Glos season preview 2012. Disclaimer: we know nothing

The Jessop Tavern View has this week been pondering what to put in this season's preview. Given that the county has lost several players from last year's 4th-placed squad and the only replacement of note has been perennial 2nd XI championship 'star' Dan Housego, we don't really have that much to say. Neither do the media by the looks of it, as so far we have only rated a paragraph or so in both the Guardian and Telegraph season previews.

County cricket has not been at the forefront of our minds recently, at least until we spotted Surrey captain Rory Hamilton-Brown on our run home from work yesterday. For those of you wondering what county players get up to in pre-season, we can exclusively reveal that he was carrying two takeaway pizzas from Pizza Express and a can of Coke! Presumably a Chris Adams-approved pre-match meal.

Anyway, on to matters at Nevil Road. Can fans of the Shire harbour any hope of promotion this year or are we doomed to yet another season of toil near the base of Division Two? To be honest, we don't have a clue!

Batting:

The departure of 2011's leading run-scorer Chris Taylor in fairly shameful circumstances has left a potentially gaping hole in the Glos middle order. The addition of Dan Housego from Middlesex has left us with one big question, how do you pronounce his name? Is it How-sego or House-go? A tricky dilemma for those of us who have barely seen him play. Commenters please feel free to put us right. We will see if his reputation as 'the best player in the 2nd XI championship' can help replace the Child's 1137 runs.

No sooner have we written this then a glance at Cricinfo confirms the slightly more exciting news that we've re-signed Kane Williamson as overseas for the first half of the season! Let's hope Kane can continue his form from the recent test series against South Africa (where he scored a match-saving hundred in the third test) as opposed to last year's Glos form (831 runs at 36.13). His is still only 21 and according to King John has improved in all forms of the game for New Zealand in the past few months. Goodness knows we could use some improvement in limited overs cricket, so let's hope so.

In other batting news, we're hoping from another solid season from captain Alex Gidman, although 1000 championship runs has to be the bare minimum requirement these days. The same should be said of Chris Dent, who can no longer rely on the tag of 'promising youngster' as justification for not converting attractive 50s into 100s.

Worryingly Hamish Marshall has been named vice-captain. Let's hope he's not doing too much mentoring of Housego and the youngsters, otherwise we could be seeing a lot more quick-fire 30s and 40s from the batsmen, before departing LBW to an ugly swipe. Even more worryingly, Jon Batty is still on the books. Notwithstanding the stacks of catches he took in his first season when we had Gemaal Hussain, Kirb and Lewis on the books, surely his signing has been an unmitigated disaster? Here's hoping we're not relying on him for key runs this season.

All-rounders:

It has also been announced that we have signed the lesser-known Muchall brother, all-rounder Paul, from Durham after a pre-season trial. Here's hoping he can recreate the success of the last all-rounder with limited first class experience signed from Durham.

Speaking of Will Gidman, if he can produced 80% of last season's 1006 runs and 51 wickets then Glos fans will be more than happy. We hope you will be, anyway.

Bowling:

For the first time in around 15 years, the seam attack will not be led by Jon Lewis. His departure for the bowler's paradise at The Oval has left a lack of real experience among the promising seam attack. The emergence last year of the better Gidders, David Payne and Liam Norwell, plus the return to fitness of Ian Saxelby has left us with a raw but promising core of quick bowlers. We're also hoping to see more of tearaway Kiwi quick James Fuller, who tore through a team of  Oxford students in a recent pre-season game at The Parks.

The two young spinners, Ed Young and Jack Taylor are both relatively inexperienced, having made their debuts in the last couple of years. Young spent the winter honing his tan skills at the Darren Lehmann academy in Perth and hopefully has returned having picked Lehmann's brain on more than just how to put away an enormous volume of alcohol and still be able to play the next day. On a bright note, the departure of Vikram Banerjee has improved the overall quality of our spin options immeasurably.

