T20 roundup: Glos in a strong position after two wins from three

Three T20 fixtures since our last post saw Glos claim two wins to briefly go top of the South Group, before a close loss against Kent left the 'shire second with a crucial fixture against the Welsh county to come on Sunday.

July 1st
Gloucestershire 168 for 3 (Klinger 101, Overton 3-33) beat Somerset 167 for 7 (Jayawardene 41, Taylor 3-16) by seven wickets 
Scorecard

Michael Klinger reinforced his credentials as arguably the best three format batsman in county cricket with his 6th career T20 hundred (& 5th for the shire) as Glos completed the 'cider double' over local rivals Somerset.

Maxy's 101 from 71 balls was a typically chanceless innings and helped Glos overhaul Somerset's 167 with ease. Glos bowled really well to restrict a Gayle-less side to an underpar score for the Taunton road, with Benny Howell again impressing with 1-23 from his spell.

Klinger struck 4 sixes and 10 fours and his partnership of 107 with Ian Cockbain was enough to break the back of the chase after O'Mish fell cheaply at the start. A convincing win for the boys against a Somerset side who have been disappointing in T20 this season.

Video highlights:

July 6th
Gloucestershire 152 for 4 (Cockbain 73*, Dent 39) beat Surrey 151 for 9 (Sibley 32, Finch 31, Tye 3-16) by six wickets 
Scorecard

Glos again triumphed comfortably in a game weirdly lacking a Cricinfo write-up, despite being televised live on Sky. This was the 'Shire's 5th T20 win in a row and left them temporarily top of the South group ahead of Glamorgan.

Another fine bowling and fielding effort restricted a dangerous Surrey batting lineup to 151, with Tye taking a Glos-best 3-16 from 4 overs. It was noticeable that Glos managed to prevent the Surrey batsmen from hitting boundaries after the departures of Aaron Finch, Chris Morris and Sibley and it was only a later flourish from the Curran brothers which saw Surrey even pass 150.

The target proved no problem for an in-form Glos batting side, with Ian Cockbain looking especially good as he hit an unbeaten 73 from number three. O'Mish and Klinger (to a great catch by Finch) departed relatively cheaply after getting starts, but the Liverpudlian hit the ball well throughout. His stand of 78 with Chris Dent was sufficient to see us most of the way to another deserved victory.

Video highlights:

Kent 148 for 7 (Denly 51, Howell 3-29) beat Gloucestershire 145 for 8 (Klinger 42, Howell 37) by three runs 
Scorecard

A disappointing result in a tight game with Kent brought the boys back to earth after consecutive wins. This loss sets up a decisive game with Glamorgan in Cardiff on Sunday, with the winner securing a quarter final place and likely going a long way to winning the South Group with only 2 fixtures remaining after the Glamorgan game.

Kent looked to have been restricted to a moderate total, with only Joe Denly with 51 really getting to grips with a parsimonious Glos bowling attack. However, Glos lost wickets with regularity while chasing and only Klinger and Howell really managed any sense of permanence in scoring 42 and 37 respectively. The middle order played some poor shots to get themselves out (Gourmet-Burger in particular slogging brainlessly with Howell well set) and Howell and the tail were left a stiff task at the end.

Benny will doubtless be annoyed at failing to get us over the line in the final over- he was run out attempting to sneak two (after being caught) off a Mitchell Claydon no ball which saw him removed from the attack. This left Griffiths to bowl a free hit dot ball and then complete the over, leaving Kent the winners by just 3 runs. Frustrating not to win after another excellent job in the field, but qualification still remains in our hands.

Video 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!!

Weather saves Glos from second Surrey slaughter

Gloucestershire 233 (8 points) drew with Surrey 349 - 6 (11 points)

Gloucestershire remained unbeaten in the Championship since the two wins during the Cheltenham Festival, after a game ruined by the rain. The scorecard doesn't tell the true story though, as the match one in which Surrey would likely have pressed for a victory (and promotion) after dominating proceedings on Day 2 of the match before the weather intervened.

