Glos begin 2017 campaign with a spectacular collapse against Kent

Kent 298 (Denly 62, Stevens 50) and 246 (Denly 59, Gidman 51, Tredwell 47*, Norwell 5-59) beat Gloucestershire 149 (Dent 67, Claydon 4-35) and 61 (Stevens 6-22) by 334 runs
Scorecard

It's an inauspicious start. At 2pm on a warm Sunday afternoon one half of the Jessop Tavern View texted the other, "396 runs in a day and a half. Plenty of time". The other half of the text read, "Or it'll be all over tonight". Neither was correct. It was actually all over that afternoon. Night wasn't even close to setting in.

Having spent two and a bit days with the bowlers holding their own against a fairly strong Kent batting lineup the batsmen proceeded to give it away. Spectacularly. Having chuckled to ourselves the previous night that at least the Shire wouldn't be as bad as Glamorgan look this year, the lads proceeded to make a mockery of this thought. It could be a long season.

To place this result in context. Glos began 2016 with an equal pumping from Essex. The main difference that that defeat didin't contain the comic collapse to being bowled out for 61. Incredibly, 61 all out represented a sort of triumph. In reality Glos should have been skittle for less. Liam Norwell and Chris Liddle adding 24 for the final wicket. To rub salt into the wounds, then man running through Glos was soon to turn 41 years old Darren Stevens.

On to the positives. Liam Norwell. 3 for 46 in the first innings. 5 for 59 in the second. Ably supported by wickets scattered around to David Payne, Craig Miles, Chris Liddle and cheap wickets to Jack Taylor. You could argue that allowing Kent to get to 298 in the first innings was probably 50 runs too many. But restricting a decent batting lineup to less than 300 runs both times around should at least get you in the game. Glos were never in this game.

Skittled for 149 in the first innings was bad. Only Chris Dent demonstrating the necessary application and quality on what was described as a 'sporting' pitch. Second time around the Shire just fell away. We started the season with large concerns over the quality of this batting lineup minus Maxy Klinger and O'Mish. Those concerns have now grown. But it is only one game. And the first game of the season at that. So lets not be too harsh at this early stage.

One curiosity that we reckon presents a real dilemma for Glos is how to use Jack Taylor in 4 day cricket. In Kent's first innings Taylor bowled 5 overs that went for almost 6 an over. In their second innings he bowled 3 overs at 8 runs an over, effectively buying his 2 wickets. In both innings Graeme Van Buuren was brought on earlier. Van Buuren bowled 14 overs in the first innings. Then 11 in the second innings. Van Buuren is clearly the preferred spinner when it comes to offer control and holding up an end in order to let the seamers get a rest.

The question is then what to do with Taylor. He batted at 7 in both innings, contributing little, although he was hardly along in this regard. Can you continue to carry a guy who biffs away at 7 but doesn't bowl? Can he be considered an all rounder? You suspect that Richard Dawson desperately wants him to be consider as such, however, at the moment he seems to be struggling to offer enough with the ball to justify viewing him as such.

Admittedly, it is April. Hardly a spinner's paradise. It is just slightly concerning to see how little trust Glos have in his capacity to control a game. His batting last year showcased the possibility that this becomes his strongest suit. Yet when charged with playing solely as a batsman during his bowling ban Taylor struggled to continue the explosive form of earlier in the campaign. Almost as if the sudden weight of expectation of being relied on for runs restricted his decision making. It's much easier to play with freedom when you come in down the order and you view your primary role as being in the side as the spin option. Don't get us wrong. We like Taylor. He has a lot of talent, particularly with the bat. Plus he's a game changer. How Glos decide to utilise him, and likewise how Taylor manages to develop, could be a key to Gloucestershire's development as a side in 2017.

Next up for Glos are Leicestershire, on Good Friday. Leicestershire are fresh off their own hiding to Nottinghamshire, being bowled out for 81 in their second innings. Whoever is planning a nice Easter Sunday trip to the cricket may wish to start making other plans.

Video 'highlights' from the game:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

What to do about a problem like Jack Taylor

Yesterday, Gloucestershire once again went into their one day match deciding to go with the all-round (literally, all 'round') skills of the Gourmet-Burger instead of Jack Taylor who has been banned from bowling due to his suspect action. The decision has been based on balancing the side with the Burger's ability to bowl with a straight arm deemed more in-need than Taylor's explosiveness with the bat. It is hard to fault this thinking, particularly given that Gourmet-Burger has bowled well since Glos took this approach.

In the immediate aftermath of Taylor being banned, coach Dawson appeared keen to keep his batting in the side. However, the slump in form over the last few weeks has clearly seen a rethink.