Predictions:

Here at the Jessop Tavern View we are not noted for our optimism. With an inexperienced squad shorn of two stalwarts of proven quality in Taylor and Lewis we foresee a season of struggle. The best we can hope for is a repeat of 4th or 5th place and a good run in one of the interminable one day competitions. We fear that 6th or 7th may be more realistic though. Here's looking forward to how it goes.

Where are we...?

The last time we were writing there was still optimistic talk of promotion for the young Gloucestershire side. Summer holidays out of the way it is time to reengage with the final month of the season and see where the boys have got to in our absence.

After the cruel defeat against Surrey at Cheltenham the Shire then took a bit of a pasting against Derbyshire. A very poor first innings led to Glos following on. The second innings saw the boys make a bit of a fight of it and arguably could have set Derbyshire far more than the 110 they eventually set. Dent, Williamson, Taylor and the skipper all got themselves in....and then out without posting a match turning score.

Next up in the championship were Essex at Colchester. Again a below par first innings put Glos behind the game. Slightly greedily Essex ended up setting us 388 to chase in two and a half sessions. At 98 for 5 they didn't look quite so greedy, but then a bit of rain and a brilliant hundred from Chris Taylor, accompanied by a dogged fifty from 'the other' Gidman helped salvage Gloucestershire a draw.

That leaves Glos third in the table, 23 points behind second place Middlesex who also have a game in hand. Realistically, any chance of promotion is now down to Middlesex having a bit of a wobble. We don't reckon Middlesex have enough Saffers in their team for that sort of a choke. Having said that, there game in hand is currently into its second day against league leaders Northants. Perhaps Northants can do us a favour and give Middlesex a thumping to at least keep the promotion race a little bit interesting.

In other news. Captain Marvel confirmed that he is isn't a scorer of cheap runs with a hundred against the Unicorns. As if to emphasise the point, Hamish O'Marshall also scored runs.

Chris Taylor's hundred against Essex also took him passed 1,000 runs for the season for the third time in his career. Sadly Taylor is still out of contract at the end of the season and rumours have already begun that the vultures down the road in Somerset have been circling. Kaiser Tom has denied this rumour but is reputed to have had a little chuckle when it was suggested that several minor counties have made enquiries about Hamish Marshall for next year.

Finally, we missed out on James Fuller being dumped from the squad at the start of the month for indiscipline. The club refused to comment on what the incident was exactly so as an internet blog we feel it only right to suggest that he was simply following in the tradition of other great Gloucestershire kiwis and was caught sleeping in his car due to gambling debts.

Right, that's about it. We are now off to curse our shitty BT tv deal for not including Sky Sports 3 for tonight's CB40 against Somerset.

Sperm donor leaves Glos after 17 years

So the second exodus has begun. Jon Lewis will be filling up those test tubes in a London clinic next season. Sperm banks in the Bristol area will need to find a new regular donor.

It is not a surprise that Lewis has left given the circumstances surrounding the inability of the club to discuss new contracts until September. As an experienced, proven pro, Lewis was inevitably going to be the first to be snapped up.

Losing such a long standing player as Lewis is obviously disappointing, and his guaranteed 50 wickets a year will definitely be difficult to replace. Yet we at the Jessop Tavern View don't feel like this is too damaging to the squad. By the looks of the young bowlers who have come through this year, the bowling in the academy is stronger than the batting. Alongside Saxelby, Payne and Will Gidman, who have become championship regulars, we also have Liam Norwell who took wickets in the early part of the season before picking up a back injury. Add to this list James Fuller who has looked like he has potential in the few one day outings he has had. There is also young Matt Taylor who made his debut during the Cheltenham fortnight. Whilst none of these kids are yet in Lewis' class, they also aren't 36 years old, nor will they be wanting the sort of money that Lewis would. It would have been nice to have had Lewis' experience for another year at least, but our trusting to youth should be praised in this case.

