Mid-season lethargy

The Jessop Tavern View has been busy. Busy grafting at the day job, working for the man and putting our noses to the grindstone for the past 3 weeks. Hence the lack of posts. We make no apologies for devoting ourselves to paying the bills and putting food on the table for ourselves....

Hang on a minute, we have just noticed that the previous post date is Wednesday, June 11th. The day before the World cup began. Could this possibly explain the radio silence over the last few weeks? We're going to hold our hands up and admit it- yes we've been distracted by FIFA's quadrennial football-fest. Couple this with simultaneously becoming disillusioned by Gloucestershire's lacklustre form in both forms of the game at the moment and there's our excuse covered.

So, what's been happening in our absence? Let's start with the good stuff.

Gloucestershire 112 (Dunn 4-37) and 506 for 6 (Cockbain 151*, Klinger 120) drew with Surrey 626 for 6 dec. (Burns 199, Solanki 143, Roy 121*)

Despite our prediction of defeat after Day 3 of this game, a great rearguard action saw us hang on for a miraculous draw. Ian Cockbain's career-best 151*, compiled over almost 9 painstaking hours and Tom Smith's unlikely 80 meant we lost only 1 wicket on the final day.

Essex 163 for 2 (Bopara 66*, Westley 55*) beat Gloucestershire 162 for 6 (Marshall 74, Masters 2-17) by eight wickets 
Hampshire 180 for 6 (Adams 69*) beat Gloucestershire 178 for 8 (Howell 50, Smith 3-26) by two runs

We then lost back to back t20 matches in different fashion. First, we were stuffed by a Ravi Bopara-inspired Essex. Then we were very unlucky not to chase down 181 for victory against Hampshire. We suffered a trademark batting collapse after Maxi and Gidders (A.) got us off to a flyer, but some late fireworks from Benny the Frenchman took us close, but no cigar.

Gloucestershire 391 (Marshall 109, Tavare 77, Cockbain 51, Hogan 4-57) and 165 for 5 (Gidman 47*) drew with Glamorgan 615 for 7 (Wright 123, Rudolph 139, Smith 57*, Allenby 57, Cooke 52)

Back to the Championship and another draw snatched from the jaws of defeat, this time courtesy of a gritty Will Tavare knock of 41, which ate up over 3 hours in a style his uncle Chris would doubtless have approved of. Skipper Klinger missed the match with a broken toe and stand-in skipper O'Mish struck his second ton of the year in our first innings. The game also featured yet another injury to a keeper, with Cam Herring's finger this time causing the issue, necessitating a debut for 17 year old Patrick Grieshaber from the Glos Academy.

Back to the t20, for another two matches against Middlesex (no result, rain) and Kent (thrilling final ball win). The most notable feature of these two games was the encouraging debut of loan keeper Adam Rouse, whose unbeaten 35 from 16 balls, including 3 fours in the last over, guided us to a tight victory against Kent.

Essex 541 (Bopara 147, Ryder 133, Westley 71, Browne 65, Taylor 4-125) and 10 for 0 beat Gloucestershire 224 (Topley 5-53, Masters 4-67) and 325 (Gidman 53, Rouse 49, Ryder 3-43) by 10 wickets

The less said about this next game, the better. Quick summary, bat first, under perform. Concede a stack of runs, again to Bopara and also Jesse Ryder. Again fight hard in second dig, but inevitably get bowled out and they knock off the 10 needed for a crushing win.

Gloucestershire 138 for 7 (Cockbain 52) beat Sussex 125 (Taylor 3-12) by 13 runs

Finally, another t20 win versus Sussex, this time televised and thus one of the first times we've watched Glos live this season. Another good knock by Ian Cockbain (arguably one of our players of the season so far) saw us post 138 after the match was reduced to 15 overs per side. We bowled and fielded well in poor light to bowl out Sussex for 125 and keep our hopes of a QF place alive. Sadly, the 2 point penalty we incurred for last season's dodgy pitch seems like it could possibly cost us that place unless our remaining 4 matches in the group stage go to plan.

Right, that's it for now. It's time to focus on football for another week today's LVCC match v Hampshire at the Rose Bowl for the next few days, before a crucial t20 derby v Somerset on Fridfay, then the Cheltenham festival starts next week. Feeling fatigued yet?

Glos begin CB40 season with 3 wicket win over Glamorgan

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

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

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

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

We hate to say we told you so

Day 4: Glamorgan 202 & 370 for 9 dec beat Gloucestershire 183 and 195 by 189 runs.

Points: Glamorgan 20, Glos 3.

Well, we did say that batting 4 sessions to save a match would be difficult....

It's hard to know exactly what to make of this defeat. Obviously it is extremely disappointing to have got ourselves into a position this morning from which we probably should have got the draw. However, there isn't too much shame in being blown away by the second new ball and some very sharp fielding from Glamorgan (the run out of Coughtrie, backing up too far at the non strikers end, was brilliant work). Then again we did lose our final 6 wickets for 31. But the top order did show some fight and we were handicapped by having one of our batsmen unable to bat. But the pitch was pretty lifeless and Glamorgan's Charlie Wagg was pretty much unable to bowl in the entire match. You see what I mean. It is hard to know exactly what to make of this particular loss. Although, having said that, perhaps I am just comparing this defeat to that suffered in Cardiff last year.

