Gloucestershire 110 (Roderick 51, Stevens 3-19) and 108 for 5 (Howell 52*) beat Kent 64 (Taylor 4-20, Miles 3-11) and 153 (Bell-Drummond 61, Higgins 5-22) by five wickets
Scorecard
Crucial fifties from former skipper Gareth Roderick and newly-minted opener Benny Howell, saw Gloucestershire defeat Kent in a low-scoring game completed in under three days, despite the loss of day 1 to a wet outfield following heavy rain.
This was a wild game, with many crazy statistics, including Glos winning despite not scoring over 110 in either innings, only three individual scores above 50 and 17(!) LBWs from 35 wickets, all in under 3 full days of cricket.
Day 1 at Canterbury was lost to a wet outfield and Gloucestershire were always likely to bowl first, given the overhead conditions. A four man attack without Liam Norwell, who was rested after a pre-season injury, meant debutant Ryan Higgins provided seam backup to Worrall, Miles and Matt Taylor. We also had Benny and Gourmet-Burger in reserve, although as events transpired they were in selected the team as batsmen only.
Glos ripped into Kent in favourable bowling conditions on Day 2, reducing them to 29-6 on the way to 64 all out. Matt Taylor showed why the shire's seam attack is potentially one of the division's best, removing Bell-Drummond, captain Joe Denly, the dangerous Stevens and former Jessop Tavern favourite Will Gidman on the way to 4-20, He was ably supported by Miles with 3-11 as Kent were skittled in 18.5 overs.
By the close of play, the match was halfway done, with Glos handily ahead at 110-8. Despite numerous low scores, largely brought about by the seamer-friendly conditions, Glos managed to close with a lead of 46, thanks to a gritty half century from keeper Roderick. This was the knock of the match, a fact acknowledged by coach Richard Dawson who rated it worth a hundred in any other game.
Day Three began in familiar fashion, with Glos dismissed in the first over of the day without adding to our overnight total. This left u with some work to do, as batting conditions improved somewhat on Sunday morning and the dangerous Bell-Drummond got going. He struck 10 fours and a six in a rapid 61 as Kent moved ahead of Glos for the loss of Dixon. Joe Denly arrived and looked to have been caught for a golden by KNB, but refused to walk and was reprieved by the umpire. The crucial moment of the innings was yet another LBW, as Higgins snared a well-set Bell-Drummond bang in front with the score on 75 and the lead just 29.
Kent slipped to 89-5, before recovering at the hands of Gidman, who put on 43 with Rouse before nicking off to Roderick for Miles' solitary wicket of the innings. Higgins showed real potential with the ball, nipping it around at a handy pace to take his maiden first class five-fer as Kent were dismissed for 153.
This left us 108 to win and with conditions still tricky, new skipper Dent was castled by a jaffa from Kiwi Matt Henry bringing Roderick in again with over a hundred still required. The two saw us through to an early close due to bad light at 61-1.
This left a nervous Monday morning for those sitting in the office listening on the BBC. We questioned Benny's move to opener in our season preview last week, but were delighted to see the Frenchman score a crucial fifty of his own as Glos won by 5 wickets. Benny's positivity, hitting 9 boundaries and facing only 90 balls, was a welcome counterpoint to the uncertainty shown at the other end, with 4 wickets falling in knocking off the 47 runs needed. Jack Taylor's second poor dismissal of the match, leaving a straight one from the wily Stevens to be plumb LBW was a bit concerning, given that the vice-captain's runs will be needed given he's set to bat at in the top 6 this season.
So, what does this all mean, ahead of tomorrow's home opener versus Glamorgan? Clearly the boys have a quality seam bowling attack, as evidenced by bowling Kent out cheaply twice, despite being without last year's leading wicket-taker Liam Norwell. Taylor bowled well on D1 and Worrall is clearly going to be a factor in Division 2, having taken 4-55 on his Shire debut. Higgins was a pleasant surprise and if he can function as a 4th or 5th seamer alongside the established attack then we could have a really handy attack this year.
The batting remains a bit of a concern. We said on Twitter that a lot of the dismissals in the first innings were down to playing across the line or missing straight deliveries. We may have been a bit harsh, as listening to 'Pasty' during his BBC commentary stint, he claimed most of the LBWs were due to late movement rather than poor choice of shot, aside from Roderick who admitted he made a mistake in the first innings. We'll give the boys the benefit of the doubt for this one, but with an equally handy Glamorgan pace attack rolling into Bristol tomorrow, we will need to see improvements if the Shire are to continue their momentum into the first home game of the year.
Still, a first win in the opening game of the season since the heady days of 2011 is not to be sniffed at. Let's hope that another good performance can help the Jessop Tavern View recapture some of the heady optimism of 2011, our first season blogging here. We can't promise you 25 posts in April like our first year of blogging, but more wins like this will certainly inspire us to fire up the laptops more often!
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.
Showing posts with label Gareth Roderick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gareth Roderick. Show all posts
Thursday, 19 April 2018
Wednesday, 20 July 2016
Glos launch improbable promotion bid
County Championship Div 2: Glos beat Essex by 61 runs.
Gloucestershire's remarkable season continued last week in the county championship as the Shire bagged a third win of the season to take them to within spitting distance of the summit of division 2. With a game in hand. In a year when only one team gets promoted, surely Glos aren't serious contenders? Well, on recent form, you wouldn't back against them.
Despite stuttering with the bat on day 1 to be bowled out for 255, and then collapsing on day 3, losing their last 6 wickets for only 62 runs, the young Glos pace bowlers ran through Essex to bowl them out for 151, claim a famous and improbably win, and allow the hospitality tents an afternoon of drinking without having the cricket to distract them. Win win.
Much like the entire season, Glos were indebted to crucial performances at crucial times. On day 1, Cragi Miles' 56 runs, alongside contributions from David Payne and Liam Norwell, dragged Glos from 140 for 7 up to a total that at least got them in the game. An important 4 for 72 from returning loanee Josh Shaw helped restrict Essex to a first innings lead of 78. Roderick and Dent then knocked off this lead with their opening stand in the second innings before Maxi Klinger prevented a complete disintegration with 53 not out as the tail fell away. Gloucestershire then finally saw the very best of Miles, Norwell and Payne bowling as a unit as they finished with 3 for 26, 4 for 65 and 3 for 40 respectively. Norwell, Payne and Miles have been Gloucestershire's leading seamers for a few years now, but it is difficult to think of another match in which they have collective worked together to run through a team. If we can keep them all fit then Glos will fancy their chances against most batting units.
Liam Norwell now has 30 wickets at 25. Craig Miles has 27 wickets at 30. David Payne has 20 wickets at 40. Fitness has always been the issue with all 3 of these guys, but Norwell is still only 24. Payne is 25. Craig Miles is just about to turn 22. The Shire have the making of a decent seam attack for quite a few years to come. At the start of the season the Jessop Tavern did ponder whether we might regret not attempting to sign a consistent, more mature fast bowler to provide a steady spine to the bowling. Yet again, another astute observation from the Jessop Tavern that has been rammed down its throat.
One observation that we are standing by is that we are still not convinced by Gareth Roderick opening the batting. This said Roderick is steadily working his way towards a very solid season. Coming off the back of his first hundred of the season he now has 638 runs at an average of 42. This also includes 6 fifties. This is a welcome return to the early promise he showed when first breaking into the team and averaging 44 and then 55 in his first two seasons. Last year's average of 32 looks to have been no more than a blip, and quite possibly the move to the top of the order has helped rejuvenate him.
However, the Jessop Tavern grew up in the era of Alec Stewart, and thus we refuse to break with the belief that opening, keeping and captaining is possible. Especially long term. However, as Roderick doesn't spend half his time at the crease twiddling his bat or walking into drives outside off stump and nicking-off it is possible that this was the real drain on Stewart's energies.