Our attention now switches to the batsmen. Will Taylor and O'Mish follow Lewis out of the extra large Gloucestershire exit door? The difference here is that there have been less signs of young batsmen coming through. Chris Dent and Ian Cockbain look like proper batsmen, but other than these two we haven't seen any other youngsters being thrown in to the now meaningless CB40 games. There is a feeling that both Jack Taylor and Ed Young look more like batsmen than allrounders, and the club may also be thinking that these guys could fill in the middle order. The question is, do we feel that we are getting value for money from Taylor and O'Mish? Taylor has been a pretty inconsistent championship performer over the years. Marshall has only passed 1000 runs once in five and a half seasons. Taylor has passed 1000 runs twice in 10 seasons. Are these the sort of statistics we should be desperate to keep hold off?

We wait to see what happens. The only thing we know for certain is this is a complete mess.

Glos exodus: An alternative view

The Jessop Tavern View wrote recently about the potential loss of senior players Hamish Marshall, Chris Taylor and Jon Lewis. This situation could prove disruptive for a youthful Gloucestershire squad seeking promotion to Division 1 for the first time in years, but in the interest of balance, we would like to offer an different view on the situation.

Marshall, Taylor and Lewis are good pros and all three would be missed to varying degrees. You only have to rewind to the end of last season though, and a similar situation was occurring. At the time, the departures of the majority of our fast bowling attack seemed like a devastating blow which signalled the county's lack of ambition and, possibly more pertinently, money. Thinking about this with the benefit of hindsight however, the only player who has been a real loss to Gloucestershire is Steve Kirby. Gemaal Hussain has disappointed for Somerset, having failed to recreate last season's form on the flat pitches at Taunton. He is not currently in their Championship side. One could argue that at this point in his career, he is a prime example of a 'one season wonder'. William Porterfield scored his career-best 175 for us towards the end of 2010. He flattered to deceive throughout his Glos career though, and hasn't exactly been brilliant for Warwickshire so far, with 465 runs at 29. The less said about Anthony Ireland the better.

The point of this post was to look dispassionately at the potential departure of some of our senior players. It is worth suggesting that when John Bracewell was reappointed as coach towards the end of last season, he took a good hard look at personnel and contracts and made some tough decisions. Kirby, Hussain, Anthony Ireland and William Porterfield were out of contract at the end of 2010 and all had been subject to 28 day approaches by other counties. Bracewell and the Glos management may have taken a decision that it was worth losing these senior, but pricier, players in the hope of bringing through youth from the academy and elsewhere.

On to the case of Lewis, Taylor and Marshall. Jon Lewis has been a superb servant to Gloucestershire, but at almost 36 years old, will he take wickets on Division 1 pitches. Chris Taylor has had a good season, but it's his first one for a while. He's 34 and doesn't have many years left either. Hamish Marshall is a bit of a mystery.. In his first season in England he was top class, with 5 hundreds and 1200 runs. However, that was in 2006 and since then he has scored progressively fewer runs each season. This year, although limited to 5 Championship matches by family weddings and injuries, he has scored only 305 runs at 38 and is without a hundred. This is not the kind of record that makes an impoverished county desperate to offer you a new contract.

This is really the point with all three of the players above. You have to wonder whether any of them are up to Division 1 standard. They're good, but not great, and all are getting on a bit. It would be a great shame to see the back of Lewis, who has anchored the young seam bowling attack admirably, but at some point you have to say goodbye to even the longest-serving pros.

In summary then, perhaps the rumoured exodus of Glos players is not all bad. Fingers crossed that the new, younger generation of players have enough talent to deliver should we get promoted to Division 1. It will be a steep learning curve, but this season's performance have shown that the youngsters don't lack for fight.

Glos end 10 year Cheltenham jinx

Day 3: Gloucestershire 515 v Kent 205 and 168.

Once again at Cheltenham a side amassed a huge first innings total and then the team on the receiving end rolled over and played dead. However, for the first time in 10 years at the college ground that team rolling over were not Gloucestershire. Incredible. Over the last 10 years Glos have been thumped in some of the most remarkable ways, last year against Worcester we even turned down the follow-on and comically found a way to lose, but the 10 year hoo-doo is finally lifted and the boys can now look forward to the rest of the festival.