Gloucestershire batted first after being put in by Gareth Batty and it didn't go well as the talented Curran brothers reduced us to 63-4 inside the first hour, with Tavare, Dent, O'Mish and Howell all departing cheaply. The 'shire were indebted to Gareth Roderick's 71 for getting us on the way to an even passable first innings total, as he punished some wayward bowling, striking 12 fours on his way to a 100 ball 71. However, having seen a patient Roderick and Gourmet-Burger partnership take us 103-4 at the interval, wickets continued to fall after lunch.

First to go was the Kiwi, for yet another low score (his highest championship knock of the season is just 61) and Jack Taylor and Roderick soon followed. This brought together James Fuller and Tom Smith and the Kiwi decided he wasn't going to die wondering- he struck several crisp boundaries in a 40 ball 48, before he was bowled by Tom Curran who completed a 5-fer. Smith then put on a second fifty partnership with David Payne, taking us to 203-8 at tea and beyond, before Payne was caught off Curran on his way to 6-61. Norwell was soon bowled by Batty and we were all out for a below-par 233. Surrey reached 74-2 at the close, with Norwell strangling Arun Harinath down the leg side and Rory Burns caught by Fuller off Benny the Frenchman.

Day 2 was very much a batting day, with one of Surrey's many wicket keepers, Ben Foakes to the fore. The wasn't an awful lot to write home about from a 'shire perspective, as good batting conditions saw Foakes reach a career-best 140*, ably supported by 17 year old Sam Curran who hit 49 and Jason Roy who chipped in with 39. Glos used seven bowlers in the day and it said a lot that economical medium pace trundler Gourmet-Burger was the pick of the attack with two wickets.

All this put Surrey in a very strong position at the close, with power to add to a handy on Day 3 and a high-quality bowling attack raring to have a crack at our flaky batting lineup. Thankfully this became academic when it subsequently poured down with rain for the next two days, meaning no further play was possible after Day 2. The result was we escaped with a handy draw, not bad considering the stuffing we received from Surrey at the Oval back in late June.

Video highlights below:

Day 1

Day 2

50 over recap: The good, the bad and the irrelevant

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.

Video highlights

T20 v Surrey: Glos move from the ridiculous to the sublime and back again

Surrey 155 for 6 (Sangakkara 34, Roy 33,) beat Gloucestershire 154 for 5 (Handscomb 39, Jones 37*, Dunn 2-15) by 4 wickets
Scorecard

Being a Gloucestershire supporter is rarely dull, although it is frequently exasperating. See the forthcoming Northants write up from Cheltenham for more on this theme. Last week however was a T20 week, and we were both able to get to the Oval to see the game with some friends.

In scorching 36 degree weather described as 'the hottest day in London for a decade', we saw a curate's egg of of match. The pitch was slow, sticky and took turn in abundance, which belied the Oval's batsmen-friendly reputation. Glos lost star man Klinger early to Matt Dunn, then struggled to get going throughout the 20 overs, despite some steady partnerships and the loss of just 5 wickets.

A couple of typical 'shire moments occurred when both Ian Cockbain and  O' Mish perished the ball after striking sixes. Cockbain's was the more brainless shot, as he dragged on a slog, having just dispatched Dunn over long on the previous delivery. Marshall was caught behind off a gripping and turning Ansari delivery, an excellent response to having been pulled over deep midwicket.

The only real partnership of note came when Peter Handscomb put on 62 with Geraint Jones. Both men struggled to get the ball away to the boundary, but they ran hard and helped set a reasonable target above 150.

Things didn't start well for the boys though, as Jason Roy and Tom Curran opened up with a brisk 35 partnership which saw Roy strike several attractive boundaries through his favourite off side, plus a big six. However, once Roy departed stumped (off surprise T20 wicket-taking threat Tom Smith) for 35, wickets fell at regular intervals and Surrey also found boundaries hard to come by.

Sangakkara stuck around to anchor the innings and a good partnership of 53 with Ben Foakes was the second highest of the match. However, both Glos spinners bowled with excellent control and the run rate climbed to 10 an over from the last 4, despite some unnecessary extras from both Gourmet-Burger and Benny Howell in the middle overs. When Smith dismissed Sangakkara for 34, Surrey were in a bit of trouble and Surrey began the last over still needing 9 to win.