So, Gloucestershire now sit third in division 2. 11 points behind leaders Essex, and with a game in hand against Leicestershire. Can Glos continue this improbable charge to promotion? Can they continue to fight on both the 4 day, 50 over and 20 over front? Will injuries catch up with them at some point? Is promotion even a good thing? All this and more, in the next exciting few weeks.
Video highlights:
Gloucestershire's remarkable season continued last week in the county championship as the Shire bagged a third win of the season to take them to within spitting distance of the summit of division 2. With a game in hand. In a year when only one team gets promoted, surely Glos aren't serious contenders? Well, on recent form, you wouldn't back against them.
Despite stuttering with the bat on day 1 to be bowled out for 255, and then collapsing on day 3, losing their last 6 wickets for only 62 runs, the young Glos pace bowlers ran through Essex to bowl them out for 151, claim a famous and improbably win, and allow the hospitality tents an afternoon of drinking without having the cricket to distract them. Win win.
Much like the entire season, Glos were indebted to crucial performances at crucial times. On day 1, Cragi Miles' 56 runs, alongside contributions from David Payne and Liam Norwell, dragged Glos from 140 for 7 up to a total that at least got them in the game. An important 4 for 72 from returning loanee Josh Shaw helped restrict Essex to a first innings lead of 78. Roderick and Dent then knocked off this lead with their opening stand in the second innings before Maxi Klinger prevented a complete disintegration with 53 not out as the tail fell away. Gloucestershire then finally saw the very best of Miles, Norwell and Payne bowling as a unit as they finished with 3 for 26, 4 for 65 and 3 for 40 respectively. Norwell, Payne and Miles have been Gloucestershire's leading seamers for a few years now, but it is difficult to think of another match in which they have collective worked together to run through a team. If we can keep them all fit then Glos will fancy their chances against most batting units.
Liam Norwell now has 30 wickets at 25. Craig Miles has 27 wickets at 30. David Payne has 20 wickets at 40. Fitness has always been the issue with all 3 of these guys, but Norwell is still only 24. Payne is 25. Craig Miles is just about to turn 22. The Shire have the making of a decent seam attack for quite a few years to come. At the start of the season the Jessop Tavern did ponder whether we might regret not attempting to sign a consistent, more mature fast bowler to provide a steady spine to the bowling. Yet again, another astute observation from the Jessop Tavern that has been rammed down its throat.
One observation that we are standing by is that we are still not convinced by Gareth Roderick opening the batting. This said Roderick is steadily working his way towards a very solid season. Coming off the back of his first hundred of the season he now has 638 runs at an average of 42. This also includes 6 fifties. This is a welcome return to the early promise he showed when first breaking into the team and averaging 44 and then 55 in his first two seasons. Last year's average of 32 looks to have been no more than a blip, and quite possibly the move to the top of the order has helped rejuvenate him.
However, the Jessop Tavern grew up in the era of Alec Stewart, and thus we refuse to break with the belief that opening, keeping and captaining is possible. Especially long term. However, as Roderick doesn't spend half his time at the crease twiddling his bat or walking into drives outside off stump and nicking-off it is possible that this was the real drain on Stewart's energies.
So, Gloucestershire now sit third in division 2. 11 points behind leaders Essex, and with a game in hand against Leicestershire. Can Glos continue this improbable charge to promotion? Can they continue to fight on both the 4 day, 50 over and 20 over front? Will injuries catch up with them at some point? Is promotion even a good thing? All this and more, in the next exciting few weeks.
Video highlights:
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Saturday, 21 May 2016
New spin twins bring unlikely first victory to the Brightside Ground
Gloucestershire (21pts) 262 and 336 (Bancroft 70, Roderick 67, Marshall 58, Hogan 4-68) beat Glamorgan (6pts) 330 (Lloyd 99, Bragg 70, Wagg 55 ret hurt) and 143 (Taylor 4-16, van Buuren 3-15) by 125 runs
Scorecard
A rather incredible afternoon at the Brightside ground saw Gloucestershire's spinners (yes, you read that right, Gloucestershire spinners!) run through Glamorgan on a 4th day pitch to bring victory from what looked like impending defeat. So sure was the Jessop Tavern that defeat was on the way that they had begun their rain dance. Needing less than 200 in 60 odd overs, and with all wickets in hand, Glamorgan proceed to unravel when faced by Gloucestershire's latest spin twins, Jack Taylor and Graeme van Buuren.
So, 5 matches into the new season, and with their first win of the season under their belt, Gloucestershire sit 4th in Division 2, even on points with 3rd placed Leicestershire, and only 3 points behind 2nd place Kent.
The victory against Glamorgan was a true team effort. From the very first morning when Gloucestershire were reduced to 5 for 85 and then 8 for 169 the Shire were always second favourites. The fact that they even managed to stay in the game on the first day was testament to 19 year old George Hankins' first first class 50 and then a stand of 90 for the 9th wicket between Craig Miles and David Payne. Not for the first time this season did Gloucestershire's lower order come to their rescue and keep them in a game.
Some welcome wickets for Craig Miles, including the delivery that forced the unfortunate Graham Wagg to retire hurt, then allowed Glos to stay in the game by bowling Glamorgan out for a lead of just 70 odd. A borderline lead that gave Glos hope but put Glamorgan in the driving seat.
On the day that Michael Klinger arrived for the summer, stand-in Aussie Cameron Bancroft final found his feet with a well constructed 70. He was ably joined by the in form O'Mish and the gritty Gareth Roderick, who despite making 67 seemingly still seems to be searching for his best form. However, with Michael Hogan running in from one end Glamorgan were frequently taking wickets and by reducing Glos to 271 for 8 they really were in the driving seat.
Cue Craig Miles. Again. Miles made 39 not out whilst enabling Glos to add 65 for the final 2 wickets, crucial runs that pushed Glamorgan's run chase above 250. Miles, Payne and Centurion Norwell have all performed heroics with the bat for Gloucestershire this season and with the explosive Jack Taylor at number 8, Glos have the making of a very stout rearguard and full credit should go to the young bowling unit for developing their games to such a level.
In their run chase Glamorgan looked comfortable at 87 without loss, and although requiring 3 an over on a slightly sluggish pitch, a draw would really have been the best Glos could have hoped for midway through the afternoon.
Enter Graeme van Buuren, part-time left arm spinner, albeit with a first class bowling average of 25 (but with only 68 wickets in 53 games). In fact, van Buuren is a statistical curiosity. He averages 50 with the bat in his 53 games which makes him look like the second coming of Jacques Kallis. Presumably this says more about the standard of first class cricket in South Africa, although here's hoping he backs these stats up as Glos will have picked up a very handy player)
We digress. van Buuren, who had fired in leg stump darts in the first innings, removed Glamorgan's top 3 for just 11 runs being added. In his 10 overs he ended up with 3 for 15, before taking his cap and handing over to Jack Taylor to finish the job. Taylor duly obliged by running through Glamorgan's bottom order to win the match for the Shire. Glamorgan went from 87 without loss in the 22nd over, to 143 all out in the 48th. A collapse not uncommon at the Brightside Ground, but with Gloucestershire batsmen usually the ones walking back to the pavilion.
And so this most unlikely of wins suddenly sets Gloucestershire up quite nicely. The squad seems to be taking shape. Klinger is back. van Buuren could be an excellent signing. O'Mish has 2 hundreds and almost 500 runs to sit 4th in the division 2 run charts. Chris Dent isn't too far behind with 444 runs. Craig Miles has returned. The lower order can all score runs.
Most excitingly, Jack Taylor has developed into a very dynamic, match-changing, 4 day player to complement his already proven prowess in the shorter forms of the game. Taylor has 387 runs at an average of 48, and 12 wickets at an average of 28. All in the county championship. A far cry from the last few years when he has struggled with his action and not looked close to the 4 day team. The coaching team are clearly doing something right!
