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 Gloucestershire v Derbyshire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gloucestershire v Derbyshire. Show all posts
Derbyshire 444 (Madsen 150, Hughes 96, Poynton 53, Taylor 4-61, Norwell 4-104) and 260 for 2 (Hughes 137*, Rutherford 78) 8 pts drew with Gloucestershire 563 (Dent 180, Norwell 102, Marshall 72, Noema-Barnett 58) 12 pts Scorecard
We've decided to summarise days 2-4 of this match in a single post. After Derbyshire extended their first innings through the majority of Day 2, with Wayne Madsen hitting 150, we knew our first day recap predictions were coming true. Glos closed Day 2 on 110-1 and when your number 11 makes it comfortably to the close as nightwatchman you never know what might happen.
The next day he moved smoothly to a maiden first class (and apparently career) ton from 154 balls with 14 fours and a six, as the flat pitch and an unthreatening Derbyshire bowling attack was put to the sword. After Norwell departed, Chris Dent went on to score a classy 180 and there were also brisk runs for O'Mish, Gourmet Burger and Benny Howell, who blasted 4 sixes in a 30 ball 41. We ended with a lead of 119 which was great going having conceded almost 450 in the first innings.
However, nothing much happened on the final day once Norwell continued his good run by running out Slater backing up in his follow throw from a drive by Hughes. That was basically the end of the excitement, as Hughes made up for getting out for 96 in the first innings by scoring an unbeaten 137. He was well supported by Hamish Rutherford, who hit a chancy 78 before being caught by a diving Dent off Jack Taylor. That was it for the day and the match, which wasn't a great advert for a contest, with 1267 runs scored for the loss of just 22 wickets over the 4 days of the match.
Let's hope Sunday's home clash with Worcestershire brings a more lively surface and match, because this was pretty dreary fare.
Gloucestershire v Derbyshire, County Championship Div 2.
Derbyshire won the toss and elected to bat.
Day 1: Derbyshire 242 - 3. (Norwell 2 for 55)
The World T20 excitement feels a long time ago after a fairly turgid day of attritional cricket at the Brightside. Gloucestershire's inexperienced attack bowled tightly. Derbyshire's batsmen, in their first knock of the season, weren't to be lulled in and quickly realised that tight line and length is less of a threat without wicket-taking deliveries.
Liam Norwell, continuing to lead the attack, was the most threatening, and ended the day with two hard-earned wickets. Payne, Shaw, Gourmet-Burger and Taylor all kept control of things and the plan will be that early wickets on day 2 will allow Glos to restrict Derbyshire to around 300. Having managed a similar escape against Essex this isn't completely beyond the realms of possibility.
The Shire's squad continues to be a point of major concern. Benny batting at 6 always makes the batting look a shade too thin, particularly when Klinger isn't one of the men ahead of him. The bowling also looks strained with young Josh Shaw as first change with only Benny, Gourmet and Jack Taylor to pick up the strain. Any team turning up to play a Gloucestershire side containing both Benny and Gourmet-Burger must surely be licking its lips.
Benny made a very definite step forward last season and we continue to enjoy his angry Twitter posts aimed at both us and various other people who dare to voice an opinion questioning the club's decisions. However, Gourmet-Burger is still to show us anything that suggests he isn't doing anything other than filling Mark Hardinges' much missed demonstrations of what village cricketers look like when placed into first class matches.
Glos still have Craig Miles to walk back into the side when fully fit. Beyond that there is very little else and in essence Glos have entered the 2016 season with a bowling attack that has to play every game. Over the last 2 years this bowling squad has lost Will Gidman and James Fuller without seemingly replacing them. Admittedly the club will argue that Norwell, Payne and Miles are now able to take on the extra responsibility.
But this isn't the concern. We like all 3 of these guys and think they all can do a very good job in division 2. The concern is that there is no one backing them up and thus we are reliant on them staying fully fit. And not of them have good fitness records. Maybe Josh Shaw will have a real breakthrough season whilst on loan with us. Maybe Gourmet will take 30 plus wickets. Maybe. We will see. It would be handy if they started tomorrow.
The Royal London Cup has surprised a few people so far this season. Very much the third domestic trophy, it traditionally takes place towards the end of the season when more than half the counties have basically given up the ghost and are merely playing for pride.
Previous incarnations saw a slightly weird qualifying system used where two groups went straight to the semi finals, which meant that early losses soon proved terminal for even the best limited over sides. Thankfully we're now settled back into an international standard 50 over format, with a quarter final stage to further help separate the wheat from the county chaff.