Craig Miles began with a wide, then dismissed Zafar Ansari via an excellent Liam Norwell catch at fine leg. The next three deliveries were all tight and things were looking good as Azhar failed to connect with the penultimate ball, leaving an improbable six needed from the final ball. The consensus among us sat in the crowd was that a yorker or wider full length ball was the way to go, especially with Azhar having missed an almighty swish at the penultimate (short) delivery from Miles. After much discussion with Klinger and the brains trust, the youngster ran in and bowled another short one. Sadly the wily 40 year old (twice Miles' age!) was ready and waiting. He swung the ball away over the leg side, over the head of Benny Howell and over the boundary for a improbable match-winning six, sending the home crowd wild. And us home with our heads in our hands.

Video highlights of the heartbreak below:

Championship roundup: The slump is on after consecutive abject defeats

Gloucestershire's early season momentum is well and truly gone after two heavy Championship defeats in a week. Both efforts were pretty pathetic, but the innings defeat to Surrey was one of the low points of the season so far. We may be accused of trademark negativity here, but how else do you describe an innings and 180 run defeat inside three days, while failing to top 160 on either occasion. That was our 5th Championship loss of the season and it's hard to see us getting any better with the overall lack of quality in the squad and consequent absence of competition for places.

Essex 319 (ten Doeschate 73, Foster 63) and 117 for 5 (Westley 65*) beat Gloucestershire 116 (Napier 4-27) and 316 (Klinger 103) by five wickets
Scorecard

The Essex game actually started out reasonably well, with an even first day which saw Essex fight back from 169-5 to post 319 after Ryan Ten Doeschate's 73. Watching the video however, you can see the signs of things not going well, as stand-in keeper Geraint Jones shells an easy chance to dismiss Nick Browne off the bowling of Fuller. Gareth Roderick played in this match as a batsman only due to his damaged hand and let's hope it recovers soon. You can see why Jones has basically retired from keeping these days when you look at him shelling simple chances like this.

It all went downhill fairly rapidly from there though, as we were skittled for a meagre 116 on first innings (in 39 overs!) with Graham Napier taking 4-27. Best not to dwell on this other than the fact that this led to the inevitable follow on, with Glos ending the day still 77 behind at 126-3 on second innings. Day 3 saw one bright spot, as Michael Klinger completed his second championship century of the season, before we were bowled out for 316, leaving Essex 117 for victory.

They knocked these off without too many scares, despite losing Cook first ball and sent Glos to our 4th home Championship defeat in as many games. Not good to lose so heavily to a side like Essex who had struggled earlier in the season and who we beat comfortably by 9 wickets down at Chelmsford. That said, it only got worse below.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Surrey 448 (Foakes 118, Elgar 98, Ansari 64, Batty 50, Norwell 5-112) beat Gloucestershire 113 (Curran 7-20) and 155 (Tavare 58, Ansari 6-30) by an innings and 180 runs
Scorecard

We are not going to waste too much time on this, as the performance was fairly shambolic from start to finish. Once Surrey posted over 400 we were already predicting the follow on and it duly followed with yet another sub-150 total. A tenuous bright spot for 'Shire fans came as (son of sadly departed former Glos all-rounder Kevin) Tom Curran took a career-best 7-20 as he ripped through a wafer-thin Glos lineup stuffed with players either out of form or essentially un-droppable, due to lack of alternatives.

Predictably we were asked to follow on and this time it was the slow left arm of Zafar Ansari that did the damage. Despite a battling 58 from Will Tavare, his 6-30 hastened the second innings to a rapid close with Glos still 180 shy of making Surrey bat again. All in all a really bad performance and not one that bodes well for this week's T20 game against the same opponents at the Oval.

Both halves of the Jessop Tavern will actually be at the game, so heatstroke notwithstanding, readers will be able to read a surprisingly accurate recap (by our standards) later in the week.

Video highlights from 3 days of misery for 'Shire fans below.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Back in the habit of mediocrity

Day 2; Glos 112 v Surrey 626 - 6.

