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

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

A long road ahead for England/the 'Shire

Gloucestershire 80 for 0 trail Kent 474 (Stevens 126, Harmison 106, Key 53) by 394 runs

Gloucestershire are facing something of a mountain to climb after two days of toil in the field at Canterbury. You know it's a flat deck when Ben Harmison gets a hundred against you and that's exactly what happened on Day 1. This was followed today by a ton for the ICC's favourite, Darren Stevens and some late order runs which boosted the Kent total to a healthy 474 all out.

Glos will be disappointed to have allowed such a bottom-heavy batting card, having reduced 2nd from bottom Kent to 46-3 and 113-4 on Day 1. The attack did ok, but the change seamers Payne and Norwell again went for more than 4 runs per over each, which considering they bowled 49 overs between them is a lot of runs to ship. What we find disappointing is that if 18 year old Craig Miles is capable of going for under 4 an over in his first full season, why are Norwell and Payne, both now beyond rookie status, not capable of 'bowling dry' as well?

It says a lot about the others that Benny Howell's military medium was required for 19 overs as well. Tom Smith managed only 7 overs for 15, which doesn't say much for either the pitch or Klinger's confidence in our latest spinner.

There were more positive signs when Glos batted, with Corporal Klinger and Chris Dent continuing their nascent opening partnership and taking us to 80 without loss at the close. A lot of batting is required to see us to safety and beyond and you would say that only two results are likely at this stage of the game, a draw or a Kent victory.

On the plus side, some time has already been lost to rain and the weather forecast isn't looking that promising for the next two days.

In many ways this game has mirrored the 5th Test at the Oval. Lose the toss and witness the opposition rack up almost 500, with hundreds from a perennial underachiever and a dasher with a unorthodox technique. Then face some tricky overs before the close on Day 2. the only difference is that the Aussies have Nathan Lyon whereas Kent only have James Tredwell. On second thoughts, these matches are identical!

Video Highlights from Day 2:

How good is Will Gidman?

Kent 119 for 6 (W Gidman 3-23) trail Gloucestershire 255 (W Gidman 56) by 136 runs

The Jessop Tavern View would like to admit to being big fans of Will Gidman. (This is only partially due to automatically liking people who share the same name as us). For a man who couldn't even get in Durham's 4 day side two years ago, he is now the key player in the Glos side. He may not be a spectacular performer with either bat or ball, but he has proved solid and reliable in both disciplines. His willingness to step up and take the new ball following the departure of Jon Lewis is a case in point and his 9 wickets last week have already been complimented by 3 in Kent's first innings.

Gidman began the day by helping Ed Young rebuild the shire's innings from a precarious overnight 131-6 to 174, passing 50 on the way, before being run out by Brendan Nash after being sent back by Young. Paul Muchall joined Young and they added another 50 before Mark Davies (one of many Durham rejects plying their trade in this match) bowled Muchall and had Saxelby LBW in successive balls. Young pulled a six off Matt Coles and finished unbeaten on 55, his first half century of the season.

The young seam attack made early inroads in to Kent's vaunted (by Div 2 standards) batting lineup, with Gidman dismissing Key, Ben Harmison and Powell, all caught at the wicket by Coughtrie. Saxelby accounted for West Indian Brendan Nash and Payne bowled Scott Newman. This left Kent in big trouble at 55-5 but Stevens and Geraint Jones rebuilt the innings by batting sensibly. They took the score on to 110, before Ed Young bowled Stevens for 54 with a delivery Alex Winter described on Cricinfo as 'probably one of the best balls Young has ever bowled, certainly in first-class cricket'. Praise indeed from a man who has actually seen Young play live on many more occasions than the Jessop Tavern View.

What can Glos fans expect from the rest of the match? A lot depends on the weather. If the rain holds off and the boys can bowl Kent out while we still have a lead of around 100, then a win is a distinct possibility. It wouldn't require a huge second innings score to set Kent an imposing target for victory and several sessions to bat out to avoid defeat. Any lead of over 300 would be useful with the way the bowling attack has performed so far. Who would have thought after yesterday (and our negativity after the Essex match) that the boys could potentially be looking at 2 away wins from our first 3 matches?