Now it is on to the T20 Blast. But only for Friday. Then back to 4 day cricket next week. Oh English cricket. Will the nonsense ever end.
Day 1 highlights
Day 2 highlights
Day 3 highlights
Day 4 highlights
Scorecard
A rather incredible afternoon at the Brightside ground saw Gloucestershire's spinners (yes, you read that right, Gloucestershire spinners!) run through Glamorgan on a 4th day pitch to bring victory from what looked like impending defeat. So sure was the Jessop Tavern that defeat was on the way that they had begun their rain dance. Needing less than 200 in 60 odd overs, and with all wickets in hand, Glamorgan proceed to unravel when faced by Gloucestershire's latest spin twins, Jack Taylor and Graeme van Buuren.
So, 5 matches into the new season, and with their first win of the season under their belt, Gloucestershire sit 4th in Division 2, even on points with 3rd placed Leicestershire, and only 3 points behind 2nd place Kent.
The victory against Glamorgan was a true team effort. From the very first morning when Gloucestershire were reduced to 5 for 85 and then 8 for 169 the Shire were always second favourites. The fact that they even managed to stay in the game on the first day was testament to 19 year old George Hankins' first first class 50 and then a stand of 90 for the 9th wicket between Craig Miles and David Payne. Not for the first time this season did Gloucestershire's lower order come to their rescue and keep them in a game.
Some welcome wickets for Craig Miles, including the delivery that forced the unfortunate Graham Wagg to retire hurt, then allowed Glos to stay in the game by bowling Glamorgan out for a lead of just 70 odd. A borderline lead that gave Glos hope but put Glamorgan in the driving seat.
On the day that Michael Klinger arrived for the summer, stand-in Aussie Cameron Bancroft final found his feet with a well constructed 70. He was ably joined by the in form O'Mish and the gritty Gareth Roderick, who despite making 67 seemingly still seems to be searching for his best form. However, with Michael Hogan running in from one end Glamorgan were frequently taking wickets and by reducing Glos to 271 for 8 they really were in the driving seat.
Cue Craig Miles. Again. Miles made 39 not out whilst enabling Glos to add 65 for the final 2 wickets, crucial runs that pushed Glamorgan's run chase above 250. Miles, Payne and Centurion Norwell have all performed heroics with the bat for Gloucestershire this season and with the explosive Jack Taylor at number 8, Glos have the making of a very stout rearguard and full credit should go to the young bowling unit for developing their games to such a level.
In their run chase Glamorgan looked comfortable at 87 without loss, and although requiring 3 an over on a slightly sluggish pitch, a draw would really have been the best Glos could have hoped for midway through the afternoon.
Enter Graeme van Buuren, part-time left arm spinner, albeit with a first class bowling average of 25 (but with only 68 wickets in 53 games). In fact, van Buuren is a statistical curiosity. He averages 50 with the bat in his 53 games which makes him look like the second coming of Jacques Kallis. Presumably this says more about the standard of first class cricket in South Africa, although here's hoping he backs these stats up as Glos will have picked up a very handy player)
We digress. van Buuren, who had fired in leg stump darts in the first innings, removed Glamorgan's top 3 for just 11 runs being added. In his 10 overs he ended up with 3 for 15, before taking his cap and handing over to Jack Taylor to finish the job. Taylor duly obliged by running through Glamorgan's bottom order to win the match for the Shire. Glamorgan went from 87 without loss in the 22nd over, to 143 all out in the 48th. A collapse not uncommon at the Brightside Ground, but with Gloucestershire batsmen usually the ones walking back to the pavilion.
And so this most unlikely of wins suddenly sets Gloucestershire up quite nicely. The squad seems to be taking shape. Klinger is back. van Buuren could be an excellent signing. O'Mish has 2 hundreds and almost 500 runs to sit 4th in the division 2 run charts. Chris Dent isn't too far behind with 444 runs. Craig Miles has returned. The lower order can all score runs.
Most excitingly, Jack Taylor has developed into a very dynamic, match-changing, 4 day player to complement his already proven prowess in the shorter forms of the game. Taylor has 387 runs at an average of 48, and 12 wickets at an average of 28. All in the county championship. A far cry from the last few years when he has struggled with his action and not looked close to the 4 day team. The coaching team are clearly doing something right!
Now it is on to the T20 Blast. But only for Friday. Then back to 4 day cricket next week. Oh English cricket. Will the nonsense ever end.
Day 1 highlights
Day 2 highlights
Day 3 highlights
Day 4 highlights
Saturday, 16 April 2016
Deja vu all over again as Gloucestershire batting lets down bowling
Essex 385 (Westley 121, Cook 105, Shaw 4-118) and 94 for 0 (Browne 55*) beatGloucestershire 262 (Roderick 88*, Marshall 51, Porter 4-59) and 215 (Taylor 74, Roderick 58) by ten wickets
Scorecard
A new season and a familiar refrain to regular readers of the blog. Why do Gloucestershire's batsmen consistently fail to produce the goods after making a start, thus putting our (in this match hugely inexperienced) bowling attack under pressure?
Let's cut to the chase. Gloucestershire don't have a very good championship bowling attack these days. After the departure of James Fuller, you would think the best 4 bowlers are Miles, Payne Norwell and Jack Taylor. Miles and Payne were both unfit to play in this match, which left us with debutants Josh Shaw and Tom Hampton (4 f/c wickets between them coming in) alongside Norwell. Former Sussex seamer Chris Liddle didn't make the XI, but you would think he would be in contention most weeks, unless Dawson is thinking of him as most a white ball option.
Benny and Gourmet Burger can fill in with overs of seam, but you wouldn't ideally want to have to play them both, simply to add up to one functioning all rounder. Especially given that Essex have a strong and deep batting lineup with the likes of Graham Napier coming in at 9.
All this is to emphasise the critical importance of the batsmen scoring first innings runs. You could argue that 262 was about par for the first game of the season away to a stronger side. However, if you look at the card lots of people got starts without going on. Roderick anchored the innings with an unbeaten 88. He is exempt from our criticism for sure. Chris Dent lived up to our expectations by looking great in scoring 27, before dragging on chasing a wide half volley. Ian Cockbain also looked in good nick, hitting 5 boundaries in his 24, before being well held by Cook at first slip off Porter.
O'Mish remains a favourite culprit. Despite his advancing years, the Irishman is clearly capable of scoring quantities of runs in D2. He managed a handy 51 in this game, before departing to a trademark loose shot which was snapped up by a diving Jesse Ryder at backward point. Howell departed second ball and Gourmet -Burger rarely looks of championship quality as a batsman- although admittedly it took another great team catch at slip to dismiss him for 5.
This left Jack Taylor and the skipper to try and rebuild. Jack knuckled down and managed a handy 39 before being bowled by Napier, who then dismissed Shaw and Norwell in consecutive balls. Ultimately this left the skipper stranded 12 short of a deserved ton.
We were treated to more of the same in the second innings, having bowled really well to restrict Essex to 385 from 224-2 at one stage. Cameron Bancroft and Cockbain departed caught behind in Porter's first over, bringing Roderick in at 0-2. An inability to construct meaningful partnerships seems a feature of Glos' batting, with only 45 between Roderick and Howell and 65 between the skipper and Taylor worthy of mention. Taylor hit out with freedom after Roderick's dismissal, ending on 74 with 5 sixes as he chased runs alongside 9-10-Jack who contributed 1 between them.
This left Essex the simple task of chasing 93 to win, which they did without fuss or loss of a wicket on the fourth morning. There is no shame in losing away to as strong a side as Essex, especially given that the England skipper scored a hundred for them. We bowled and fielded well (as is usually the case), although Essex definitely out-caught us if you watch the videos below.