The Jessop Tavern View has always been more comfortable with abject failure. Both from a personal perspective when on a cricket field and while supporting Gloucestershire for over two decades; it's fair to say we have had a fair few of these sort of days. Thus it is with some relish that we can empty out our half full glass and enjoy the comfortable feeling of, well, being Gloucestershire we guess.

When Isaac Newton wrote about momentum he didn't really have county cricket in mind. Still, had Newton ever had to watch Gloucestershire he might have ripped up his laws of physics and decided what's the point. Mass x Velocity means nothing to the Shire. Despite a phenomenal performance against Leicestershire being backed up with some very good cricket in the t20 Glos have produced an absolutely humdinger of a stinker in this match to bring us all crashing back down to earth.

It is now fairly safe to say that the Bristol pitch really wasn't a 112 all out in the first innings sort of pitch. With a team missing Will Tavare's enormous experience (7 proper first class matches) and Chris Dent's runs (224 at an average of 20) Gloucestershire's batsmen ripped up the form book and collapsed in our themselves in impressive fashion. It would have been one thing to have been blown away by a rejuvenated Chris Tremlett giving the middle of the pitch a thorough test. Or by Jade Dernbach bamboozling us with an assortment of back of the hand deliveries- with batsmen surprised that Dernbach actually even knows he is supposed to be bowling at the three sticks at the other end. But no. Gloucestershire managed to allow Jason Roy to blitz them. Admittedly, the Shire were already in the mire by the point Roy was thrown the ball, but still. Jason Roy had 6 first class wickets before yesterday. Gloucestershire allowed him to end up with figures of 3 for 9. Shameful.

At the start of the season, even with Saxelby, Miles, Fuller and Payne, Gloucestershire's bowling looked a little bit pop gun. Now shorn of all 4 of those players due to injury, the boys struggled to even muster the venom of a pop gun in response to being bowled out for 112.

By all accounts the boys actually bowled alright on a placid pitch, and certainly no one's figures are too disgraceful. In further defence of the bowlers they have also held up reasonably well this season. The Jessop Tavern certainly feared that days like today might be more frequent than they have been. So let's just put this match to one side and move on. Arguably the best thing the boys could do would be to roll over tomorrow and have a day off on Thursday.

Promotion hopes stutter in thriller against Surrey

Day 4: Glos 286 and 320 v Surrey 423 and 186 - 8. Surrey win by 2 wickets.

Oh boys. The chance was there, and having fought so hard it seems even worse that we only walk away with 5 points. With Middlesex beating Derby a gap has now opened between the top two promotion places and the the chasing pack.

Gloucestershire really just needed one batsman to bat all the way through to lunch on the final morning. Had this happened then we would would have posted a more challenging total to Surrey, somewhere around 250 would have done the trick for their shot-a-ball dashers.

Sadly, despite having done brilliantly well to claw their way back into the game having been 117 for 5 in the first innings, Glos couldn't quite find the runs at the crucial time in the fourth innings. This is about the only time this season, in the county championship at least, that we have failed to produce at the crucial time. Considering that we have now entered August, we can forgive the lads.

All in all it was a brilliant match of very high quality, exciting cricket played by a load of young English players. However, the game was won by the wonderful first innings contribution of Mark Ramprakash, whose 141 was pretty much the difference between the sides. We won't mention who dropped him.......

Gloucestershire now roll on to Derby next week and will need to bounce back with a win if they are to keep their promotion hopes alive. This has been a hugely promising season so far for the Glos youngsters. It would be shame if the performances tailed off in the final month of the season.

Day 3 video highlights



Day 4 video highlights

The hips punishes Coughtrie's miss

Day 2: Gloucestershire 286 v Surrey 392 - 8.

It could have been so different for Gloucestershire today. Having only made 4, Ramprakash pushed at a David Payne delivery slanted across him. Richard Coughtrie went diving across, one handed in front of the skipper at first slip, and shelled it. Had he left it then Gidman would have easily taken it. These things happen. Sadly though Ramps went on to score 141 and take Surrey to a first innings lead of 106. Bugger.