The Jessop Tavern agrees with Dawson's decision and understands the need for the balance, and to have options with the ball. Long term we just wonder how Dawson will go about trying to include Taylor. It would be interesting to know whether Glos believe that Taylor could forge a career as a middle order batsman. Perhaps this current spurt in one day games isn't the time to judge. Bizarrely, given his explosiveness, Taylor has a poor one day and T20 batting record. He only has one 50 across both formats. It is in the championship that Taylor's batting has really matured. Two hundreds last year. Two hundreds already this year, and 500 plus runs at an average of over 50. That is better than almost our entire top order.

Will Glos be able to find space for him in the championship side? You suspect it will become easier to find room for him in 4 day cricket where specialist roles are more in demand that those of bits and pieces cricketers. But where they choose to bat him could be very interesting. Could he bat 6? The Jessop Tavern sort of hopes that Glos use this bowling ban to tell Taylor to go out and prove himself as a top order batsman.

Having seen him bowl over the last few years few observers would say anything other than his action has always been 'curious'. Even when he came back from the first ban. It could be that Taylor never manages to remodel his action sufficiently to prevent this being a recurring problem. We hope not, but there could be some fun if it meant we get to see more of him batting!

Glos launch defence of Royal London One Day Cup with 3 defeats

Glos lost to Somerset/Glamorgan/Middlesex by ever increasing margins.

Oh Glos. What are you doing to us. For the first time in about 5 years the Jessop Tavern was full of praise mid-season. Almost gushing were we in our praise of some of the cricket we had seen in the last month. Full of optimism we were for the month ahead of one day cricket. Then Sunday happened. Live TV. Somerset. Jamie Overton and Tim Groenewald. 65 for the last wicket.

Yet it all looked so good. Despite glorious sunshine the Jessop Tavern lingered indoors, risking icy stares from the girlfriend for wasting an entire Sunday. But it was worth it. Chris Dent showed his class on national TV before the young Gloucestershire bowlers strangled the life out of Somerset's response. The classic Gloucester squeeze meant that 166 for 3 soon became 198 for 9 and needing a further 63 to win, and with numbers 10 and 11 at the crease, the Jessop Tavern started to pack up the disposable barbecue for an evening in the park. An hour later and those sausages didn't taste half as good.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Somerset's last wicket win was the fact that it was numbers 10 and 11 inflicting the pain. Usually these sort of last wicket wins are conducted by a guy well set and then a number 11 holding up an end with nervous play and misses, and streaky boundaries between his legs to third man. So for 10 and 11 to do the biffing was truly galling. Combine that with the fact that Groenewald and Overton simply stood still and hit in the arc between mid-on and mid-off as the Gloucester attack kept putting it in the slot time and time again made it even more incredible!

We won't even mention Gareth Roderick's schoolboy missed run out. letting the ball through your legs can happen to the best of us, and not a single person who has played a bit of Sunday cricket wouldn't have smiled at the sight of a professional doing something that is so familiar to them. Instead the Jessop Tavern will simply offer up its congratulations to Somerset. We could criticise the bowlers for not mixing things up more. But against 10 and 11 we always criticise bowlers who try to be too clever. Bowl straight and eventually the tailenders will make a mistake. With 63 runs to play with it was a fairly decent strategy. It just wasn't to be.

The following night Glos never really seemed to get going against Glamorgan, as if they were still struggling to shake off the effects of the night before. Understandable really. Batting first Glamorgan managed just below 300 and despite some late innings bashing from Benny the batsman it wasn't enough to get Gloucestershire anywhere near Glamorgan's total.

A couple of nights later and even the sanctuary of the Brightside Ground wasn't enough to rejuvenate Glos. A below par score score of 254 with only Roderick and O'Mish making contributions was never really enough against a strong Middlesex batting lineup. Even with the rain forcing a revised total Middlesex cruised home with plenty left in the tank. Craig Miles proved expensive for a third game in a row and Paul Stirling's hundred in only 87 balls was the difference between the sides.

Gloucestershire chose to drop Jack Taylor for this match, preferring instead to have the extra bowling option of Gourmet-Burger. Moving forward this will continue to be a question for Glos. Can they find a way to include Taylor's match turning batting despite the lack of his bowling? It will be interesting to see how Glos handle this.

After the match, coach Dawson made the salient point that last season Glos always found contributions from 7 or 8 players. The campaign this year has only had 2 or 3 players put their hands up in each match. Hard to argue with such wise words. We also haven't had a bloke opening the batting who scored a hundred everytime he walked to the wicket. It was quite handy that last year.

Video highlights below:

Somerset v Glos

Glos v Middlesex

Let's. Play. Darts.....again

As devoted Gloucestershire fans we are sure that you all picked up on our inability to hear the news that Jack Taylor had been banned from bowling at the end of last week. In fairness, we weren't alone. Even the official Glos Cricket website stated that Taylor had had "two quiet games" in the two T20 wins against Middlesex and Kent.