Even more pleasingly, Gloucestershire have proven themselves a passable side in the format thus far. The shire finished their group stage matches with a home quarter final birth secured after five wins from eight with a no result v Yorkshire. We'll discount the fact that the home draw was in fact secured following bad weather which ensured Yorkshire's match at Scarborough was abandoned without a ball being bowled.
So to a brief recap of the completed matches so far. We'll skip the Yorkshire game which we were in a great position to win until bad weather intervened.
The Good
July 29 Gloucestershire 205 for 4 (Roderick 54) beat Derbyshire 274 for 5 (Rutherford 110, Madsen 106*) by six wickets - D/L Scorecard
First up was a wild game at Nevil Road, which was secured when Benny and Jack Taylor struck an outrageous 69 from the final four overs to secure a fortunate D/L victory. Having fielded poorly in conceding two individual tons to Hamish Rutherford and Wayne Madsen, we were always going to be up against it.
Rain altered the target to 284 from 48 and again to 204 from 35 overs and at 136-3 we looked dead and buried. However, Taylor came in and immediately set about the bowling, hitting leggie Critchley for 3 sixes in an over to begin the carnage which concluded with Taylor being caught off the final delivery off which 6 were needed. Miraculously a no ball was called, for too many fielders on the leg side of all things, and a single was taken to add to the two extras, Benny Howell then smashed the final delivery for a four to complete a unlikely victory
Video highlights
July 31 Gloucestershire 315 for 6 (Roderick 104, Jones 87, Klinger 50) beat Leicestershire 314 (Aadil 84, Burgess 49, Taylor 42*, Smith 3-45) by one run Scorecard
Another interesting contest and an unexpectedly tight one, given the opposition and match situation. Gareth Roderick's maiden List A hundred and Geraint Jones' career high 87 (a bit worrying when you score that in your final season, at the age of 39?) saw the boys post over 300 and we then reduced Leics to 128/5 in response.
However, a couple of fine partnerships; 96 between Aadil Ali and Burgess and then 44 from Clint McKay and Rob Taylor (in just 4.4 overs) left McKay needing 3 from the final ball to complete an unlikely victory. Luckily enough, Glos' excellent fielding came to the rescue as captain Maxi Klinger made a diving stop before running out the Aussie to restrict Leics to a single run.
A tight victory was thus secured, although the worrying James Fuller no ball beamer problem returned, seeing him withdrawn from the attack for the second time this season. Not ideal to lose one of your strike bowlers at a key moment and hopefully the Kiwi can get this under control from now on. When firing he's a fine bowler and a handy batsman, to boot.
Video highlights
August 2
Gloucestershire 247 for 7 (Klinger 107, Groenewald 3-53) beat Somerset 244 for 7 (Hildreth 85*, Gregory 62) by three wickets Scorecard
The next match, against West Country rivals Somerset, saw a sight as familiar as a pint of cider in the hand of supporters on either side, Maxi Klinger acknowledging the crowd's applause for another fine hundred. The man's form this season has been nothing short of remarkable- he's averaging over 100 in this competition as well as over 80 in T20 and 46 in the championship. One could argue that if the travelling Australian circus wanted to add another performer to the troupe then they could do a lot worse than calling on our skipper.
This would obviously be bad news for the 'Shire, as Klinger runs again turned a tight game in our favour. A lowish chase of 245 proved tricky, with Dent falling early to Groenewald and Roderick also departing cheaply. Klinger however anchored the innings superbly, scoring his 107 off 133 balls with nine boundaries including 4 sixes. The game was still in the balanced when he fell with 43 still needed and when Gourmet-Burger departed with the score on 213 there was work to do. Luckily Jack Taylor was at the crease and he put on a useful partnership with James Fuller. Taylor then struck two sixes in the penultimate over from Groenewald and the victory was secured with two balls remaining. A good win.
Video highlights
August 4 Gloucestershire 289 for 7 (Klinger 135*, Jones 54) beat Durham 214 (Hastings 46, Payne 5-40, Miles 2-29) by 71 runs D/L Scorecard
There doesn't appear to be a match report available on Cricinfo for this game, so we'll stick to the facts. A dominant batting performance saw Glos post an excellent 289 from just 41 rain-affected overs. The demon Klinger carried his bat for another hundred, his highest score of the summer so far, despite an injury requiring a runner towards the end. Geraint Jones continued his streaky run of form with 54 and Benny Howell chipped in with a quickfire 45 from 24 balls towards the end.
Durham were never really in the contest, losing wickets throughout, before a late flurry from John Hastings saw them limped past 200, before being dismissed for 214 in the final over. Sid Payne took an excellent 5-40, including most of the lower order and Miles also bowled economically in what has been a fine season in all formats for the 21 year old.