We don't want to get too downhearted after one game where the side was missing key performers- at least with the ball. The worry is we simply don't have enough batting depth. You can add in Will Tavare and later, Klinger but what else do we have in reserve? Bancroft will doubtless improve (he was apparently sawn off in the second innings) and you would hope Dent and Cockbain can produce big runs reasonably consistently. But if not, it looks like a long, hard championship season is in prospect.
It's not all bad, mind. Glos welcome Derbyshire to Bristol for our first home game on Sunday. They're not all that good and there's no Martin Guptill to butcher us this year. Sid Payne is back in an otherwise unchanged squad. Fingers crossed for some improvement in front of the home faithful at Nevill Road.
Day 1 highlights
Day 2 highlights
Day 3 highlights
Day 4 highlights
Scorecard
A new season and a familiar refrain to regular readers of the blog. Why do Gloucestershire's batsmen consistently fail to produce the goods after making a start, thus putting our (in this match hugely inexperienced) bowling attack under pressure?
Let's cut to the chase. Gloucestershire don't have a very good championship bowling attack these days. After the departure of James Fuller, you would think the best 4 bowlers are Miles, Payne Norwell and Jack Taylor. Miles and Payne were both unfit to play in this match, which left us with debutants Josh Shaw and Tom Hampton (4 f/c wickets between them coming in) alongside Norwell. Former Sussex seamer Chris Liddle didn't make the XI, but you would think he would be in contention most weeks, unless Dawson is thinking of him as most a white ball option.
Benny and Gourmet Burger can fill in with overs of seam, but you wouldn't ideally want to have to play them both, simply to add up to one functioning all rounder. Especially given that Essex have a strong and deep batting lineup with the likes of Graham Napier coming in at 9.
All this is to emphasise the critical importance of the batsmen scoring first innings runs. You could argue that 262 was about par for the first game of the season away to a stronger side. However, if you look at the card lots of people got starts without going on. Roderick anchored the innings with an unbeaten 88. He is exempt from our criticism for sure. Chris Dent lived up to our expectations by looking great in scoring 27, before dragging on chasing a wide half volley. Ian Cockbain also looked in good nick, hitting 5 boundaries in his 24, before being well held by Cook at first slip off Porter.
O'Mish remains a favourite culprit. Despite his advancing years, the Irishman is clearly capable of scoring quantities of runs in D2. He managed a handy 51 in this game, before departing to a trademark loose shot which was snapped up by a diving Jesse Ryder at backward point. Howell departed second ball and Gourmet -Burger rarely looks of championship quality as a batsman- although admittedly it took another great team catch at slip to dismiss him for 5.
This left Jack Taylor and the skipper to try and rebuild. Jack knuckled down and managed a handy 39 before being bowled by Napier, who then dismissed Shaw and Norwell in consecutive balls. Ultimately this left the skipper stranded 12 short of a deserved ton.
We were treated to more of the same in the second innings, having bowled really well to restrict Essex to 385 from 224-2 at one stage. Cameron Bancroft and Cockbain departed caught behind in Porter's first over, bringing Roderick in at 0-2. An inability to construct meaningful partnerships seems a feature of Glos' batting, with only 45 between Roderick and Howell and 65 between the skipper and Taylor worthy of mention. Taylor hit out with freedom after Roderick's dismissal, ending on 74 with 5 sixes as he chased runs alongside 9-10-Jack who contributed 1 between them.
This left Essex the simple task of chasing 93 to win, which they did without fuss or loss of a wicket on the fourth morning. There is no shame in losing away to as strong a side as Essex, especially given that the England skipper scored a hundred for them. We bowled and fielded well (as is usually the case), although Essex definitely out-caught us if you watch the videos below.
We don't want to get too downhearted after one game where the side was missing key performers- at least with the ball. The worry is we simply don't have enough batting depth. You can add in Will Tavare and later, Klinger but what else do we have in reserve? Bancroft will doubtless improve (he was apparently sawn off in the second innings) and you would hope Dent and Cockbain can produce big runs reasonably consistently. But if not, it looks like a long, hard championship season is in prospect.
It's not all bad, mind. Glos welcome Derbyshire to Bristol for our first home game on Sunday. They're not all that good and there's no Martin Guptill to butcher us this year. Sid Payne is back in an otherwise unchanged squad. Fingers crossed for some improvement in front of the home faithful at Nevill Road.
Day 1 highlights
Day 2 highlights
Day 3 highlights
Day 4 highlights
Wednesday, 19 August 2015
When did Dent and Tavare score these runs?
With nothing better to do on a Wednesday evening, the Jessop Tavern put the kettle on and settled down for good statistical analysis.
With 4 championship games of the season left it is quite possible that 3 of Gloucestershire's young batsmen could reach 1,000 runs for the season. Dent, Roderick and Tavare all have over 700 runs, which might not be setting the world on fire, but represents something in their young careers. Both Dent and Tavare have reached 1,000 runs before. Admittedly only once, but in the case of Tavare he has only played one full season, and in the case of Dent…..well, frankly he has the talent to be cruising to 1,000 runs every season and just never has. Roderick has never reached 4 figures in a year.
Tavare is 25, Dent, 24 and Roderick, 23. Could these three form the bedrock of a the Shire's batting for many years to come? And more importantly, when the hell did Dent and Tavare score these runs this year!
With 4 championship games of the season left it is quite possible that 3 of Gloucestershire's young batsmen could reach 1,000 runs for the season. Dent, Roderick and Tavare all have over 700 runs, which might not be setting the world on fire, but represents something in their young careers. Both Dent and Tavare have reached 1,000 runs before. Admittedly only once, but in the case of Tavare he has only played one full season, and in the case of Dent…..well, frankly he has the talent to be cruising to 1,000 runs every season and just never has. Roderick has never reached 4 figures in a year.
Tavare is 25, Dent, 24 and Roderick, 23. Could these three form the bedrock of a the Shire's batting for many years to come? And more importantly, when the hell did Dent and Tavare score these runs this year!
Wednesday, 29 April 2015
You know when you've been Guptill-ed
Day 3: Glos 275 and 253 - 6 v Derbyshire 545 - 9 dec.
The Jessop Tavern View was unable to post yesterday as they were still helping out the Glos ground staff retrieve the various balls that Martin Guptill had deposited into various areas of the Nevil Road area yesterday.
The Jessop Tavern View is confused as to when Martin Guptill became such a complete animal. His double hundred came in double quick time, which off the back of his world cup barbarism only helps whet the appetite for what he might do to Chris Jordan's medium pacers in the test series next month. In fairness, he was helped in no small part by Glos skipper Geraint Jones who proved that it isn't just when he has the gloves on that he can't catch. Glos again shelled catches left right and centre on day 2 to continue their circus juggling act from the first game of the season when they similarly couldn't catch a cold.
On day 3 Gloucestershire threatened to fight back with Will Tavare and Gareth Roderick both offering decent resistance before being unable to convert their starts into substantial innings. For both these batsmen the start to this season has been encouraging, but neither has made a telling contribution. Roderick now has four fifties in as many innings making him Gloucestershire's very own Shane Watson. Let's hope he breaks the shackles and brings home a big ton next time out.
Again the Shire's story of their first two games has been all about losing the crucial moments in games. At 118 for 1 and on a flattening wicket Glos had the opportunity to really start to frustrate Derby. Instead they lost 4 quick wickets to all but seal the deal. Late in the day Hamish O'Mish and the Gourmet Burger then proceeded to take Gloucestershire up to parity in the match and the Jessop Tavern was thinking, 'well, if these two get through to the close and then we can find 150 runs tomorrow morning it might make things a little bit interesting'.
However, no sooner had the thought formed then Gourmet Burger fell to a sneaky legside trap that presumably left Kieran Noema-Barnett feeling similar to when he is lulled into eating a Quorn burger by mistake. Thus O'Mish will now have to spend the night teaching our warren of rabbits which end of the bat to hold.