Gloucestershire plugged away manfully with a ball that did no where near as much as it had for Surrey the day before. Whether this was because of poor bowling or a pitch flattening out we shall discover tomorrow.

The most disappointing part of the day occurred in the 10 overs before the new ball was taken. At this point Surrey had just lost Gareth Batty at 263 for 7, and were in danger of conceding a first innings lead to Glos. Bizarrely, Captain Marvel decided that this was the time to rattle through a few quick overs and get to that new ball. Thus we were treated to 10 overs of O'Mish trundling in and poor Jack Taylor pursuing a negative leg stump line. It didn't work. Ramps and Arafat milked the easy bowling for almost 5 an over and by the time the new ball was taken the lead was already approaching 50. In what looked like being a very tight match this period of play could well prove decisive. The fact that the new ball then failed to make the breakthrough merely rubbed salt in the wounds.


Ramprakash's innings was a study in how to ease your way to a championship hundred. He constantly kept himself ticking over with quick singles on the off side. He maneuvered the ball around at will. He only looked to hit the bad ball. You have to wonder exactly what Messrs Hamilton-Brown, Davies, Maynard and Roy were all thinking as they watched 41 year old Ramps at work. All 4 of these extremely talented young guns had looked a million dollars before falling to loose and unnecessarily aggressive shots. We doubt Hamilton-Brown took in very much. He seemed far more interested in making several trips to the ice cream van at the end of the members enclosure. Does having a double barrelled name entitle you to having two flakes in your 99?

So where do Glos go from here? The Surrey fans around me were joking that Linley had been sent in to protect Dernbach so he can have a blast in the morning. Lets hope we can limit the lead to 120 and that the pitch continues to flatten out. O'Mish, Dent and Williamson all owe us runs. We hope that the slightly strange decision to play Jack Taylor in this match doesn't mean we end up ruing being a batsman short. Young Taylor obviously has some talent, but this appears to currently be more with the bat than with the ball. His round arm off spinners provided nothing that Kane Williamson couldn't have.

One final thought. Whilst sat watching Steven Davies at the start of play somebody around me sounded the question, 'Is Davies the only registered gay cricketer?' This begs the bigger question, does the ECB have such a register? Or should perhaps the Cricketer's Who's-Who start to include a question about sexual preference? Please let us know your thoughts.

APR Gidman: An apology

Day 3: Gloucestershire 261 and 161 - 5 beat Surrey 225 and 195 by 4 wickets.

Points: Gloucestershire 21, Surrey 4.


It wasn't meant to be like this. The Jessop Tavern View thought it was being all big and clever by reckoning the 30 odd extra runs Glos had given away cheaply on days 1 and 2 were going to be the difference. At 54 for 5 this afternoon, we thought that even when the boys crumbled to defeat, we could at least console ourselves by writing a smug post this evening. Instead we are going to have to eat some serious humble pie as a result of captain marvellous batting us practically single-handedly to an absolutely fantastic win.


Now it's fair to say that the Jessop Tavern View has not been too positive about our glorious skipper. 'Flat track bully', 'cowardly hiding down the order' and 'unfulfilled talent' have all been used to describe our born leader of men. Well hands up. Today Alex 'by far the better' Gidman proved us completely wrong. When the going got tough our skipper rolled up his sleeves and said, "don't worry lads, I'll sort this out". It's exactly the sort of innings not seen from a Gloucestershire batsman in quite some time.

Mark Church, of BBC London, described the pitch as a typical 1980's 3 day pitch. Gidman described it as a deliberate seamers wicket (something he ruefully admitted that Glos have often produced to their detriment). Whatever the state of the pitch, it has produced a fantastic game of cricket.

Gloucestershire decided to make the game even more interesting by bizarrely keeping Ian Saxelby out of the attack until 45 minutes into the day's play. By this point Surrey had battled to 179 for 5 and looked poised to set Gloucestershire something in excess of 200 to chase. Within about half an hour of being introduced into the attack Saxelby had blown through Surrey's tail and finished with career best figures of 6 for 69, and 10 for 142 in the match. The only slight criticism of Saxelby's performance is that he went at almost 5 an over. Splitting hairs really.