The only negative was that Chris Taylor was unable to score the 8 runs he needed for his double century. If that's the only negative then you've had a pretty good day.

Kent on the other hand were abysmal. Actual they worse. They were a disgrace to themselves and the second division in the way they meekly lay down and died. God it feels good to not have to be writing that about Gloucestershire any more.

The Sperm donor started the carnage after lunch with 3 wickets in 5 overs and David Payne finished the job with a slightly expensive 4 for 60 as Kent through the bat.

Gloucestershire now move up to second in the table, all be it probably only until Middlesex completed victory over Surrey tomorrow. With Surrey next to visit Cheltenham in the championship Gloucestershire have the opportunity to emerge from the festival fortnight in a very positive position in the table.

Child's play for Taylor

Day 2: Gloucestershire 486 - 7 v Kent 205

So this is what it is like to support a good cricket team. Kent arrived at Cheltenham as a weak team, having a bad season and missing their best player and captain. Gloucestershire then put them to the sword. This is how it should be. So frequently in the past, and particularly at Cheltenham, this hasn't been the case.

A wonderful 192 not out from 'the child' Chris Taylor has put Glos in such a strong position that, barring rain, they will win from here. That's right, we will win.

In our midseason report we made the point that Taylor has been in splendid form all season, yet only had one hundred from 7 fifties until yesterday. Clearly 'the child' was none too happy about this return either and decided to cash in against a demoralised Kent. Taylor was well supported in the morning by Captain wonderful who fell to an ugly swipe across the line when on 79. It was a shame for Gidman who could have done with another big hundred to set himself up for the promotion push. Yep, that's right. The promotion push!

Since it is only the weather that can scupper a Glos victory from here, here's the weather forecast for the next 2 days in the Cheltenham area. 

Let's all now hope that Chris Taylor can get the 8 extra runs he deserves, and that the Sperm donor then has a comedy tonk to get the lead well past 350 before we roll them over.

With Middlesex, Surrey, Northants and Derby all looking like taking points off each other, this could turn out to be a very good week for the boys indeed.

Link to the day's highlights here.

Gloucestershire start well...but it could have been much better

Day 1: Surrey 225 v Gloucestershire 171 -4

I guess it is a sign of real progress that as a Gloucestershire fan I am now viewing performances with more of a microscope. Where as before we would have just been delighted to have not been either put to the sword or skittled for 80 odd, we are now in the strange position of feeling that today we missed the opportunity to really ram home the advantage.

We have already praised the selection for this match, with both Coughtrie and Young replacing the hapless Batty and the frankly useless Banerjee. Its also so nice to have a player like Will Gidman available to provide real balance. With the better Gidders playing as the fourth seamer and batting at six there is a really nice feel to a young middle order that runs, Gidman W, Coughtrie, Young.

After winning the toss full credit must go to the seamers for taking full advantage of helpful conditions. Admittedly the 225 that Surrey managed to eek out should have been 50 runs less, but it was a good effort. The biggest criticism we can level is the number of boundaries served up by the boys and the resultant indulgent run rate Surrey were able to score at. In what is likely to be a fairly low scoring game, these loose runs, some what given away, could prove costly.

In reply Gloucestershire's batsmen did their usual trick. Everyone, save Dent, and more about him later, got themselves in, and then got themselves out. Considering we had by far the best conditions of the day to bat in during the afternoon, this is slightly disappointing. O'Mish batted patiently, got himself nicely set, then got out. Williamson, played fluently, then got out during a testing spell from the impressive Dernbach. (1 for 20 off 12, including O'Mish dropped in the slips) The Kid continued this season's good form, and seems to have been unlucky to have received a shooter having just passed fifty. If Gloucestershire are to press home their advantage then it will need someone to go on and make a sizable contribution tomorrow. Can captain Gidders be this man? The Jessop Tavern View doesn't reckon the skipper has it in him and we are predicting a slender first innings leader of around 50.