To be fair to Glos, take out Guptill's barbaric knock and this has been a very even contest. The Jessop Tavern is going to start a petition against anyone who has played international cricket in the last 3 years from being allowed to play in Division 2.
The Jessop Tavern View was unable to post yesterday as they were still helping out the Glos ground staff retrieve the various balls that Martin Guptill had deposited into various areas of the Nevil Road area yesterday.
The Jessop Tavern View is confused as to when Martin Guptill became such a complete animal. His double hundred came in double quick time, which off the back of his world cup barbarism only helps whet the appetite for what he might do to Chris Jordan's medium pacers in the test series next month. In fairness, he was helped in no small part by Glos skipper Geraint Jones who proved that it isn't just when he has the gloves on that he can't catch. Glos again shelled catches left right and centre on day 2 to continue their circus juggling act from the first game of the season when they similarly couldn't catch a cold.
On day 3 Gloucestershire threatened to fight back with Will Tavare and Gareth Roderick both offering decent resistance before being unable to convert their starts into substantial innings. For both these batsmen the start to this season has been encouraging, but neither has made a telling contribution. Roderick now has four fifties in as many innings making him Gloucestershire's very own Shane Watson. Let's hope he breaks the shackles and brings home a big ton next time out.
Again the Shire's story of their first two games has been all about losing the crucial moments in games. At 118 for 1 and on a flattening wicket Glos had the opportunity to really start to frustrate Derby. Instead they lost 4 quick wickets to all but seal the deal. Late in the day Hamish O'Mish and the Gourmet Burger then proceeded to take Gloucestershire up to parity in the match and the Jessop Tavern was thinking, 'well, if these two get through to the close and then we can find 150 runs tomorrow morning it might make things a little bit interesting'.
However, no sooner had the thought formed then Gourmet Burger fell to a sneaky legside trap that presumably left Kieran Noema-Barnett feeling similar to when he is lulled into eating a Quorn burger by mistake. Thus O'Mish will now have to spend the night teaching our warren of rabbits which end of the bat to hold.
To be fair to Glos, take out Guptill's barbaric knock and this has been a very even contest. The Jessop Tavern is going to start a petition against anyone who has played international cricket in the last 3 years from being allowed to play in Division 2.
Monday, 27 April 2015
Glos fail to seize the initiative
Day 1: Glos 275 v Derbyshire 24 - 0.
Having lost the toss in bowler friendly conditions Glos would probably have taken 275 from their first innings before play began yesterday.
However, having reached lunch on 104 for 2 and having done the hard work they will now been disappointed that no batsman managed to go on and produce a match defining score. Several of them had chances. Chris Dent swashbuckled a run a ball 22, Chris Tavare looked secure for 48 and Hamish O'Mish ground away for his 41. However, it will be the in-form Gareth Roderick who will be most frustrated. Three successive fifties in three county championship innings this season is an excellent return from your keeper, but batting at 3 Roderick will know that he now needs to start converting these scores into the dreaded Graham Gooch coined 'Daddy Hundred's'. Having reached 76, Roderick tamely gave his wicket away to a weak pull to midwicket and the innings never recovered.
Yet again Gloucestershires tail failed to provide any support. The last 6 wickets contributed only 48 runs. This follows on from the 0 for 4 effort that the tail managed in the first innings against Northants and will be a major cause of concern moving forward. James Fuller is an entertaining dasher, but he isn't a number 8 and Miles, Norwell and Taylor are three genuine number 11s (all be it Miles might have some potential) It is hard to know exactly how this needs to be addressed. Will Gidman would be the obvious answer.
Hopefully the pitch will continue to aid the seamers today and Glos can bowl themselves back into the contest. Given that the bowlers now need to perform, it was curious to see the Shire's best bowler, Craig Miles, not given the new ball and 3 overs late last night to try and strike an early blow in Derbyshire's innings.
Having lost the toss in bowler friendly conditions Glos would probably have taken 275 from their first innings before play began yesterday.
However, having reached lunch on 104 for 2 and having done the hard work they will now been disappointed that no batsman managed to go on and produce a match defining score. Several of them had chances. Chris Dent swashbuckled a run a ball 22, Chris Tavare looked secure for 48 and Hamish O'Mish ground away for his 41. However, it will be the in-form Gareth Roderick who will be most frustrated. Three successive fifties in three county championship innings this season is an excellent return from your keeper, but batting at 3 Roderick will know that he now needs to start converting these scores into the dreaded Graham Gooch coined 'Daddy Hundred's'. Having reached 76, Roderick tamely gave his wicket away to a weak pull to midwicket and the innings never recovered.
Yet again Gloucestershires tail failed to provide any support. The last 6 wickets contributed only 48 runs. This follows on from the 0 for 4 effort that the tail managed in the first innings against Northants and will be a major cause of concern moving forward. James Fuller is an entertaining dasher, but he isn't a number 8 and Miles, Norwell and Taylor are three genuine number 11s (all be it Miles might have some potential) It is hard to know exactly how this needs to be addressed. Will Gidman would be the obvious answer.
Hopefully the pitch will continue to aid the seamers today and Glos can bowl themselves back into the contest. Given that the bowlers now need to perform, it was curious to see the Shire's best bowler, Craig Miles, not given the new ball and 3 overs late last night to try and strike an early blow in Derbyshire's innings.
Sunday, 12 April 2015
Miles eases his way into a bucket load of wickets
Day 1: Northants 333 all out v Glos 18 - 0
On the opening day of the 2015 county championship, new Gloucestershire captain Geraint Jones decided to get an early look at exactly what sort of bowling attack he had to work with over the coming months. At the end of the day, he probably had a fair idea.
Craig Miles tore up the Northants batting for career best figures of 6-63, whilst the rest ran in manfully without quite so much penetration. If Miles can stay fit this summer then he will end the season with a bucket load of wickets now that Will Gidman is no longer around. Miles has been a top prospect for the last couple of years, yet injury problems have stopped him being inevitably snaffled by Somerset, meaning Glos fans should get at least one more good year from the young seamer. In order to get out of division 2 it is all about taking 20 wickets and the big question Glos will face this year is whether Miles can stay fit, and whether others can support him and take their share of wickets. Can '38' Fuller take 30 odd wickets? Can Norwell? Maybe Kieran Gourmet-Burger will be that man after taking 3 for 48 on a very handy debut.
It was also encouraging to see another perennial Gloucestershire injury concern, Gareth Roderick, take a club record-equalling 6 catches in an innings whilst not managing to break any fingers! A very encouraging start for another key Glos player this year.
Having reduced Northants to 162 for 6 you would imagine Gloucestershire's new hierarchy would be slightly disappointed at the end of day 1. However, bat well over the next couple of days, and Glos can set themselves up for a solid start to the season. How the new-look Glos batting line-up fares will be interesting to see. Is James Fuller really good enough to bat at 8?
On a side note. The Jessop Tavern View definitely raised a smile at seeing old boy Alex Gidman trapped lbw to Tim Bresnan for not many on his Worcestershire debut. Fans at New Road should get themselves ready for a lot more of watching that leaden front foot planted and the ball cannoning into it!
For video highlights from Day 1, click the link below:
http://www.ecbtv.co.uk/video/i/4634569/title/northamptonshire-v-gloucestershire-day-1
Update- Northants have finally put the Day 1 highlights up on YouTube:
On the opening day of the 2015 county championship, new Gloucestershire captain Geraint Jones decided to get an early look at exactly what sort of bowling attack he had to work with over the coming months. At the end of the day, he probably had a fair idea.