Again we have seen enough from the youngsters (Saxelby's 5 for, Cockbain again showing genuine potential) to feel that the investment in youth this season could well be worth it. We need to make sure that we give these kids enough time and a consistent run in the team. We also need to factor in that, as much as the batting display here was inadequate, we do have O'Mish and Williamson to come in to this team and add quality to the batting. Just a cheeky question, but if Taylor continues his form from the second innings, what happens to the skipper when it comes to making room for the two kiwis? (sorry, Irishman and a kiwi)

The Jessop Tavern View therefore remains upbeat. The kids are alright, and heck, at least we're not Somerset!

Uphill task for Gloucestershire to avoid defeat

Day 3: Gloucestershire 188 and 42 for 0 (Cockbain 33*, Coughtrie 7*) v Glamorgan 202 and 370 for 9 dec. (Rees 68, Allenby 63, Gidman 3-49)

I'm sure some of you reading this will think my headline unduly negative after a reasonable performance so far from the boys. I prefer to think of it as realistic. The equation is simple, bat for the whole day and save the game. The pitch is flat and the bowling attack not terrifying. However, as the Glos la la la blog points out, we failed miserably to do this last year and only just managed it the year before.

This is the kind of position where a good side will come away with a comfortable draw, or even a win if they have a Sehwag or a Spearman to create some fireworks. I fear that Richard Coughtrie is not that man. 7 not out from 69 balls faced reminds you of the little kid at school who had a good technique but was so weak he could barely get if off the square. At least he is still there. Encouraging signs though from Ian Cockbain, who showed some scouse grit to end the day 33 not out. Do we have enough batting? I fear not, especially with Dent injured. The ball is already 25 overs old however, and if the openers could bat through the majority of the first session then who knows?

The x-factor may well be vastly experienced left-arm spinner Dean Cosker. I can't see him being as toothless as Vikram Banerjee proved today. His 8 overs so far in the second innings have seen 7 maidens. He also managed 26 not out with the bat, which doesn't say much about the Glos bowling efforts, but the pitch is said to be pretty lifeless.

By the end of tomorrow we will have learnt quite a bit more about this Gloucestershire side. Regardless as to how flat the pitch, and to how straight forward the guys at Glos la la la seem to think it should be, batting out 4 sessions, with victory unlikely, is psychologically a difficult thing to do, especially with only 10 men. It will be another test of the character of this side. Just as encouraging as the various promising performances from the young guns has been the sign of some fight in the Gloucester ranks. The sort of fight that means that you don't just roll over and be bowled out for 162. The sort of fight that hasn't been seen in a Gloucestershire side in many a long year. It's the one thing that us fans can't stand. Losing is one thing. Going down without a fight is another thing altogther.

All to play for tomorrow then. Fingers crossed for some grit and application, as opposed to a flurry of strokes and all over by lunch.

The teletext roller coaster

Day 2: Glamorgan 202 & 185 - 3 v Gloucestershire 188

As somebody who does not work in front of a computer, or use a modern mobile phone, following the Shire during the week is all about taking whatever opportunities come your way to grab the latest score. I can usually rely on a few text messages throughout the day, more if we are winning or doing despicably badly. Other than that my main source of score updates is teletext. I'm sure we have all been there. Sat watching the screen update for hours on end to track how are team are doing. The tension as a close game reaches its conclusion is only heightened by watching the game on teletext. Yesterday's topsy turvy second day of play at Cardiff provided a roller coaster of emotions transmitted via the wonderful teletext.

With such a young team days like yesterday are going to be all too frequent. In fact days like yesterday and the day before. Winning positions will quickly be squandered. Fightbacks will be wastefully thrown away.

Yesterday's fightback saw the Sperm donor continued his late career charge into allrounder territory (hey, this is only division 2!) and Banerjee made a very handy contribution to get us back in the game. Glos la la la described Banerjee's knock as his 'second greatest first class innings' which begs the question of what the guys writing the blog get up to in their spare time. Do they really have a list of Vikram Banerjee's top ten first class knocks? Something tells me that there are county cricket supporters who might have.

Trailing by 14 runs we are now basically in a one innings game. Disappointingly the bowling was unable to fire and runs flowed to such an extent that by the end of the days play it seems that only a proper collapse can give Gloucestershire a chance. I wouldn't fancy us chasing more than 250 with 10 men. That said, the great thing about the low quality of county cricket is that collapses of this nature are almost common enough to be the norm!

We shouldn't get too down on Norwell and Saxelby. They will be well aware that they need to become more economical. That it is not always possible to bowl wicket taking deliveries and sometimes line and length and drying up the runs is what is needed. Translating this to the middle will be the difficult part, but lets give them time.