I don't think we were the only Glos supporters who looked at 160 to win and shuddered. So often in the recent past have the bowlers worked hard to set up this scenario only for the batsmen to throw it away. At 54 for 5 a few of the older heads in the dressing room must have been thinking 'here we go again'. But as we have seen all season, this young Gloucestershire side is made of tougher stuff and the main story of the season has been our refreshing ability to fight our way out of difficult situations. As brilliantly as captain marvel played, he couldn't have done it without the support of two of the young guns, as first Coughtrie and then Ed Young helped Gidders lead us to glory.

The boys are now third in the table after half the season. Next up in the championship we face second placed Middlesex. So the Jessop Tavern View does get a smug feeling after all. But smug because, for the first time in ages, we feel we are supporting a decent team. Oh, and Alex, if you happen to read this. We're sorry...but only if you go on and average 50 for the season!

It's all about the hips

Day 2: Surrey 225 and 145 - 5 v Gloucestershire 261.

In the vain hope that the Jessop Tavern View can finally claim to have made a shrewd piece of analysis, and without the benefit of hindsight, we are going to quote ourselves from yesterday's blog. " The 225 that Surrey managed to eek out should have been 50 runs less, but it was a good effort. The biggest criticism we can level is the number of boundaries served up by the boys and the resultant indulgent run rate Surrey were able to score at. In what is likely to be a fairly low scoring game, these loose runs, some what given away, could prove costly." We reckon that this will end up being pretty close to the truth tomorrow in a game that Gloucestershire should go on to win.

It seems harsh to blame the bowlers when they have bowled out a team for 225 first time around and have Surrey reduced to 145 for 5 at the second asking. It would be harsh indeed to say that the 4 pace men have not quite been clinical enough. We have already stated that we thought Surrey were gifted 50 runs too many in the first innings. In their second innings we have already gifted them 25 runs in extras and again allowed them to score at over 4 an over. That's 75 extra runs we'll have to chase. Even if 75 runs is a touch over-critical, we can consider that we will have to chase at least 30 odd runs more than we should. That's the difference between chasing 170 or 200. On such margins will this intriguingly poised game be decided.

We reckon that perhaps Gloucester missed a trick by not giving the Sperm donor more of an opportunity to have a tonk further up the order. As soon as both Gidmans were gone, run scoring practically stopped. Coughtrie again showed good application, but with scoring becoming increasingly difficult it seemed a bit of a waste of Lewis' unique brand of batting (at an average of over 30 for the season) to leave him down at number 11. A quickfire 20 or 30 a bit further up the order might have put the Surrey bowlers off their rhythm. As it was, his slapdash 17 was wasted coming in at number 11. 

The third day promises to be a genuinely intriguing day of cricket, and for all the right reasons. As Richard Latham's match report on the official website states, it will all depend on the hips. If his 147th first class fifty becomes his 114th first class century then it's likely that Gloucestershire will be chasing at least 200. On a pitch that has been difficult to bat on throughout, you would favour Surrey in that scenario.

Lets hope that we can get Ramps early and then keep the scoring rate down as we work away at the tail. We have been the better side on both days so far and deserve to come away with a victory.

Gloucestershire start well...but it could have been much better

Day 1: Surrey 225 v Gloucestershire 171 -4

I guess it is a sign of real progress that as a Gloucestershire fan I am now viewing performances with more of a microscope. Where as before we would have just been delighted to have not been either put to the sword or skittled for 80 odd, we are now in the strange position of feeling that today we missed the opportunity to really ram home the advantage.

We have already praised the selection for this match, with both Coughtrie and Young replacing the hapless Batty and the frankly useless Banerjee. Its also so nice to have a player like Will Gidman available to provide real balance. With the better Gidders playing as the fourth seamer and batting at six there is a really nice feel to a young middle order that runs, Gidman W, Coughtrie, Young.