Sadly though Taylor has indeed been banned. having had his action reported a few weeks back the independent bowling analysis discovered his action to have greater than the permitted 15 degrees of flex. This is the second time this has happened in young Taylor's career and really couldn't have come at a worse time for a player who had become a cornerstone of Gloucestershire's team in all formats.

In 2013 when this occurred the Jessop Tavern was heard scoffing into its cup of tea that if he had an illegal action how come he wasn't giving it a comedy tweak. If you are going to be done for chucking you might as well be done whilst hilariously turning your doosra square. However, that was 2013. Taylor came back and bowled steadily in limited overs games all of last season. Admittedly with an 'unusual action', but one that clearly was good enough to get through a season.

So why has this occurred now, and who is to blame? Is it a coincidence that Taylor's sudden up turn in form, particularly in the championship where he has 14 wickets, has occurred at a time when his action has once again come under scrutiny? Having come through this once we presume that Jack is at least well accustomed to remodelling his action.

In the meantime it will be interesting to see what Gloucestershire choose to do. Taylor has been in prolific, match altering form with the bat and it is to be hoped that Glos and Taylor use this time to develop him into a batsman of significant substance. Didn't that Steve Smith bloke use to be primarily considered a bowler who could bat? Here is hoping that whilst working on that action Taylor continues to use that 15 degrees of flex to continue pumping second division bowling attacks around various county grounds.

Glos pick themselves up with a super win over Worcestershire

Gloucestershire (364-6 dec and 320-5) beat Worcestershire (439 and 239) by 5 wickets.

The crazy scheduling of English county cricket allowed Gloucestershire to warm up for their up and coming T20 games by blasting 320 from 57 overs in a little over two sessions. In particular, Maxy Klinger and Jack Taylor finished the job with a partnership of 179 in 24 overs. By itself that would be a fairly handy T20 score. Gloucestershire's run chase perfectly illustrated the wonderful cross-over of skills and mentality from T20 to 4 day cricket. Those who view the long and short forms of the game as separate entities should sit back and enjoy such matches.

A see-saw match eventually ended up going Gloucestershire's way after an impressively gutsy declaration from first year skipper Gareth Roderick. On day 1 Glos had actually reduced Worcestershire to 35 for 5 and the fact that Worcestershire then managed to add 400 for their final 5 wickets will be a concern to the coach Dawson. Miles and Shaw both proved expensive, with Miles in particular managing to get flogged for over 7 an over, a distinctly T20 figure that is less welcome in the longer format. Despite the late order butchering by the Worcestershire tail enders the Jessop tavern was encouraged to see a far more exciting and attacking bowling line-up take to the field. The impressive lower order batting of Jack taylor and Craig Miles, backed up by David Payne and Liam Norwell finally allowed Glos to have the confidence to ditch the bits and pieces role of Gourmet-Burger and Benny Howell. Instead Taylor was promoted to bat at 7 and Miles was given the important role of contributing runs at number 8. Both decisions would be fully vindicated.

In reply to Worcestershire's first innings total Glos put themselves into a strong position thanks mainly to a magnificent 172 from Graeme 'Jacques' Van Buuren in only his second match for the Shire. Having made a match winning contribution with the ball in his first game, the new Jacques looks like a very handy signing. He was also ably assisted by runs from the skipper at the top of the order, and then an unbroken stand of 134 with new number 8 Craig Miles. Miles making an important 60 not out to justify his promotion. This sudden maturity of the bowling unit into being a very handy lower order batting combination has been one of the real stand out finds for the Shire in 2016. Full praise to the guys and the coaching team for this transformation.

Poised at 364 for 6 at lunch on day 3 the game was still in the balance. Given that this is still only the second month of the season logic would dictate that Glos attempt to bat themselves into a position where only they could win. The Jessop Tavern certainly thought so. Get the scores level by tea. Then have a bit of a blast with what batting remains in the hope of building a lead of 50 plus. From that position you then hope you can run through the opposition setting up a short run chase late on the fourth day. Given the relative solid position in the table that is certainly the way you would have expected Glos to go at lunch on day 3. It is thus to their enormous credit that Roderick and the coaches decided to declare whilst still 75 runs behind. The declaration showed an enormous statement of confidence in the bowlers to get the job done and showcased that Gloucestershire are serious about pushing for promotion in the championship.

The plan worked magnificently. Craig Miles went from Jekyll to Hyde and ran in hard to take 5 for 54. Liam Norwell backed him up with 4 for 70 and Glos were suddenly chasing a fairly daunting 315 to win on a miserable overcast afternoon. Roderick and the new Jacques got the show on the road with enterprising knocks of 30 and 42 respectively, but when George Hankins was LBW with the scoreboard reading 141 for 5 Gloucestershire gutsy declaration looked poised to backfire. Again, logic would say that requiring another 174 runs, and with only the tail for support, Glos would look to shut up shop. Worcestershire would certainly have hoped so. Maxy Klinger and Jack Taylor thought otherwise. 179 runs and only 24 over later it was all done and dusted. Klinger blasted Brett D'Oliveria for another 6 and walked off undefeated on 102 from 141 balls. At the other end Jack Taylor presumably looked a bit disappointed that the fun had to end. Taylor ending up on 107 from only 72 balls. Such was the extent of the destruction that 10 overs were still left to be bowled.