Craig Miles tore up the Northants batting for career best figures of 6-63, whilst the rest ran in manfully without quite so much penetration. If Miles can stay fit this summer then he will end the season with a bucket load of wickets now that Will Gidman is no longer around. Miles has been a top prospect for the last couple of years, yet injury problems have stopped him being inevitably snaffled by Somerset, meaning Glos fans should get at least one more good year from the young seamer. In order to get out of division 2 it is all about taking 20 wickets and the big question Glos will face this year is whether Miles can stay fit, and whether others can support him and take their share of wickets. Can '38' Fuller take 30 odd wickets? Can Norwell? Maybe Kieran Gourmet-Burger will be that man after taking 3 for 48 on a very handy debut.
It was also encouraging to see another perennial Gloucestershire injury concern, Gareth Roderick, take a club record-equalling 6 catches in an innings whilst not managing to break any fingers! A very encouraging start for another key Glos player this year.
Having reduced Northants to 162 for 6 you would imagine Gloucestershire's new hierarchy would be slightly disappointed at the end of day 1. However, bat well over the next couple of days, and Glos can set themselves up for a solid start to the season. How the new-look Glos batting line-up fares will be interesting to see. Is James Fuller really good enough to bat at 8?
On a side note. The Jessop Tavern View definitely raised a smile at seeing old boy Alex Gidman trapped lbw to Tim Bresnan for not many on his Worcestershire debut. Fans at New Road should get themselves ready for a lot more of watching that leaden front foot planted and the ball cannoning into it!
For video highlights from Day 1, click the link below:
http://www.ecbtv.co.uk/video/i/4634569/title/northamptonshire-v-gloucestershire-day-1
Update- Northants have finally put the Day 1 highlights up on YouTube:
Sunday, 25 May 2014
Glos 'blast' to victory against Middlesex
Gloucestershire 113 for 5 beat Middlesex 111 for 8 (Norwell 3-27, Fuller 3-29) by five wickets
The Jessop Tavern View can always be counted on to talk up any Glos victory. As such, we're delighted to report that Glos eased to a five wicket victory in our home t20 Blast opener on Friday. However, having watched Middlesex put in two terrible performances in a televised double-header at Lords last Saturday, we have to say that the win wasn't unexpected.
Last week, we bemoaned the lack of batting firepower in the Glos side. Our concerns remain, despite this comfortable win. Maxi Klinger again fell cheaply and badly needs a score to kick start his season. Losing 5 wickets in chasing just 112 for victory indicates a fairly mediocre standard of cricket being played by both sides.
Perhaps the more exciting news of the past few days is the loan signing of Geraint 'Irongloves' Jones as cover for the fragile digits of Gareth Roderick. This is an intriguing, if stopgap measure, designed to relieve some of the pressure on youngster Cam Herring while Roderick is unavailable for the next 6 weeks.
Jones has lost his place as Kent's keeper to youngster Sam Billings, after 13 seasons wearing the gloves. He's clearly past his best, but hopefully not in a Jon Batty kind of way and he surely can't do too much harm in 4 weeks. King John has indicated that he will be asked to mentor Herring,who is already a very good keeper from what we've seen, but less assured with the bat at this early stage of his career.
Jones is straight into the squad for today's LVCC match at Derby, which has thus far been delayed by rain and begins a 12 day stretch of matches on the road, including Derbyshire and Leicestershire in the championship and 220 Blasts v Kent and Sussex. Jones will be unable to feature against his parent club Kent, which might prove a good opportunity to assess whether he has passed on anything positive to young Herring. We're hoping he sticks to offering batting advice, rather than explaining how he managed to do this last season.
Match highlights:
The Jessop Tavern View can always be counted on to talk up any Glos victory. As such, we're delighted to report that Glos eased to a five wicket victory in our home t20 Blast opener on Friday. However, having watched Middlesex put in two terrible performances in a televised double-header at Lords last Saturday, we have to say that the win wasn't unexpected.
Last week, we bemoaned the lack of batting firepower in the Glos side. Our concerns remain, despite this comfortable win. Maxi Klinger again fell cheaply and badly needs a score to kick start his season. Losing 5 wickets in chasing just 112 for victory indicates a fairly mediocre standard of cricket being played by both sides.
Perhaps the more exciting news of the past few days is the loan signing of Geraint 'Irongloves' Jones as cover for the fragile digits of Gareth Roderick. This is an intriguing, if stopgap measure, designed to relieve some of the pressure on youngster Cam Herring while Roderick is unavailable for the next 6 weeks.
Jones has lost his place as Kent's keeper to youngster Sam Billings, after 13 seasons wearing the gloves. He's clearly past his best, but hopefully not in a Jon Batty kind of way and he surely can't do too much harm in 4 weeks. King John has indicated that he will be asked to mentor Herring,who is already a very good keeper from what we've seen, but less assured with the bat at this early stage of his career.
Jones is straight into the squad for today's LVCC match at Derby, which has thus far been delayed by rain and begins a 12 day stretch of matches on the road, including Derbyshire and Leicestershire in the championship and 220 Blasts v Kent and Sussex. Jones will be unable to feature against his parent club Kent, which might prove a good opportunity to assess whether he has passed on anything positive to young Herring. We're hoping he sticks to offering batting advice, rather than explaining how he managed to do this last season.
Match highlights:
Wednesday, 21 May 2014
On declarations, rain forecasts and overdue first wins of the season
Gloucestershire 252 (Roderick 59, Riley 3-51) and 443 for 6 dec. (Marshall 118, Stevens 5-87) beat Kent 114 (W Gidman 4-14, Fuller 4-32) and 291 (Harmison 125) by 290 runs
The Jessop Tavern View is delighted to report that the boys wrapped up a deserved first LVCC victory of the season before lunch today at Bristol.
We were thinking of making some snide comments about being lucky that the 'delayed' declaration yesterday didn't lead to the match being affected by the forecast rain, as mentioned by quite a few folk on Twitter and the BBC radio commentary team yesterday. Upon giving it more thought, however, we've decided that Captain Klinger was just supremely confident that we would bowl them out in plenty of time, regardless of the potential for rain today.
There's a definitely a case to be made that, having witnessed Kent slump to 2/4 and 17-5 on Day 1, King John and the brains trust was simply well aware that Kent's batting line-up was pretty useless and unlikely to survive for more than a day, having been set such a huge target. On a fairly blameless pitch according to the players, we managed to score almost 450 in our second innings and yet Kent twice failed to top 300 in an innings, despite Ben Harmison's battling century (incidentally, his 3rd championship ton v the 'shire).
All in all, this was a bloody good performance from Glos, and as the skipper pointed out on the official site link above, a victory we had really earned after been denied by the weather against Glamorgan last month. You could also add that we were unlucky to lose to a trademark Graeme Smith 4th innings special v Surrey last week.There are a few negatives to flag up though. The first innings batting was under par, albeit somewhat obscured by the fairly pathetic effort from Kent. We suffered another tough break, as talented keeper-batsman Gareth (Matthew B)roderick re-broke the same finger which kept him out earlier in the year. We will be without him for 6 weeks and will miss both his runs and athletic keeping at a crucial time of the season.
The bowling cupboard is also pretty threadbare, with Payne and the Sax remaining unfit and Craig Miles still a couple of weeks away from a return.
It seems a shame to end on a moan, but a couple of old gripes continue to rile the Jessop Tavern View. The club is still not getting its communications strategy right. We've heard very little on Saxelby's injury status until a brief mention today and have been reduced to haranguing the @gloscricket Twitter feed for information, to little effect.
Also, the video highlights we try to post at the end of each day's play invariably come courtesy of the oppositions Youtube page or the ECB site. Glos seem unwilling to explain why they have yet to cough up to make access available to video footage from our matches. If almost all the other first class counties can do this, surely the least loyal fans can expect is for the county to update their YouTube page or the official site with match highlights which are available on a daily basis.
We are aware we aren't exactly flush with cash compared to the Surreys of this world. Getting your website updated with relevant news and actually interacting with the fans on Twitter and other social sites isn't rocket science, especially when the new Chief Exec comes from a marketing background.
