Which way to Finals Day??

T20 Blast: Glos beat Glamorgan by 9 wickets

It is the mark of a very good side if they re able to shrug off disappointment and use defeat as the motivation to put in a performance that banishes any lingering disappointment. Glos did that, and then some, bouncing back from a close loss to Kent with their finest T20 victory of the season against table-topping Glamorgan on Sunday. Aided by a slightly strange decision by Glamorgan to bat first on a sluggish pitch.

You'd like to know what the Glamorgan lads thought when they rocked up in Cardiff to see that their groundsman had prepared an absolutely pudding for their 3 out and out quick bowlers to toil away on. A little bit like the groundsman at the Oval who prepared that absolute bunsen for Murali to bowl on all those years ago, Tait, Hogan and Van der Gutgen must have been wondered what the heck was going on.

Gloucestershire's attack duly licked their lips and set about applying their mixture of slower balls on a sticky pitch to utterly smother Glamorgan's batsmen. 'Jacques' van Buuren took 3 for 19. Tom Smith took 2 for 13. Benny took 1 for 13. All demonstrating that pace off the ball was the way to go. Thus potentially the performance of the day was Liam Norwell's 0 for 21 from 4 overs, demonstrating once again that Norwell is maturing into a very useful bowler in various formats.

Only Graham Wagg's 32 from 23 balls, including 18 from AJ Tye's final over got Glamorgan into triple figures. Whilst conditions may have favoured Gloucestershire's attack, it is hard to find any fault with such a fine bowling performance.

In reply O'Mish was out early which simply brought Maxi and Ian Cockbain together. 97 runs later Klinger and Cockbain walked off. Job done.

Maxi and Cockbain now sit first and second in the T20 run charts for 2016. They may have played a couple of games more than Joe Denly and Ross Taylor who sit third and fourth, but then again second placed Cockbain's 388 runs is over 50 runs more than Denly. Maxi incidentally has 422 runs. Maxy does what Maxy does. Both have identical strike rates of 128 runs per 100 balls. Phenomenal performances from both.

The superlatives for Maxy in this format ran out a while ago. For Cockbain this is new territory of consistency and quality. The Jessop Tavern have always rated Cockbain. Every year we wonder if he'll get a fair chance and every year he does, only for him to then average 25, usually with a hundred tucked away somewhere to tempt us with what he can do.

This year has been different. Given the responsibility of batting at 3 he has looked at ease with the position. A player reaching maturity and understanding how his game fits into the rest of the team and the position of the match. This season he has played biffing innings, taking the attack to the opposition. He has also played second fiddle, ticking over a polite 30 odd at a run a ball whilst O'Mish or Maxy run amok at the other end. He has also seen things through. 11 innings. 4 not outs. Batting at 3 that is an excellent return.

Gloucestershire now head to Cheltenham full of confidence. Top of the table with only two games remaining. A home T20 quarter final looks very possible, and from there anything is possible.

Twenty 20: Time for the butchers of Surrey v Murali

Friends Life Twenty20 preview: Surrey v Glos

The Jessop Tavern is conducting a social experiment this Thursday at the Oval. Thanks to a sweet ticket deal obtained from popular website Groupon, we will actually be present at the game to watch Murali, Kevin O'Brien and Kane Williamson take on the flat track bullies of Surrey. If you are also attending the game, perhaps you would like to come say hello to one half of the Jessop Tavern View? We know that there are a few of you who of you read the blog, so if you fancy a pint and a natter about the trials and tribulations of being a Glos/county cricket supporter, send me a tweet @tgwill.

Right, on to the match preview for what could be an interesting game. Gloucestershire have, frankly, been pretty awful in T20 in recent seasons. Last year was a particular nadir, as we lost 11 group games and finished bottom of the South Group with just 10 points. However, we are feeling a bit more optimistic about this year's competition, not least because of the high profile signing of legendary rubber-wristed Sri Lankan Muttiah Muralitharan. He may be 39 years old, he may be a bit of a mercenary these days, he may have been taken apart by the Spear in the 2007 T20 semis but we reckon he is still pretty handy when he only has to bowl 4 overs. Plus, just look at that grin in today's interview on the official site. If ever there was a man who can smell some cheap county wickets, Murali is that man.

Glos fans can also look forward to a sighting of the Butcher of Bangalore, Kevin O'Brien, in his natural T20 habitat. We are also interested to see how young Kane Williamson gets on in the shortest format. His highest score in 10 domestic T20s is just 30, but we would expect him to improve on that during this tournament. Where better to start than on the flat, hard Oval deck against a pacey attack?

Thanks to our new friends at the Surrey Cricket Blog, we know that Surrey have a batting line up to fear. However, with the absence of Tremlett and Jade Dernbach on England test duty, there's rather less fast bowling to be worried about. That said, Surrey have replaced one Aussie T20 signing with another (and arguably a superior one than the original at that.) Shaun Tait's patchwork quilt of a body decided that even 4 over spells were going to be too much for him, so they picked up former Dutchman and Cricketwithballs favourite Dirk Nannes. Like I said, a clear improvement and someone to be very wary of at the start of the innings.

Anyway, let's hope for a big Thursday night crowd and some entertainment to get the Twenty20 season off to a good start. Chief Executive Tom Richardson will certainly be hoping so, as rumour has it even the big money acquisition of Murali has failed to have much impact on ticket sales for the Shire's home games.