Day1: Glos 300 for 3 (Housego 124*, Marshall 120*)
Somebody get on the phone to the builders at Nevil Road and tell them we're going to need a bigger trophy room. It's 2013 and the Shire's youngsters are heading for fame and glory. Promotion is as good as done and the only question is exactly how many double decker buses the boys need for the victory parade.
Removing the hyperbole; Gloucestershire started the 2013 season in frankly extraordinary fashion. Put in to bat by Essex the boys got off to a solid enough start before three wickets fell before lunch leaving Glos delicately poised at 71 for 3. Dan Housego, who endured something of a working over by veteran chugger David Masters when he first arrived at the crease, then proceeded to steady the ship with an innings of tremendous responsibility and poise. Hamish O'Marshall, coming in at what looks a more comfortable number 5 position added the acceleration and Gloucestershire's 2013 campaign was off and running.
O'Marshall hundreds are something like London buses. You wait three years for one, and then two come along....in successive seasons! More tellingly, Gloucestershire scored only 7 hundreds between them last season. After day 1 of the new season they already have two. O'Marshall, like older Gidders, has too much quality not to be scoring big runs regularly in division two and let's hope this is the start of a big season for the wee Irish man. Dan Housego, on the other hand, showed glimpses of quality last season, but never really put together a run of scores. Let's similarly hope that this is the start of his breakthrough year.
Essex went for the quick pairing of Maurice Chambers and Tymal Mills, neither of whom managed to impress the BBC Essex crew. New signing Saj Mahmood didn't make the cut after apparently being overbowled in pre-season. You really do know you've fallen a long way if you go from being an England sprayer to someone who was so overbowled in pre-season that they still got sent away to turn their arm over for the second XI. Exactly why England Lion Reece Topley isn't playing we can't tell you. Until Glos have a bowl its hard to tell precisely how poorly Essex bowled. You'd like to think that in early April Gloucestershire's seamers would find something more than the Essex attack managed.
A pair of long-suffering Gloucestershire County Cricket club fans attempt to put the world (and the Glos administration) to rights. Themes include: Is one England ODI a year a good model for financial success and ground redevelopments, whether a batting average of 35 in Division 2 of the County Championship is acceptable and why Glos continue to be rubbish.
Two Shire batters scoring centuries in the same innings hasn't been that common a sight in recent years. (First since Taylor/ Franklin at Chelts?).
ReplyDeletePromotion does seem assured now. I only hope it isn't secured too early to make the second half of the season a dull procession of crushing victories