218 runs at 60.9 and 5 hundreds
2007       817 runs at 40.85 and 3 hundreds
2008       850 runs at 30.35 and 2 hundreds
2009       844 runs at 35.15 and 1 hundred
2010       884 runs at 35.36 and 0 hundreds
2011       401 runs at 22.27 and 0 hundreds

Now remember that this is a man who played test cricket, and wasn't completely rubbish at test level. Now also remember that this is a man who plays in division two of the county championship and so has had the privilege of facing some of the worst bowling attacks ever seen.

It's the lack of hundreds that is particularly damning. Hundreds win you games. Hundreds save games. Hamish hasn't done either of these things for 3 years.

Anyway, let's end on a positive note. Maybe this mickey mouse hundred is the spark the man needs to score proper runs over the rest of the season. A Gloucestershire middle order of Williamson, O'Mish and Gidders is a strong one, and one that should allow the youngsters to bat around them. So come on Hamish. Prove us wrong.