After winning the toss full credit must go to the seamers for taking full advantage of helpful conditions. Admittedly the 225 that Surrey managed to eek out should have been 50 runs less, but it was a good effort. The biggest criticism we can level is the number of boundaries served up by the boys and the resultant indulgent run rate Surrey were able to score at. In what is likely to be a fairly low scoring game, these loose runs, some what given away, could prove costly.

In reply Gloucestershire's batsmen did their usual trick. Everyone, save Dent, and more about him later, got themselves in, and then got themselves out. Considering we had by far the best conditions of the day to bat in during the afternoon, this is slightly disappointing. O'Mish batted patiently, got himself nicely set, then got out. Williamson, played fluently, then got out during a testing spell from the impressive Dernbach. (1 for 20 off 12, including O'Mish dropped in the slips) The Kid continued this season's good form, and seems to have been unlucky to have received a shooter having just passed fifty. If Gloucestershire are to press home their advantage then it will need someone to go on and make a sizable contribution tomorrow. Can captain Gidders be this man? The Jessop Tavern View doesn't reckon the skipper has it in him and we are predicting a slender first innings leader of around 50.

Our final point for today concerns young Chris Dent. We have already seen enough from Dent to know that there was a reason why he was the first of the youngsters to be elevated to the first team last year. Despite having not reached his maiden first class hundred you feel that it is genuinely only a matter of time, and that when he makes his first one, several more will follow in quick succession. It's just that he doesn't seem comfortable at the top of the order. We have neither the time or the inclination to back this up statistically, but we reckon that most of Dent's better knocks have come when he has batted lower down. I guess at least we seem to have settled on a position for him and he will be glad to have ended the constant yo-yoing up and down the order. The other problem is of course who else should open in his place, and where in the middle order would he fit in? In truth it seems that the opening slot is the only one available to him. We just hope it doesn't stunt the development of a genuinely talented looking kid.

Finally, if anyone from BBC Radio London is reading this. Less of the polo chat tomorrow boys. Or, if you insist on talking about polo, at least make it humorous.

Preview: Gloucestershire v Surrey, County Championship

Proper cricket returns to give us a much needed rest from the abject performances we have been witnessing in the T20 over the last few weeks. Surrey currently lie 4th in the table on 81 points, Gloucestershire are 5th on 78 points. It is another game that will go along way to define our season. Win, and we are still challenging at the top of the table. Lose, and the scrap for the wooden spoon will start.

Hamish Marshall returns to the championship side after injury and weddings kept him sidelined for much of the first half of the campaign. He comes into the team at the expense of Ian Cockbain, according to the squad announced on the Glos cricket website. This would seem a little bit harsh on young Cockbain. We presume that Chris Dent will therefore open with O'Mish. We're not entirely convinced by this decision. O'Mish definitely isn't an opener, and the Jessop Tavern View suspects that Dent would be better served batting at 6 and cementing himself in the side with a few hundreds before moving up the order.

Dick Coughtrie will be given the opportunity to cast Jon Batty to the sidelines, by continuing his encouraging showings with the gloves during the T20. We hope that common sense will mean Coughtrie bats in the lower middle order and is not pressed to open. A top score of 45 in 14 first class matches suggests this is more his natural position.

Kaiser Bracewell has stated that he is concerned that the Kia Oval will turn later in the game and this explains why both Ed Young and Jack Taylor are included as the spin options. No Vikram Banerjee then. Everyone do a little dance. Payne, Saxelby, the better Gidders and Sperm donor make up the seam choices.

This squad selection shows really encouraging signs that common sense has at last arrived at Gloucestershire. Batty has struggled for a year and a half and we have a young and apparently competent alternative in Coughtrie. Banerjee has barely troubled anyone since his arrival in Bristol. Ed Young shows plenty of potential. Lets hope that these kids are now given the rest of the season to develop properly.

Surrey will present a good challenge to the youngsters. To look at the Surrey squad for today, even minus the England players, is to wonder how they are mid table in division 2. Yet crap cricket and strange decisions are things that Surrey have done almost as well as Gloucestershire in recent years.

Lets just hope that the boys can tune back in to 4 day cricket quickly. A good away result at this point in the season would be a great way to set up the second half of the season.