It has been a fun last month for Gloucestershire fans. A dramatic late afternoon bowling display to beat Glamorgan was then followed by the disappointment of not being able to take 7 wickets to defeat Northants on the final day of play. And now this victory. In that time Glos have ditched the conservative and welcomed in an aggressive new lineup. They discovered the new Jacques Kallis as well as seen the second coming of Lock and Laker, with our spin twins tweaking Glos to victory against Glamorgan. Oh, and Maxy Klinger has returned, walking off the plane and strutting around like it is 2015 with back to back hundreds. In 3 innings Klinger has 250 runs at an average of 125.

Incredibly, as the T20 Blast ruins everyone's fun with another round of matches, Gloucestershire now sit second in the table. Is the fun just getting started?

Day 4 highlights:

Day 3 highlights:

Day 2 highlights:

Day 1 highlights:

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

Taylor resilience epitomises Gloucestershire spirit

Photo from the Gloucestershire official site

Gloucestershire (10 pts) 337 (Marshall 112, Taylor 52) and 211 for 8 (Taylor 46*) drew with Kent (12pts) 478 for 8 dec (Northeast 189, Latham 90, Stevens 54)
Scorecard

Gloucestershire clearly aren't the most talented team in Division Two. We don't have a great bowling attack and our batting remains flaky at times. However, we're invariably a tight unit in the field, have great spirit in the squad and we routinely battle hard from less than promising situations.

The Kent game began in such a fashion, with a nightmare early start seeing us slip to 14-4 after 17 overs of parsimonious Kent seam bowling. In the past we could easily have subsided to 150 all out from here, but a gritty ton from O'Mish (his second in consecutive matches) rescued the innings and enabled us to recover to 296-9 at the close. The last wicket pair of Payne and Shaw extended this to 337 on the second day, a thoroughly respectable effort in the circumstances.

We also have some really talented younger players who are starting to deliver. Chris Dent has a quiet match after his previous good run of form, but Jack Taylor continued his good form with the bat with two important knocks in this match. After Kent racked up an imposing 478-5 in response to Glos' total, the boys were in a world of trouble on Day 4 as we slumped to 158-8 after Miles was bowled by the wily Darren Stevens. Taylor's response was not to shut up shopm in the hope of seeing us to the close, but to play his shots in trademark fashion. His unbeaten 46 saw us safely past Kent's total to the close. The innings even impressed the watching BBC commentary team who described it thus:

'Gloucestershire really do have a terrific young talent in Jack Taylor. Predominantly an off-spinner, the 24-year-old knows how to hold a bat as well as he launches Darren Stevens for six before hitting Mitch Claydon for three fours in an over.'

Well-deserved praise for Jack, who despite going for nearly 6 an over from his 16 overs with the ball, also  managed a handy fifty in the first innings in partnership with Marshall. While we clearly still lack the ability to bowl decent sides out we are gritty and hard to beat. The bowling attack will surely improve as Miles reaches match fitness and you can imagine a full strength seam attack with Norwell and Payne joining Miles as being capable of causing problems on more favourable surfaces.

Cameron Bancroft's poor form remains a concern however. He's averaging just 16.71 from 7 completed knocks with a high score of 41. The limited amount of footage we've seen on YouTube seems to show a mix of bad luck and poor shot selection. He's obviously new to county cricket and English early season pitches, but plenty of other people are scoring runs around the country and you really need your overseas player to make a difference in Division 2. So far he's not looked up to the job as an opener and the sooner that Klinger arrives the better.

Glamorgan up next at Bristol in the battle of two teams still looking for their first win.

Day 1 highlights

Day 2 highlights

Day 3 highlights

Day 4 highlights

Lack of bowling depth starting to look like a real issue

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.

Day 1 highlights

Glos triumph against the odds

Gloucestershire 220 (Jones 50, Dernbach 6-35) beat Surrey 214 (Sangakkara 60, Burns 56, Taylor 3-43) by six runs
Scorecard

It was the worst of finals, it was the best of finals. We arrived, heard we had lost the toss and been put in. We were worried. We sat down and then Maxy Klinger was out third ball. Hamish was stumped down the leg side. Jade Dernbach ended up with six wickets for not many, including a dubious hattrick. We battled hard for our runs.  Jack Taylor upped the tempo but got out. Geraint hit a gritty fifty but then got out. We finished on 220 with more than two overs left to bowl. It didn't feel like anywhere near enough. We were not feeling confident.