Meanwhile, it has been revealed that Chris Dent has had a double fracture and dislocation to his little finger. This raises the question of who will open the batting for the 6 weeks (minimum) that he will be out. Will Coughtrie be trusted? Could O'Mish or Williamson (when he is not instructing in the gym)? Or could, and take a deep breath everyone, Jon Batty return up the order? If this last scenario should occur it will again raise the question from last year as to whether Glos would be better off opening with only one batsman?

Alternatively, does anyone know Kadreary's number?

Familiar batting frailties undermine Glos bowling effort

Day 1: Glamorgan 202 v Gloucestershire 76 - 5. Oh dear.

Fifteen wickets falling on the opening day of a County Championship match? Time to call in the ECB pitch inspectors? No, just crap batting on a typical first day of a match involving Gloucestershire.

Glamorgan had already won the toss and lost their first wicket by the time I fired up Glos Cricket Radio. It's always encouraging when the opposition win the toss and bat, then end up 26-4! We managed to reduce them to 54-6 and for a moment were looking like bowling them out for a double figure score. However, a partnership of 138 in 22 overs between Ben Wright and former 'Colombian marching powder' fan Graham Wagg put them back on track. We eventually bowled them out for 202, with Ian Saxelby's shoulder remaining in its socket for long enough for him to take a career-best 5-53. Jon Lewis also took 3-40, all LBW and was the only bowler to go at less than 3.5 per over.

This looked rather a good score as the Gloucestershire innings got under way and we were swiftly reduced to 49-4 by some good seam bowling from James Harris and Adam Shantry. Chris Dent has yet to bat, cue speculation in the comments of the Guardian County live blog that we were messing around with the batting order and not showing faith in Chris Dent, despite opening with him last week. It turned out that he dislocated his little finger on his right hand, plus has a double fracture to the finger and will be out for several weeks. This is a blow and we could well be following on tomorrow without his runs. The innings closed with the 'Shire in big trouble at 76-5 with Gidders MKII and Saxelby at the crease.

Hard work will be required tomorrow to avoid a sizeable first innings deficit and a likely pumping from a Glamorgan side out to avenge a stuffing from Leicestershire last week. The only plus point for my co-blogger, who enquired after the score earlier this evening, was that Crofty is not playing and thus cannot spin us to defeat in the second innings.

Preview: Glamorgan v Gloucestershire

County Championship Divison 2 April 14 - 17

With a fairly comprehensive victory first up, Gloucestershire's bunch of money savers head to Cardiff to face a Glamorgan team they haven't beaten in the county championship since 2005. The injection of young blood coupled with the winning start has the Jessop Tavern View in such a state of excitment that we've even been motivated enough to write a preview of the forthcoming match against Glamorgan and that t***** Robert Croft.

Despite our motivation, prematch information is pretty much limited to squad announcements. Our hope for a prematch interview or some expert analysis demonstrates that the level of detail we've grown accustomed to in the world of football has not yet left our system. Such is the life of a county cricket supporter. As a fan you are left scrounging for small morsels of information that might suggest how your team are looking to play.

Encouragingly Glos have not opted to draft Hamish O'Mish straight back into the side following his return from his brothers' weddings in New Zealand. O'Mish is to be given time to 'adjust to being back in England'. Richard Coughtrie retains his place despite appearing to have about as much ability to find the middle of the bat as Mark Hardinges had to resist another pie during lunch. The retention of young Coughtrie at least demonstrates a willingness to give the youngsters as much of a chance as possible. This can only be a good thing. As we have written before, if you make the move towards youth at least go through with it properly. Let's hope that a few negative results don't see us turn our back on the youngsters. Personally I think that Taylor and Marshall should be battling over one spot.

The young bowlers will face a much sterner test against a much stronger batting line-up this week and it will be interesting to see how Norwell, Payne and Saxelby go against a test quality batsman in the form of Alviro Petersen. Similar the batsmen face a slightly meaner looking attack this week. No number of google searches will produce information explaining why James Harris didn't start in Glamorgan's defeat to Leicestershire, but he is in their squad this week and presumably will play. We refuse to acknowledge anything to do with Robert Croft. Much like the bowlers, it will be interesting to see how the youngsters in the top order cope with the slight step up in class. It would be nice to see that Chris Dent has it in him to be an opening bat.

The murky world of scrounging for information about your county cricket team means we are non the wiser as to how Kane Williamson is getting on with his visa. Presumably the home office are still undecided about whether 'Gloucestershire batsman' is consider a legitimate job, or maybe the Glos HR guys are having to pencil him in as a gym instructor as this appears to be the only viable business registered at Nevil road. A word to whoever runs the Gloucestershire website, it would be nice to be kept informed about any developments!

I think a separate post will be needed to deal with my grumblings about the Gloucestershire website. However, in order to aid our grumbling, as well as previewing games the Jessop Tavern View will also provide a review of each opposing team's website with the aim being to find a county with a worse website than ours:

www.glamorgancricket.com - Despite the bizarre colour scheme, a fine site, with embedded youtube videos including interviews with the players. Swanky advert graphics are somewhat ruined by lame Welsh humour. 7/10.

All that is left is for us to wish the boys well for the next 4 days of high octane division 2 cricket. And boys, if you have to lose, don't let Crofty have anything to do with it this time!