Video highlights
August 5
Gloucestershire 265 for 6 (Tavare 61, Jones 58, Roderick 56) beat Worcestershire 264 for 8 (Clark 131*) by four wickets (D/L method) Scorecard
Glos secured a quarter final place with their 5th consecutive win against bottom side Worcs who lost their 5th straight Royal London fixture. The boys performed well without the injured titan Klinger, who missed out with a hamstring strain. Worcester actually posted a decent total, based around a superb 131* from 19 year old Joe Clarke. The 'Shire bowling was relatively expensive in this game, with only the wicketless James Fuller keeping the economy rate below 4 an over.
Glos managed a tricky chase well, with all of the top 4 chipping in. The recalled Will Tavare, hitherto fairly useless in white ball cricket, hit 61 and Roderick and Geraint also hit 50s. Even Chris Dent, who had slumped into a terrible rut recently, managed 43 in an opening stand of 106 with Tavare. Despite losing late wickets we got over the line comfortably and booked a quarter final place early with two fixtures yet to play.
Video highlights
The Bad
August 17
Northamptonshire 217 for 6 (Cobb 58, Taylor 3-45) beat Gloucestershire 215 (Howell 80, Roderick 57, Crook 4-37, Stone 3-34) by four wickets Scorecard
This game wasn't that important for the 'Shire and it showed. We're running out of steam on these recaps, so we'll stick to saying that Glos underperformed with the bat and did ok to reach 200 plus in the end. Northants were always looking favourites after an opening partnership of 80 took a large chunk out of the chase. Despite losing a few middle order wickets along the way, a calm 31* from skipper Alex Wakely got them over the line with 9 overs still to bowl.
Video highlights
The Irrelevant
August 18 Surrey 291 for 8 (Burns 95, Fuller 3-26) beat Gloucestershire 279 (Howell 60, T Curran 4-65) by 12 runs Scorecard
This game proved to be a complete dead rubber once Yorkshire's fixture against Northants was rained off in mid-afternoon. Good job too, as Glos again failed to chase down a Surrey target anchored by
Rory Burns' List A-best of 95. James Fuller returned 3-26 and Benny Howell continued his all round form with 2-54 from 9 tidy overs.
Glos struggled with a challenging chase, although the Frenchman again batted solidly for a team-high 60 and put on 90 in 15.4 overs with Fuller, who scored his one day high of 45. Chris Dent managed an attractive 49 before getting out as his first List A 50 of the year seemed on the cards.
It ended up mattering little as the weather allowed Glos the luxury of a home quarter against Hampshire on August 26th.
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.
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.
Derbyshire 271 for 7 (Godleman 96, Madsen 57) beat Gloucestershire 218 (Dent 70, Wainwright 3-45) by 53 runs
The Jessop Tavern View has never been known for our efficiency. So, typically we're writing this blog post about the Royal London Cup group game which took place on Thursday. Yesterday saw the domestic t20 competition finish with one of the most exciting finals in it's 11 year history. And we're about to write a gloomy recap of a group game which didn't actually affect us qualifying for the quarter finals of the competition. We realise this post is probably catering to a niche audience. But hey, you're here anyway, so why not read on?
Glos went into this game having already qualified for our first limited overs knock out stage since 2007 (thanks to Twitter follower @educatedleftfoot for that one). However, a win would have given us a chance of overtaking Essex and Yorkshire and secure a useful home quarter final slot. Plus this game was live on Sky, which at least afforded us a chance to watch the boys in action for one of the few times
Derbyshire batted first and were anchored by Billy Godleman's 96. Godleman is apparently out of contract at the end of the season and has previously flattered to deceive at both Essex and Middlesex. He's a decent player though and one wonders whether he might conceivably fill the opening vacancy which will surely open up once Klinger leaves us at the end of the season. (We're assuming he won't re-sign for another year, hat with the cut in playing budget next season). The dangerous Wayne Madsen also struck 57, and Tony Palladino thrashed a quick 28 to see Derbyshire to 271 from their 50 overs. It was no surprise to see former Glos overseas man Marcus North out relatively cheaply, we got used to it during his time with the county where he was feted more for his 'useful' offspin than his batting. It remains one of life's mysteries how North managed to play 21 tests for Australia, with 5 hundreds. Whenever we've seen him bat, he was rubbish.
