Catch-up

Gloucestershire v Middlesex: Match drawn.

In a crunch promotion battle Gloucestershire were perhaps a little bit negative in attempting to force victory. In the end the extra 50 runs added before the declaration looked like they could have been vital as Glos wobbled at 65 for 4 in their second innings. At the end of the day Gloucestershire will probably feel pretty pleased with their 11 points away to the second placed team in the division.

Kane Williamson finally got in the runs in the second innings. Greater contributions from our clearly talented overseas player will be vital if Gloucestershire are serious about promotion.

The bowlers again operated well as a unit and it was particularly interesting to see young Jack Taylor trusted with 29 tight overs. Does this mean that he has now jumped ahead of Ed Young in the spin bowling department? Considering that Young was only given a couple of overs in recent matches we would presume so.

Gloucestershire are now only 4 points behind Middlesex in the table. Our next matches are at the championship graveyard that is Cheltenham college. The boys will have to figure out how to win 4 day matches whilst at Cheltenham to maintain their promotion challenge.



t20 roundup.

We feel obliged to mention that we also beat Somerset and lost to Sussex in the t20. Frankly we have lost any interest in this competition. That said, we are encouraged to see the youngsters continuing to progress. Jack Taylor put in a match winning allround performance against Somerset which presumably has cemented his place ahead of Ed Young, and seen Vikram Banerjee begin sending his CV round the minor counties.

Against Sussex the boys just seemed to lack a dynamic match winner, the story of our t20 campaign so far. We haven't really disgraced ourselves in the competition, but we don't really have enough match winners in this format to realistically challenge. We hoped 'the butcher' might provide this, but remove his hundred against Middlesex and his contributions have been poor. Still, if the kids are learning from Murali, and from playing in the pressurised situation of t20 then its not been a complete waste of time.

We now need to win our remaining 5 games to qualify for the quarter finals. Don't hold your breath.

Sussex highlights here

Shire emerge with creditable draw with table toppers Middlesex

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

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

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


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

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

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

'The kid' bravely pulls Glos back into contention

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Strange selection begins to backfire on Glos

Day 2: Gloucestershire 358 v Middlesex 296 - 4

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gloucestershire 302-6 v Middlesex at Bristol

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

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

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

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

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

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

Preview: Gloucestershire v Middlesex. County Championship

'Now Kane makes Championship debut', screams the headline from our favourite official Gloucestershire website, a statement that seems to suggest that we should somehow be grateful that our overseas player is to play his first proper cricket match almost a month into the season. Whatever the reasons for the delay in his visa his debut is definitely nicely timed as Gloucestershire go head to head with division leaders Middlesex.

Perhaps what is best about Kane Williamson's debut is that he steps into a side hopefully as the final-ish piece in this seasons jigsaw (we are well aware that this is a jigsaw that is guaranteed to have more than just several pieces missing when we finally look back at it in September). Williamson will provide a welcome boost to a batting line up that has thus far done just enough. With O'Mish and young Cockbain opening, and then Williamson, Taylor and the original Gidders our top order is beginning to look reasonably strong. It will be severely tested by a Middlesex side that has already made both Essex and Surrey follow on and can boast of a seam attack featuring up a fired up Steve Finn looking to force his way back into the test team.

Perhaps encouragingly Middlesex's top order has yet to really fire this season. Worryingly Chris Rogers has often taken a shine to the sight of Gloucestershire bowlers wobbling in against him and his wicket will be the key one. Get Rogers earlier and we can hopefully get at what is a fairly young and inexperienced middle order with the comically named Dan Housego and equally daft Dawid Malan both in their early 20's along with wicketkeeper batsman John Simpson.

Gloucestershire have obviously been paying attention to the guys at Glos la la la and drop Vikram Banerjee from the squad. An all seam attack featuring Norwell, Payne, Saxelby and the old Sperm donor will have to get the job done.

It promises to be an interesting match up that will almost certainly be decided by how are batsmen fare against their bowlers. In past seasons this was just the sort of scenario that Glos fans dreaded, but surprisingly the Jessop Tavern View has decided to be positive and thinks that our kiwi's (shit, sorry, kiwi and Irishman...we must remember) will see us to victory.

Middlesex CCC website - Is it possible that the team from the home of cricket can produce a website almost as bad as Gloucestershire's own? We reckon it is, especially with the over use of pink. The rather promising 'Match Summary' banner for the game against Glos leads through to a completely empty page although we were greeted with some pictures of cheerleaders so not all bad. Still, we expect technological ineptitude out in the Shire, the London boys should be able to do better than this pretty piss poor effort. 2/10.