Then there were early wickets for a fired up James Fuller. Kumar Sangakkara and Rory Burns put on a hundred together and things looked bad. But Kumar got out by chipping a Jack Taylor full toss to the fielder when well set. Burns then danced past one to be stumped soon after, followed by a slow squeeze applied by bowlers and fielders.

It should still have been easy for Surrey though, 73 runs in 13.4 overs was not hard. However, we continued to take wickets and it got tighter and tighter. Sam Curran looked like he would see them home right up until the point where he holed out off the first ball of the final over from Payne. The release of tension in the Edrich when Benny the Frenchman took that catch was palpable- the roar was loader than you would have imagined. It was ever better when Batty slapped one straight down Jack Taylor's throat at midwicket to complete a famous and nerve-wracking victory.

Our first final appearance since 2004 led to a 10th win out of 11 one day finals. What a day. It wasn't a high quality match, particularly from a batting standpoint, but who cares. The boys were magnificent when it mattered and it clearly meant a lot the players, judging by the scenes at the end.

Well done Maxy and the boys. You made all of us there and all of Gloucestershire proud.

Video highlights below:

Update- cracking video of the catches in the last over and the celebrations- from the guys just in front of us!

Klinger or bust

It's an early start for the Jessop Tavern View. The 6am train made all the tougher by a lack of change for a coffee at the station. Still, the sun appears to be shining and after 11 long years we are heading back to Lords.

How much hope does the Jessop Tavern have? A quick scan of the squads sends a slightly dampening shiver down our spine. Sangakarra, Roy, the two Currans, wily Azhar Mahmood, Steven Davies. Even Jade Dernbach. It's hard to see Surrey finding room for Kieran Gourmet-Burger. So, is there hope?

15 years ago Gloucestershire teams bonded together to regularly defy perceived wisdom and defeat their much fancied rivals packed full of international superstars. Can the 2015 vintage summon up similar collective spirit? Can David Payne become the new James Averis. Can Chris Dent bat like Phil Weston? Will Gareth Roderick don a silly hat and keep like Jack did? Time will tell.

In fairness, the boys have done exceptionally well to get here. A season that has seen their batting ravaged by injuries has been heavily reliant on people contributing at key times. Forget Maxy Klinger for one moment and this season has been full of key little cameos to get Gloucester home. Benny's bowling. Jack Taylor's biffing. It has all been vital.

And then there is Klinger. A frnakly other-worldly one day season has seen Klinger make one day and t20 hundreds seem like the most mundane occurrence. Can he fire one more time? You wouldn't bet against him, and the man deserves to sign off with runs on the big stage. The question will be what if he fails? Where do the runs come from? Can Chris Dent finally come good? Will Gareth Roderick rediscover his early season form and announce himself as a player of substance? Could O'Mish roll back the years? Lets hope all of the above. All complimenting another glorious Klinger hundred.

The Jessop Tavern is just ever so slightly haunted by the visible mental collapse of Somerset many years ago in the cider final of 1999. Cox had similarly dominated all season, and was Somerset's one key wicket. Smudger removed early on (dubiously lbw) and Somerset visibly wilted. Lets hope a similar story is not about to unfold.

So come on Glos. Good luck boys. And frankly, the Jessop Tavern is just excited to finally have something to cheer about when it comes to the Shire!!

See you at the Grace Gates!!

Glos upset Hampshire to secure rare knockout win

Gloucestershire 218 for 6 (Klinger 87, Jones 39*, Arafat 3-56) beat Hampshire 217 for 7 (Adams 97, Smith 50) by four wickets 
Scorecard

This was great. Unexpected, but great nonetheless. Glos booked an away quarter final against Yorkshire at Headingley but beating Hampshire by four wickets, due in large part to yet another fine knock of 87 from skipper Maxi Klinger. The big Aussie recovered from a dropped catch while on 0 from opposing skipper Jimmy Adams to anchor the chase and another violent Jack Taylor cameo got us over the line after Klinger was dismissed to leave the match in the balance.

Yet more August rain forced the reduction of the game to 34 overs per side and Hampshire managed a handy total based around Adams' 97 and a late flurry of runs from Will Smith, who took advantage of a bizarre decision by Glos to play but not bowl economical left arm spinner Tom Smith. His 50 from 25 balls helped Hampshire plunder 77 from the last 6 overs to set a challenging target of 218.

Glos began the chase with Adams failing to cling on to a sharp chance at cover from Klinger and the drop proved crucial as Dent, Roderick, O'Mish and Howell as fell cheaply to leave the boys 104-4 after 21 overs. Geraint Jones' arrival at the crease at least provided Klinger with decent support and they added 59 at a good clip, before the wily Yasir Arafat got the big wicket of Klinger while on 87. This put pressure on the new man Jack Taylor, with 55 still needed from under 6 overs. Fidel Edwards didn't do much to apply continued pressure however, as his next over cost 19 including 5 wides and 3 boundaries. The next over broke the back of the chase, as Taylor settled in nicely by hitting Arafat for two huge blows over cow corner in the course of 17 from the over. He then got out, but only 11 were needed and Geraint Jones won the match in style with another driven six off Arafat (see the end of the video below for his delighted celebration of the win).