The Glos chase got off to a disastrous start, when Maxi Klinger was struck by a brute of a Footitt delivery and departed with what turned out to be a season-ending broken arm. O'Mish also failed and it was left to Dent and Gidders (A) to provide some momentum after Roderick was snaffled by a diving Wes Durston at slip and Cockbain also departed cheaply. Dent has belatedly hit some form and was impressive in hitting 9 fours and 2 sixes, in his 70 before being defeated by an absolute jaffer from David Wainwright, a gripping and turning delivery from around the wicket which defeated Dent's defensive prod.
That was basically curtains for the 'shire, although young Jack Taylor provided some late fireworks with a cameo 53 which included 4 sixes- one a towering swipe into the car park at midwicket.
Ironically, the result proved academic, as Essex and Yorkshire secured home QF ties, leaving the boys with a tricky trip to Canterbury next Friday afternoon. We were tempted to make a trip down to the Garden of England, but realised it will be much easier (and cheaper) to simply watch us lose on Sky.
Match highlights, courtesy of the Derbyshire YouTube channel, below:
Gloucestershire 66 for 4 (8pts) drew with Derbyshire 278 (8pts)
It's not often that you finish a good versus Derbyshire thinking you've dodged a bullet. However, at 66-4 Glos were in a bit of trouble, having allowed the division's bottom side to recover from 153-6 to post a decent 278 all out.
There was never much prospect of a result in this match, with significant time lost to rain on 3 days and the final day a complete washout. It is also hard to draw conclusions from such a match, which leaves us 7th in Division 2, albeit just 7 points behind 3rd placed Essex. It was disappointing that we allowed a weak batting side to recover from a precarious position to post almost 300. This shows just how much we need our 1st choice bowling attack fit and firing in order to make progress.
We are badly missing some reliable backup to the ever-excellent Will Gidman (who limped around a bit during the Derby innings, per the BBC commentators), although Benny Howell did fill in admirably as 4th seamer in this instance. If you added Craig Miles, a fit David Payne to this attack, plus had a fully firing James Fuller (under par in this match) then you can foresee us bowling better sides than Derbyshire out cheaply. We are not including the unfortunate Ian Saxelby in this equation, as sadly we can't envisage him remaining fit for long enough to feature regularly at the moment.
Anyway, onwards and upwards to a t20 Blast match down at Canterbury tomorrow night. The weather forecast for the SE region has finally perked up a bit, so we could be in for an entertaining contest. Sadly, GO Jones is unable to feature against his parent club, but it should be an interesting contest nonetheless.
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.
The Jessop Tavern View would like to apologise for the lack of posting on Gloucestershires glorious recent victory over run away division two leaders Derbyshire. We have slowly been chewing our way through a mountain of humble pie.
First we accuse Hamish Marshall of being washed up and more interested in maintaining his perm. He responds with two hundreds and a run of consistency we haven't seen since 2006. Then we question whether there is any talent in the Gloucester youngsters and, in particular, where are strike bowlers are. Liam Norwell, David Payne and the better Gidders then all respond with spells that impact the course of the match. Then we criticise the skipper of averaging only 18 and not pulling his weight. He sticks it to us with a match winning first innings hundred. Finally Jon Batty responded to our accusations of being shit by.....ok, ok, so Jon Batty is still very definitely rubbish.
Gloucestershire demolished a Derbyshire team who, until their trip to Nevil road, had been unbeaten this season. The bowling in particular was a welcome reminder of the talent we saw last season, but which had been sorely lacking this term. Picking four seamers and disposing with the services of Ed Young looks a far better bet. Relying on just three young bowlers to consistently provide the firepower is to put too much pressure on players still learning their way. With four seamers you take away some of this pressure and encourage the lads to be aggressive. Run in. Bowl hard. Look to take wickets. If you bowl crap then let someone else have a go. With four guys doing this you increase the chance of one of them having success. The result is bowling out the lead leaders for 95 just after lunch on day one. Whether this rotation of four seamers is viable when a spinner becomes a necessity remains to be seen. At the moment Kane Williamson is probably a better bowler than Ed Young, and thus provides spin cover. When Williamson heads off for international duty this might become more of a problem. (And speaking of Williamson, any news on who is replacement might be yet.....nope, thought not!)
The other pleasing thing about this victory was the way Gloucestershire closed it out. Heading towards the end of day two Derby were poised to fight back on 200 for 4, with two batsmen well set with fifties. In steps David Payne to remove Derby captain Wayne Madsen before the close. The following day the Gloucester dressing room must have known that chasing anything over 150 would be tough, especially given what happened in 2010 against the same opponents, and knowing that they only had 9 batsmen, with Chris Dent nursing a broken finger and Jon Batty opening. Will Gidman then took four quick wickets on day three and Glos only needed 84 to win. Despite losing our man Batty in the first over of the chase, Benny the Frenchman, and Williamson set up a comfortable finish.