Rant over. Good win. Let's build on it and actually hit some boundaries in Friday's t20 clash with fellow weaklings Middlesex.
Video highlights from the rest of the match:
Day 3
Day 4
The Jessop Tavern View is delighted to report that the boys wrapped up a deserved first LVCC victory of the season before lunch today at Bristol.
We were thinking of making some snide comments about being lucky that the 'delayed' declaration yesterday didn't lead to the match being affected by the forecast rain, as mentioned by quite a few folk on Twitter and the BBC radio commentary team yesterday. Upon giving it more thought, however, we've decided that Captain Klinger was just supremely confident that we would bowl them out in plenty of time, regardless of the potential for rain today.
There's a definitely a case to be made that, having witnessed Kent slump to 2/4 and 17-5 on Day 1, King John and the brains trust was simply well aware that Kent's batting line-up was pretty useless and unlikely to survive for more than a day, having been set such a huge target. On a fairly blameless pitch according to the players, we managed to score almost 450 in our second innings and yet Kent twice failed to top 300 in an innings, despite Ben Harmison's battling century (incidentally, his 3rd championship ton v the 'shire).
All in all, this was a bloody good performance from Glos, and as the skipper pointed out on the official site link above, a victory we had really earned after been denied by the weather against Glamorgan last month. You could also add that we were unlucky to lose to a trademark Graeme Smith 4th innings special v Surrey last week.There are a few negatives to flag up though. The first innings batting was under par, albeit somewhat obscured by the fairly pathetic effort from Kent. We suffered another tough break, as talented keeper-batsman Gareth (Matthew B)roderick re-broke the same finger which kept him out earlier in the year. We will be without him for 6 weeks and will miss both his runs and athletic keeping at a crucial time of the season.
The bowling cupboard is also pretty threadbare, with Payne and the Sax remaining unfit and Craig Miles still a couple of weeks away from a return.
It seems a shame to end on a moan, but a couple of old gripes continue to rile the Jessop Tavern View. The club is still not getting its communications strategy right. We've heard very little on Saxelby's injury status until a brief mention today and have been reduced to haranguing the @gloscricket Twitter feed for information, to little effect.
Also, the video highlights we try to post at the end of each day's play invariably come courtesy of the oppositions Youtube page or the ECB site. Glos seem unwilling to explain why they have yet to cough up to make access available to video footage from our matches. If almost all the other first class counties can do this, surely the least loyal fans can expect is for the county to update their YouTube page or the official site with match highlights which are available on a daily basis.
We are aware we aren't exactly flush with cash compared to the Surreys of this world. Getting your website updated with relevant news and actually interacting with the fans on Twitter and other social sites isn't rocket science, especially when the new Chief Exec comes from a marketing background.
Rant over. Good win. Let's build on it and actually hit some boundaries in Friday's t20 clash with fellow weaklings Middlesex.
Video highlights from the rest of the match:
Day 3
Day 4
Sunday, 25 August 2013
Rain grants Glos 3 extra points in promotion push
Result: Glos drew with Kent.
A combination of rain, Gareth Roderick and some plucky rearguard defence from the tail saw Gloucestershire home to a vital draw in this highly contrived version of a game that bore some relation to cricket, but was a couple of cans short of being a proper cricketing 6 pack.
Declaring their first innings on 80, then allowing Kent to declare on 4 in their second innings, thus leaving Glos to chase 399 to win, all based on an apocalyptic weather forecast. Like we said, something like a game of cricket, but not quite an actual game of cricket.
In chasing their target Glos made a complete pigs-ear of it, managing to reduce themselves to 41 for 4 and 138 for 6. At this point only Roderick and the tail stood between Kent and only their second win of the season (win number one came against Glos at Cheltenham in a similarly contrived match) Coming into the match, 21 year old Saffer-born keeper Roderick had 280 runs at an average in the low 30s. Reasonable enough stats that were clearly backed up with enough promise for him to have been given a go at batting at number 3, something he didn't exactly look at ease with. Roderick batted with great patience to compile his maiden first class hundred in 5 hours. If Roderick can finish the season strongly then the Gloucestershire wicketkeeping gloves should be his for the foreseeable future.
Credit must also go to Tom Smith who batted for almost two hours for his 32. David Payne, Craig Miles and Liam Norwell all did their bit to help Roderick carry the game over into a fourth day.
And then came the rain.
All of Roderick's hard work, combined with the rain actually mean diddly-squat. Glos gain 3 extra points than if they had lost. Gloucestershire are now 32 points adrift of the promotion spots and sit 4th in the table, a point behind Essex who we play on Wednesday. Realistically promotion looks a tough bet, and would probably require us to win all 4 of our remaining fixtures, including against table topping, and unbeaten, Lancashire. If Glos could cement 4th in the table, the Jessop Tavern would be mighty chuffed.
Video highlights from Day 3 below:
A combination of rain, Gareth Roderick and some plucky rearguard defence from the tail saw Gloucestershire home to a vital draw in this highly contrived version of a game that bore some relation to cricket, but was a couple of cans short of being a proper cricketing 6 pack.
Declaring their first innings on 80, then allowing Kent to declare on 4 in their second innings, thus leaving Glos to chase 399 to win, all based on an apocalyptic weather forecast. Like we said, something like a game of cricket, but not quite an actual game of cricket.
In chasing their target Glos made a complete pigs-ear of it, managing to reduce themselves to 41 for 4 and 138 for 6. At this point only Roderick and the tail stood between Kent and only their second win of the season (win number one came against Glos at Cheltenham in a similarly contrived match) Coming into the match, 21 year old Saffer-born keeper Roderick had 280 runs at an average in the low 30s. Reasonable enough stats that were clearly backed up with enough promise for him to have been given a go at batting at number 3, something he didn't exactly look at ease with. Roderick batted with great patience to compile his maiden first class hundred in 5 hours. If Roderick can finish the season strongly then the Gloucestershire wicketkeeping gloves should be his for the foreseeable future.
Credit must also go to Tom Smith who batted for almost two hours for his 32. David Payne, Craig Miles and Liam Norwell all did their bit to help Roderick carry the game over into a fourth day.
And then came the rain.
All of Roderick's hard work, combined with the rain actually mean diddly-squat. Glos gain 3 extra points than if they had lost. Gloucestershire are now 32 points adrift of the promotion spots and sit 4th in the table, a point behind Essex who we play on Wednesday. Realistically promotion looks a tough bet, and would probably require us to win all 4 of our remaining fixtures, including against table topping, and unbeaten, Lancashire. If Glos could cement 4th in the table, the Jessop Tavern would be mighty chuffed.
Video highlights from Day 3 below:
Wednesday, 29 May 2013
Match Preview: Glos V Lancashire
Gloucestershire head to the land of thieves desperately hoping to steal some much-needed points against a Lancashire team hoping for a quick return to the first division.
Gloucestershire's chances have been dealt a serious blow with the news that neither Ian Saxelby or Will Gidman will be available due to shoulder and ankle problems respectively. Given how Gloucestershire's young attack suffered last week against Worcestershire without either of its two most experienced and consistent performers, some serious questions will now be asked of the likes of James Fuller and Liam Norwell who find themselves leading the attack.
Lancashire's batting lineup also contains two test 'superstars' in Simon Katich, and Scouse African, Ashwell Prince. Help yourselves boys.
Gloucestershire look likely to stick with the same side that got wholloped last week. This means that Gareth Roderick keeps his place behind the stumps after an impressive debut (naturally, we have no word on whether Cameron Herring was available for selection or not). Ed Young or Graeme McCarter will compete for the final bowling spot after Jack Taylor was suspended for being a chucker.
The Jessop Tavern reckons that unless the batsmen can put together a performance as a unit, this game could be over pretty quickly.