A cracking victory achieved in difficult conditions and one that set us up nicely for the semi final against Yorkshire.

Video highlights below:

Unknown t20 competition launched in England

t20 Blast: Sussex 167 for 5 beat Glos 161 for 9 by six runs.

An interesting experiment as to how far the t20 Blast competition has fallen from public view was carried out by one member of the Jessop Tavern View over the last 10 days. Does moving house and relocating to the other end of the country enable you to have any idea that a national cricket competition in the games most popular format has begun? The answer, conclusively, was no. With limited time and media access, the t20 blast competition has fallen so far down the pecking order of sporting interest that it has completely managed to bypass someone who has a genuine interest in county cricket.

Some bloke called Pietersen hasn't exactly helped the ECB to launch what should be its flagship domestic product, but even so, a quick check on the Guardian app today demonstrated that whilst a over-by-over update from the IPL was being linked direct from the front page, Gloucestershire's t20 Blast match with Sussex was tucked away in shame. That a game from a domestic Indian competition can override a English t20 match speaks volumes about how far this competition has now fallen. Maybe George Dobell is right when he says the ECB are just trying to kill it off so that franchises have to be created. Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad thing.

Today Glos fought valiantly in defeat to Sussex which, whilst disappointing, still points towards a decent t20 campaign ahead for Glos.

Winning the toss and electing to field Glos did well to restrict Sussex to 167 for 5 with some tight bowling coming from the unlikely sources of not only James Fuller, but also from Tom Smith who took 3 for 24.

In reply Glos lost regular wickets early on to leave themselves constantly fighting an uphill battle. O'Mish top scored with what according to the official Glos website was a 'masterful' 45. The fact that the official website now considers 30s and 40s by O'Mish as 'masterful' says everything we need to say. Sadly the loss of wickets throughout meant that despite a sparkling cameo of 36 from only 20 balls from Jack Taylor the target remained out of reach for Glos.

As if to emphasise the Jessop Tavern's confusion over the launch of the t20 blast, Glos return to 4 day cricket tomorrow with a visit to bottom of the table Kent. Nothing whets the appetite for t20 cricket like some 4 day cricket mixed in with it. Utter nonsense.

Is Jack Taylor a chucker?

On Tuesday the ECB announced that Jack Taylor had been suspended from bowling in county cricket. Worse than this the ECB also felt the need to make clear that this suspension applied to him playing for England as well. Presumably Andy Flower's Ashes plans are now in disarray.

The ECB's statement is below:

“Glenn Querl and Jack Taylor suspended from bowling by ECB Two bowlers have been suspended from bowling, having been subject to the ECB process for bowlers with suspected illegal bowling actions. Hampshire’s Glenn Querl and Gloucestershire’s Jack Taylor have both been reported on two separate occasions within a 12-month period and have undergone independent analysis.In both cases no previous evidence was available and hence their bowling actions were subject to the independent analysis process set out in the ECB regulations for the review of bowlers reported with suspected illegal bowling actions. This analysis took place on Monday 20th May 2013. The report of the independent analysis was received by ECB on Tuesday 28th May 2013. The reports identified that the bowling actions of each player displayed elbow extension in excess of the permitted 15 degrees during analysis. This analysis follows the same procedures used by ICC in such circumstances.  Consequently and in accordance with the regulations, both Querl and Taylor are suspended from bowling for England and in competitive county cricket until such time as they have submitted to a fresh independent analysis in which it is concluded that they have remedied their actions. The suspension is with immediate effect.  ECB will make no further comment on this matter.”

Taylor has now been reported twice in a year. This raises a few interesting points.

Law 24.3 states that,

A ball is fairly delivered in respect of the arm if, once the bowler's arm has reached the level of the shoulder in the delivery swing, the elbow joint is not straightened partially or completely from that point until the ball has left the hand. This definition shall not debar a bowler from flexing or rotating the wrist in the delivery swing.

Which leads us to question exactly whose definition of 'fairly delivered' are we taking into account?

Taylor has played 12 matches and taken 21 wickets at an average of 42. If you were a division 2 batsman I would say that whatever bowling method he is currently using is perfectly 'fair'. He takes a wicket every 72 balls. Again, as a batsman, those sort of statistics seem very 'fair'.

The next question is really to do with how rubbish you must be to have those sort of figures and still be done for chucking. Most chuckers do so in order to deliver some great mystery ball, some wonderful fizzing, spitting, all singing, all dancing 'other one'. Jack Taylor doesn't. He chucks it, gets smashed, and is now suspended by the ECB for being a rubbish chucker.

The worst things about Taylor being suspended?