Our final point for today concerns young Chris Dent. We have already seen enough from Dent to know that there was a reason why he was the first of the youngsters to be elevated to the first team last year. Despite having not reached his maiden first class hundred you feel that it is genuinely only a matter of time, and that when he makes his first one, several more will follow in quick succession. It's just that he doesn't seem comfortable at the top of the order. We have neither the time or the inclination to back this up statistically, but we reckon that most of Dent's better knocks have come when he has batted lower down. I guess at least we seem to have settled on a position for him and he will be glad to have ended the constant yo-yoing up and down the order. The other problem is of course who else should open in his place, and where in the middle order would he fit in? In truth it seems that the opening slot is the only one available to him. We just hope it doesn't stunt the development of a genuinely talented looking kid.

Finally, if anyone from BBC Radio London is reading this. Less of the polo chat tomorrow boys. Or, if you insist on talking about polo, at least make it humorous.

Shire emerge with creditable draw with table toppers Middlesex

Gloucestershire 358 and 347 drew with Middlesex 406 and 123 for 4

Heading into this game against a Middlesex side, who had won 3 from 3 matches and already forced both Surrey and Essex to follow on, The Jessop Tavern View was not full of optimism that we could get a result. When we lost 3 wickets (including first innings centurion Taylor) in the first 13 overs, with the lead only 215, we feared the worst, a Rogers-inspired chase against a team he has enjoyed punishing in the past.

Thankfully this didn't come to pass. Will Gidman is now officially the better brother. He added 75 with Liam Norwell and accelerated after passing 50 to make 93, his best score in first class cricket. It would have been nice for him to complete a good match with a hundred, but he mistimed a drive and was caught by Scott Newman. O'Mish then emerged, despite his fractured thumb, and helped extend the lead to 300.


The chase was always going to be a stiff ask for Middlesex and once the Sperm Donor had removed Rogers and Scott Newman, the only question was whether we could get another 8 wickets in the time remaining. This wasn't to be, as bad light brought an early end to proceedings, despite the boys managing another two wickets with only 123 runs scored.

On balance, Gloucestershire had the better of this match. The fight shown by both Taylor and Will Gidman in both innings, the 8 wickets for Lewis and a career-best 72 for Ian Cockbain in the second innings were all good efforts. The general level of backbone shown by the whole side was very encouraging in a match where the dubious selection of only three frontline bowlers threatened to hand the initiative to an in-form Middlesex side.

There are worries, not least the injury to O'Mish (another crocked opener) and the continuing poor form with the bat from the skipper. Let's hope Gidders can settle on a consistent spot in the batting order and knuckle down and score some much-needed runs. However, two wins and a draw from 4 Championship games is pretty good considering what people were saying at the start of the season. Bring on Somerset in the CB40 tomorrow. Jon Lewis takes a well-deserved rest and The Child will have a fitness test on his knee. Marshall is obviously out, so Ed Young and James Fuller return to the squad for a match that could well be weather affected.

'The kid' bravely pulls Glos back into contention

Day 3: Gloucestershire 358 and 218 - 5 v Middlesex 406

How nice it is to be able to sit here and write about Gloucestershire being involved in a thoroughly absorbing game of good quality cricket. Gloucestershire fans can not complain about a lack of exciting games in recent seasons, but these have always been exciting for the wrong reasons. Bowling a side out for 40 in the first innings and then still losing might be an incredible game, but not exactly a good game of cricket.

Gloucestershire find themselves going into the fourth day with a genuine chance of not only saving a game that looked lost this afternoon, but perhaps of forcing a victory on a rapidly wearing Bristol pitch.

Today's third day see-sawed one way and then the other. First, Norwell and the ever reliable Sperm donor took the early wickets Gloucestershire had desperately needed. Then Ollie Raynor fought back with a crucial, quickfire fifty to swing momentum back towards the London side. Then Gloucestershire knocked off the first innings deficit without losing a wicket before crumbling to 128 for 5 with a lead of only 80. 'The kid' then hobbled out to join 'the better' Gidders and proceeded where he had left off in the first innings, batting Gloucestershire right back into the match. Speaking of Taylor and his bruises, the picture posted on Twitter by Scott Newman of his bruised knee was a cracker. One of the good things about cricket embracing the social new media revolution is that you get to enjoy snippets like this from inside the dressing room. Not always that insightful, but amusing to see that the pros get injuries through stupidity as well!