Gloucestershire's chances have been dealt a serious blow with the news that neither Ian Saxelby or Will Gidman will be available due to shoulder and ankle problems respectively. Given how Gloucestershire's young attack suffered last week against Worcestershire without either of its two most experienced and consistent performers, some serious questions will now be asked of the likes of James Fuller and Liam Norwell who find themselves leading the attack.
Lancashire's batting lineup also contains two test 'superstars' in Simon Katich, and Scouse African, Ashwell Prince. Help yourselves boys.
Gloucestershire look likely to stick with the same side that got wholloped last week. This means that Gareth Roderick keeps his place behind the stumps after an impressive debut (naturally, we have no word on whether Cameron Herring was available for selection or not). Ed Young or Graeme McCarter will compete for the final bowling spot after Jack Taylor was suspended for being a chucker.
The Jessop Tavern reckons that unless the batsmen can put together a performance as a unit, this game could be over pretty quickly.
Sunday, 26 May 2013
Anyone else fed up with 'encouraging performance'?
Day 4; Worcs beat Glos by 10 wickets.
The writing was so obviously on the wall for this one that the Jessop Tavern feels that most Gloucester fans hardly need us to comment.
2013 continues to be an up and down season for the Shire who are still struggling to shake off the tag of being a young team still learning their trade and displaying "lots of positives".
We can start with the positives. Debutant wicketkeeper Gareth Roderick translated his excellent 2nd XI form into runs for the first team and thus has posed an interesting selection problem when previous gloveman Cameron Herring recovers from conjunctivitis. Roderick scored a backs to the wall 79 not out to lend an element of respectability to the final score. After the 'Jon Batty years', having two young stumpers battling it out is a most welcome change. Craig Miles also returned figures of 6 for 99 to underline his potential. He also contributed to a 9th wicket stand of 48 with Roderick.
Sadly though Glos yet again find themselves putting forward encouraging performances by youngsters to mask what was a comprehensive hammering by Worcestershire.
Shorn of Will Gidman and Ian Saxelby the bowling attack really failed to step up to the mark. For all Craig miles' 6 wickets, sadly 260 runs were on the board before he opened his account. Both James Fuller and Liam Norwell returned respectable figures, but neither led the attack. With David Payne struggling for form it is to be hoped that both Gidman and Saxelby are back from injury soon. Jack Taylor performed an admirable impression of Ed Young, failing to take a wicket whilst leaking runs at almost 5 an over.
With the experience in this Gloucestershire side residing solely in the batting department it is disappointing that no batsman contributed a significant score. But hey, we've moaned about this before so why should we be surprised. Glos can probably consider themselves a little bit unlucky to have run into Alan Richardson on devastating form but enough Gloucester batsmen got starts that someone should have gone on (that's you Gidders; not as easy as milking hundreds from the students, eh?!)
Before this season started King John was trumpeting about how youth and inexperience were no longer acceptable excuses. It would therefore be nice to not have to keep writing about 'encouraging performances' from young players. Whether theses youngsters are ready to make the step up from 'encouraging performers' to week-in, week-out performers remains to be seen.
The writing was so obviously on the wall for this one that the Jessop Tavern feels that most Gloucester fans hardly need us to comment.
2013 continues to be an up and down season for the Shire who are still struggling to shake off the tag of being a young team still learning their trade and displaying "lots of positives".
We can start with the positives. Debutant wicketkeeper Gareth Roderick translated his excellent 2nd XI form into runs for the first team and thus has posed an interesting selection problem when previous gloveman Cameron Herring recovers from conjunctivitis. Roderick scored a backs to the wall 79 not out to lend an element of respectability to the final score. After the 'Jon Batty years', having two young stumpers battling it out is a most welcome change. Craig Miles also returned figures of 6 for 99 to underline his potential. He also contributed to a 9th wicket stand of 48 with Roderick.
Sadly though Glos yet again find themselves putting forward encouraging performances by youngsters to mask what was a comprehensive hammering by Worcestershire.
Shorn of Will Gidman and Ian Saxelby the bowling attack really failed to step up to the mark. For all Craig miles' 6 wickets, sadly 260 runs were on the board before he opened his account. Both James Fuller and Liam Norwell returned respectable figures, but neither led the attack. With David Payne struggling for form it is to be hoped that both Gidman and Saxelby are back from injury soon. Jack Taylor performed an admirable impression of Ed Young, failing to take a wicket whilst leaking runs at almost 5 an over.
With the experience in this Gloucestershire side residing solely in the batting department it is disappointing that no batsman contributed a significant score. But hey, we've moaned about this before so why should we be surprised. Glos can probably consider themselves a little bit unlucky to have run into Alan Richardson on devastating form but enough Gloucester batsmen got starts that someone should have gone on (that's you Gidders; not as easy as milking hundreds from the students, eh?!)
Before this season started King John was trumpeting about how youth and inexperience were no longer acceptable excuses. It would therefore be nice to not have to keep writing about 'encouraging performances' from young players. Whether theses youngsters are ready to make the step up from 'encouraging performers' to week-in, week-out performers remains to be seen.
Wednesday, 10 April 2013
Season preview: The only way is up, up, up.....
We're sure we are not the only ones, but with the weather still freezing, we're not exactly in the mood for the start of the county championship. still, we are nothing if not professional so we'll grit our teeth, fire up the heating, and have a think about what we might expect from Gloucestershire this year.
We still feel that last year's wooden spoon wasn't quite as terrible as it would appear on paper, and that there were definitely enough positives, or perhaps more accurately, glimpses of positives, for us to move towards the 2013 season with a little bit of optimism.
The only major new signing has been the appointment of Aussie Michael Klinger as captain. Klinger doesn't exactly come in on a wave of great form, his 330 runs at an average of 19 during the recent Australian season is a slight worry. His one day average of 42 suggests his preferred format, and also points towards where Gloucestershire's focus is for this season. Still, he represents an experienced new face, and whilst he isn't in the class of Kane Williamson he fills the troublesome openers berth.
Other than that, what would represent success for Gloucestershire?
Promotion will of course be talked about, and whilst this is a fairly obvious goal it would be nice if Gloucestershire could at least be in the mix come the final month of the season. The squad looks painfully thin, and only an injury free season would really allow the Shire to seriously push for promotion. As already mentioned, the signing of Michael Klinger probably means that our main focus will be on the one day competitions. Last year saw the green shoots of recovery in both the t20 and the 50 over competition. The signing of t20 specialist Dan Christian will provide the batting firepower that has been lacking in the past few years.
On paper, Gloucestershire's strength would appear to be in the batting. Klinger, older Gidman and O'Mish should all be targeting 1,000 runs. Chris Dent, Dan Housego and Ian Cockbain will all be looking to break away from their 'promising' tags and really put down a marker that they are real players of substance. Last year only one Gloucestershire batsman posted more than a solitary hundred. That man was Kane Williamson.
The bowling again appears to be a worry. The continual injury woes of Ian Saxelby puts into doubt exactly where the wickets will come from. Saxelby and Will Gidman have been consistent performers for Glos over the last two seasons. They are backed up by Liam Norwell, David Payne and James '38' Fuller. All three of them have shown promise. The question is, can one of these make the next step and become a 40 wicket a season bowler? One of them will need to. We are going to ignore the spin option. Let's just say that the Nevil Road groundsman won't be digging out the short blade on the mower and he can leave the rake at the back of the shed.
Who keeps wicket is anyone's guess. Richard Coughtrie's lack of runs seemed to see him fall from favour at the end of last season. The door is therefore wide open for youngsters Cameron Herring and Gareth Roderick. Lets just praise the Lord that it won't be Jon Batty.
King John has repeatedly made clear that it is no longer acceptable for the team to hide behind the 'inexperienced' tag. Whilst this remains a young squad, all of the youngsters now have a good two seasons behind them. If these young guns are to be the future of Gloucestershire cricket then it is time for them to stand up and be counted.
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