We are now going to have to watch more of Ed Young and his 70 average.

Glos in 'unexpectedly resilient effort' shocker

Leicestershire 250 and 32 for 2 lead Gloucestershire 280 (Taylor 61*, Gidman 52, Freckingham 4-69, Williams 4-69) by two runs

Highlights from Day 1 at Grace Road:



Halfway through today's play, we were feeling pretty downhearted. Glos were struggling and the prospect of conceding a first innings lead was looking likely, with the boys 101/5 at lunch. We sent some negative tweets and pondered life at the foot of Division Two of the LVCC. It had been a similar story at the end of Day 1, another day, another promising start with the ball preceded yet another let off as the opposition lower order again scored valuable runs to take them to a vaguely respectable score. All part of the ongoing narrative of mediocrity from Glos' inexperienced side, lacking in star power.

However, in the afternoon and evening sessions, a remarkable turnaround occurred. The last five wickets managed to add a creditable 234(!) runs, with young Jack Taylor starring with an unbeaten 61. Benny Howell chipped in a useful 52 to go with his 5-fer yesterday, as did Will Gidman. Even number 11 Craig Miles did well in putting on 41 for the last wicket and helping take Glos to a second batting point. It led us to ponder whether both sides had tried to old school cricket trick of reversing the batting order, to lull the opposition into a false sense of security. You do wonder whether Glos would have done this deliberately though, as in our school days the tactic was generally only employed when you had bowled the opposition out for under 50, as opposed to after they had scored a reasonable total.

There was more good stuff to come, as the ever-reliable Will Gidman struck twice with the new ball, to leave Leics in a vulnerable position overnight, with a lead of just two runs. You wonder whether our flaky batting line-up is capable of chasing much above 150 to win from here, but to have put ourselves in such a good position does say a lot for the spirit in the side. We may lack quality and consistency, as exposed by a superior all-around Northants unti last week, but Corporal Klinger's side don't appear to lack for heart. Encouraging stuff and let's hope we can press home our advantage tomorrow and get a crucial first win of the season. Fingers crossed.

For those of you who can't get enough of the Jessop Tavern View's cheery output, you will be pleased to know that you can now follow us on Twitter at @jessoptavern. You never know, if we get a few followers, we might actually be tempted to try for some pithy Glos-related quips in 140 characters or less

This is how it feels to be Gloucestershire.....

Result: Glamorgan beat Gloucestershire by 26 runs.


"Croft rolls back the years to sink Gloucestershire." - Cricinfo headline.

Do we need to say anymore? Really. How sickening is that to read.

We hate Robert Croft. We hate him in the same way that we hated Graeme Hick. In the same way that we hated Andy Caddick. People who are good, even though you know that really they are crap. And in the case of Croft at international level, really really crap.

Having fought back to 195 for 6 chasing 247 to win, and with both Cockbain and Taylor with fifties to their names, victory suddenly seemed to be ours for the taking. But then Crofty used all his varieties to take 3 for 6 in the space of 11 balls and end the contest.

Crofty has been Gloucestershire's nemesis for a number of years, to such an extent that we thought we would check out his career statistics versus Glos. Surprisingly they aren't that great. 89 wickets at an average of 28. Not exactly terrible, but considering how useless Glos have been throughout Crofty's entire career, you might have expected something a little better. So maybe Croft isn't our nemesis after all. But hold on. The Jessop Tavern View has very vivid memories of Croft destroying us in a fairly recent game at Cheltenham. This game was memorable for many reasons, some better than others. The Spear hit the most belligerent hundred we ever saw him hit. 89 balls in the final hour and a half of play. An innings that made the Jessop Tavern View miss the last bus home. However, the game belonged primarily to Croft, who took 6 for 120 in the first innings and then 7 for 67 in the second. Memorably, Glamorgan were set 40 odd to win with only about 5 overs left in the game. Brendon McCullum did the rest. What this all means is that we reckon that Croft has only recently become our nemesis. In the twilight of his career, that fat welsh git literally rolls off the Sky pundits couch in order to torment us. And yes, it feels a little personal.

Considering that Glos reduced Glamorgan to 64 for 6 on the first day, this is a pretty poor defeat. Throw in the fact that Glamorgan were bottom of the table and that we desperately needed a win in order to maintain some interest in the rest of the season and it's a pretty disillusioning defeat.

If you play 7 batsmen and then get skittled for 165 and 221 then you don't deserve to win any game. To try and find some positives, youngsters Ian Cockbain, Dan Housego and Jack Taylor at least made a fight of it. We were 48 for 4 in the second innings, so the defeat could have been even worse.