As early season top of the table clashes go this has been a wonderful advert for division 2 county cricket. A good honest, hard fought contest between what are two pretty average sides if we are being honest. From a Gloucestershire fan's point of view we're delighted with average.

It's an obvious point but whoever wins the first session tomorrow will have the best opportunity of victory. If Gloucestershire can bat till lunch we shouldn't be able to lose (although we would have found a way if the vintage of '08-'10 were playing) If Middlesex dismiss us with the lead around 200 then they should be able to get home.

The boys at Glos la la la have got a bit heavy this evening on debutant Kane Williamson and 'the other', captain, Gidders. It's a bit harsh to criticise Williamson. Bristol is a notoriously difficult place to bat, and whilst this pitch is not one of Nevil Road's worst, it is a bit early to criticise the man. Anyone can get out cheaply before they become set. Captain Gidders on the other hand seems to be really struggling. So overcome with positivity were we in the first innings that we let it slide that the skipper had hidden himself even further down the order at number 6. Gidman seems to be have a real crisis of identity as a batsman at the moment. Unsure as to whether he is a dominant, classy top order player. Or a man who eeks out dirty runs in the middle order. Hiding away at number 6 isn't the way to go. If O'Mish's injury is as bad as feared and he does miss several weeks, or even months, then Gidman really will have to step up to be counted and put himself in the firing line of that new ball again!

So tomorrow promises to be a fascinating day's cricket. The Jessop Tavern View is off early to bed in anticipation.

Strange selection begins to backfire on Glos

Day 2: Gloucestershire 358 v Middlesex 296 - 4

A bit of reality was brought to Gloucestershire's young bowling attack today as it struggled to make inroads into Middlesex's top order. The choice to go into this game with only 3 front line bowlers has yielded predictable results and only a strong showing from the batsmen in the second innings can prevent this match from being viewed as an error of selection.

Middlesex will resume 62 runs behind Gloucestershire and will fancy their chances of forging a match winning first innings total. Gloucestershire's bowlers will need to learn their lessons from yesterday and strive to pitch the ball up more consistently. Captain Gidders will have the morning session with which to take early wickets but if by lunch no significant damage has been done then we will get the opportunity to see whether Norwell and Payne have the ability to adapt their games to one of containment.

It's hard to be too critically of any of the bowlers yesterday on what appears a pretty flat track. It does, however, emphasise what a curious team selection this was. To play only 3 bowlers when 2 of them are youngsters seems a little over confident to say the least.

Worryingly Chris Taylor was taken to hospital with a swollen knee and question marks remain over whether he will be able to bat in the second innings.

Gloucestershire would hate to be batting just after tea tonight with 4 sessions left in the game and a deficit of over 150.

Gloucestershire fight back well...who'd have thought we would ever say that!

Gloucestershire 302-6 v Middlesex at Bristol

The Jessop Tavern View thought they were joking the other day when they tried to make a slightly lame topical joke about the death of Osama Bin Laden and the lack of reviews of Gloucestershires victory against the Unicorns that had occurred later the same day. But it is now 10pm and there are still no ECB highlights of today's first day action against Middlesex, nor have Glos la la la posted a review of the days play. Perhaps Osama was a secret Gloucestershire fan, whiling away his hours not creating jihad against the West but bemoaning on the Internet yet another horrific Kadeer Ali innings. It would certainly explain why he was living in a cave. Being a Gloucestershire fan since roughly 2001 has frequently made us want to hide from the world.

Fortunately the Jessop Tavern View had a slightly dubious 'work from home' day and spent most of it listening to a man from BBC London radio half reading emails before losing his Internet connection whilst trying to commentate on the cricket. Thus, for the first time this season, we feel we can report with some certainty that this was a good day for Gloucestershire. We won't know the true nature of the picture until both teams have batted on it, but we feel safe in saying that there is definitely a little bit there to interest the bowlers. Middlesex today seemed guilty of dropping short far too often, although in fairness it is hard to pitch the ball up to Chris Taylor who is only 3ft 2.