So congratulations to the boys. And congratulations to the Jessop Tavern View. We like to think that our constant negativity and over the top criticism of good honest pros trying their best was a source of inspiration to the shire. We can picture our latest posts being pinned up on the dressing room wall by King John in order to fire the guys up. You're welcome.
Derbyshire 95 and 211 for 5 (Madsen 72, Redfern 64*, Will Gidman 4-39) lead Gloucestershire 294 (Alex Gidman 129) by 12 runs
Regular readers will know that the The Jessop Tavern View is not noted for our optimism. Glos are in pole position to beat Division Two leading Derbyshire tomorrow, but all we can think about is this game. Yes, we're probably being unduly negative, but the precedents are there in this match. Derbys were skittled in the first innings for under a hundred, then conceded a lead of 100 plus, before recovering in the second innings to set a small target. All we need now is a repeat of our embarrassing collapse in the 4th innings and it will be, to quote Yogi Berra, 'deja vu all over again'.
To recap the match so far, Gloucestershire have played really well for 2 days. Our young bowling attack ran through a decent batting side for a paltry 95 yesterday and bowled well again today, especially Will Gidman, who tooke 4 more wickets today. The 'better Gidders' broke a dangerous partnership between Wayne Madsen and Dan Redfern by trapping Madsen LBW for 72 and also nipped out Whitely before the close. David Payne made a strong return from injury, taking 3 for 23 and Ian Saxelby conceded a miserly 13 runs from 10 first innings overs. Liam Norwell as been a bit more expensive so far, but you can't have everything.
The skipper was the main man with the bat today, striking his long overdue first ton of the season in making 129. The key thing was how he contributed to several decent partnerships, which helped out first innings to a respectable 294, a lead of 199 on first innings which should see us win the match barring a comedy collapse when chasing. That or a massive Derbyshire partnership which kills the game off. Unlikely though with two days to go. We've said before that Gidders should be leading from the front more with the bat and scoring centuries is a big part of that. Having even seen Hamish 'I'd forgotten how to celebrate one' Marshall, score a hundred in last week's tough defeat to Essex, he must have thought it was about bloody time he cashed in himself. He picked a good match to produce what was apparently a fine knock and we want to see more in weeks to come. Of course, we don't actually play another Championship game after this until July 11th, so what form he picked up today could be long gone by then.
Anyway, we'll save that rant about the disjointed domestic season, where you play almost half your Championship fixtures by the end of May, for another day. As King John said after the day's play 'there is still a lot of work to be done... the first hour in the morning will determine how easy or difficult it is going to be for us.' Let's hope the boys can keep their heads and see us to a deserved victory over the runaway Division 2 leaders tomorrow. There you go, we ended on a positive for once!
We like Derbyshire. They are small. They've had even less success that we have. Their ground looked rubbish when the Jessop Tavern View went past it on a National Express bus recently. Plus, their website is perhaps even worse than Gloucestershire's. When the Jessop Tavern View logged on to the Derbyshire homepage this morning they were greeted with an advert for an old people's home. Then an advert for waste disposal. Still, maybe this is what it takes to be top of the league.
Derbyshire arrive in Bristol off the back of an absolute thrashing of Essex last week inside of 3 days. According to their website they arrive at full strength so we can expect 4 days of hard cricket from perhaps division two's most attritional and journeyman-like squad. Seriously, would you pay to watch any of these guys? Runs have come from the likes of Martin Guptill, Wes Durston and Wayne Madsen. All grinders. All boring. All great players for division two. Only Dan Redfern can be considered a young talent. Jonathan Clare could also be considered a youngish bowler. David Wainwright is Derby's leading wicket taker with his slow left armers. David Wainwright. Just the name is enough to make you know he's an uninspired plodder. Still, they are top of the league, which makes them better than us. A lot better.
We would love to tell you what Gloucestershire's team will be for today's match, or even what the squad is, but its 10.42 on the morning of the game and the Glos website has no team news. Seriously guys. Is it that hard to put some news up? How are fans suppose to feel involved? It really is shockingly poor, and a poor indictment of the way that the club treats its fans and fails to realise that the club has supporters dotted all around the country.
So what are we looking for from Gloucestershire? Well as we have said over the last month or so, there is plenty of heart in this team. That's a good starting point. Now we want to see some glimpses of talent. An innings that really takes a game by the scruff of the neck. A bowling spell that changes the complexion of a match. Anything!
Oh, and for the love of God, please don't let Jon Batty be playing today.......