Lets hope that we pick four bowlers for todays game against Hampshire. Benny Howell seems to have barely hit the ball off the square since being handed a full time contract, and he should be the man to make room for either Liam Norwell or 38. It goes without saying that we have no idea what has happened to Will Gidman. It is now half an hour till the start of play against Hampshire and we have no idea about team news, or even who is in the squad for this game. Hampshire on the other hand provide their fans with this match preview. For the love of God Gloucestershire, is it too much to ask to have something similar?! How do you expect people to become fans and thus build up an interest in supporting the team? We've just checked the facebook page, and there is nothing. Honestly. This is a professional cricket team, struggling to bring in punters. We've just been on TV 3 times in a week. If there were any people out there wanting to follow the boys, perhaps rekindling a passion or just fancying getting into a bit of county cricket how are Gloucestershire helping these people? It really is shocking. The Jessop Tavern View is hardly Mr Marketing, but we do realise how powerful websites and social media can be.

Right, enough moaning.

Glos desperately need a win over the following four days to prevent this season really petering out. Considering all the positives we have seen so far this term, it would be a shame to see this season fade away.

Who needs more than three bowlers?

Day 2: Glamorgan 64 for 6 v Gloucestershire


After the disappointing defeat to Lancashire in the CB40 on monday night Glos were presumably delighted to finally not be appearing on tv with the return of proper cricket.

Apparently this is the first time Gloucestershire and Glamorgan have actually managed to play any cricket against each other this season, with all 3 previous matches being complete washouts. Not that we weren't far off another washout today, with only 27 overs possible in the afternoon. Still, this was enough time for Glos to reduce Glamorgan to 64 for 6 and hopefully set up the win that will keep the boys vaguely interested in the promotion chase.

The Jessop Tavern View is praising some heavenly body for the return of Richard Coughtrie, and thus common sense, to the four day side. Coughtrie might not be brilliant, but we'd rather see a crap youngster than Jon Batty keeping wicket. We are ok with Batty keeping in the one dayers, but haven't seen any value in him keeping Coughtrie out of the championship side. Let's hope that the young keeper is allowed to develop his batting down the order, and isn't pressed into action further up the batting lineup which proved his undoing at the start of the season. Frankly, Coughtrie is probably always going to be a very limited batsman. But with seven batsmen selected for this match, he shouldn't be too exposed.

Jack Taylor also makes a welcome return to the team. Ed Young hasn't really showed the progress that Gloucester fans would have liked to have seen from his time eating pies and drinking beer at Darren Lehman's academy down under, and it's about time Taylor were given his opportunity. His two wickets  from 6 overs on a turning first day pitch was a very good return.

Bizarrely, King John has decided that seven batsmen, and thus only three full time bowlers are the way forward. We are not entirely convinced, especially since one of those bowlers, Jack Taylor, hasn't played a championship game since August last year. However, with Glamorgan already 6 down, and the pitch inspector checking himself in to the local Premier Inn in order to come back and have another look tomorrow, seven batsmen looks a very clever move.

Sadly the forecast is not exactly promising for the rest of the game and so a result may well prove beyond either side.

Day 1 video highlights below:

Concentrate on the championship boys

CB40: Lancashire beat Gloucestershire by 4 wickets.


The Jessop Tavern view probably won't be going to Lord's this year after Lancashire scraped a hard fought victory on monday night. On what was frankly a piss poor pitch that looked more like a slab of hard worn concrete Glos managed to set a competitive 184 primarily due to Ian Cockbain flogging 20 from the final over of the innings. However, such a total really required Gidders and the boys to take regular wickets in order to keep Lancashire on the back foot, and sadly a partnership of 82 for the fourth Lancashire wicket did the damage to Gloucestershire's CB40 campaign.

King John decided to roll the selectorial dice and came up with a batting heavy lineup that included seven batsmen, three bowlers and a Jon Batty. In fairness the pitch was crap and turned from the start and thus the seven batsmen also included part time spinners Rob Nicol and Chris Dent who both bowled a full complement of 8 rather tidy overs. However, neither took a wicket, which on a turning wicket proved to be the difference. Gloucestershire also weren't helped by an indifferent performance from Ed Young who really struggled to find either line or length whilst going for over 5 an over. Ed Young had a very solid t20 campaign by being able to fire his darts into the batsman's pads. However, it would appear that when he is asked to do more than this he really doesn't have the control at the moment. Time to give Jack Taylor ago we reckon.

It seemed strange that captain Gidders used only the minimum 5 bowlers and didn't decide to give either himself or Benny a bowl. Considering Ed Young's struggles, and the fact that Nicol and Dent looked about as threatening as the Jessop Tavern's own slow left armers, surely a case could have been made for the skipper wobbling down a few seamers on an uneven track. Ah, hindsight....

The defeat now leaves Glos third in the table on 11 points, a point behind both Lancashire and Middlesex, with the former still having two games in hand. With only two games left for Glos the odds are now steeped against them. The remaining fixtures are home against Lancashire and then away against Leicestershire. It will pretty much be a case of having to win both those games and then pray. Who wanted to go to a Lord's final in mid September anyway!