Despite not scoring many runs there was something about the way in which both Cockbain and Coughtrie sold their wickets dear that again proved they definitely have something about them. Typically the day was not without a batting collapse. At 99 for 2 at lunch Glos seemed well set. An hour later we were all over the shop at 138 for 5. Not for the first time this season the Jessop Tavern View rolled its eyes and prepared for the worst only to have its negativity thrown back in its face as 'the kid' Taylor and 'the better' Gidders put on 162 for the 7th wicket and put Gloucestershire in a very strong position at the close. It's an absolute pleasure to be writing about a Gloucestershire batting lineup that doesn't just fold like a pack of cards at even the suggestion of a breath of wind.

Taylor continued his fluency from his one day century against the Unicorns and his early season form alongside the potential shown by Cockbain in particular has been a welcome, if slightly unexpected, addition to Gloucestershire's batting. Many Glos fans felt that 'the Kid's' time was probably up this season but he has responded well to the competition from the youngsters.

Earlier both Gloucestershire and Middlesex produced unexpected teams from the bag. Gloucestershire selecting only 3 frontline bowlers, whilst Middlesex chose to rest Steve Finn. We can only presume that John Bracewell shared our concerns about the game being decided between Middlesex's bowlers against our batsmen. Time will tell if the right decision was made. You would feel that a first innings score in excess of 400 will be needed to really justify a pretty strange, and certainly lopsided, team selection. Alternatively, we must have enormous faith in 'the better' Gidders as a 4th bowler.

Tomorrow promises to offer an intriguing day's cricket as Glos press to get as close to 400 as possible before hoping to take early wickets and make inroads into that inexperienced Middlesex middle order.

Even more positives as Glos complete solid victory over the pointless Unicorns

Gloucestershire 195 - 6 beat Unicorns 171 - 9 by 24 runs.

With the death of Osama Bin Laden, the Jessop Tavern View's usual source of match day information seems to have dried up, with no highlights on offer, nor even the usually stoic Glos la la la uttering a single word on today's victory. Is there a connection between the death of the world's most wanted man and a lack of Gloucestershire match reports? We'll keep you posted. It is, therefore, hard to really pass too much comment on today's performance. But a lack of hard evidence has never stopped us from forming opinions before, so why start now?

Gloucestershire made it two wins from two in a competition that is a complete waste of everybody's time (unless you win it). 40 overs. Only the group winners and a single second place team progress from 3 groups of 7 teams leading to hundreds of dead rubbers. Really, who the hell thinks up these competitions. A small child can see the flaws in it. Anyway, a win is a win.

David Payne looks a wicket taker. Always a good quality in a young bowler. His 3 for 6 at the start of the Unicorns innings effectively settled the contest.

Chris Taylor finally turned his early season good form into a hundred and he has responded well to the possibility of his place coming under threat.

Kane Williamson played an intelligent knock, something that hasn't been seen at Nevil Road since.....?! Coming in at a crunch time after early wickets had fallen he shared a century partnership with 'the kid' Taylor that made sure that Gloucestershire's score managed to get up to a total always likely to be too much against a weak Unicorns side.

Will Gidman continues to look like the better brother and could perhaps fulfill the allround talents that older brother never did.

Ed Young apparently bowled very tidily which will please our friends at Glos la la la who wish to see him or Jack Taylor given a chance ahead of Vikram Banerjee. Presumably both Young and Taylor will be given the one day games in order to prepare them for the toil of championship cricket. Personally we agree with Glos la la la. If you are going with youth, let's go all the way.

The most encouraging thing from this game is that intelligent, heads up cricket seems to have returned to Gloucestershire. After early wickets we seemed to have settled on a score around 200 and then made sure we got there. We then applied early pressure in the field and hey presto, another victory.

Sounds a bit like a formula we've seen before round these parts.