A pair of long-suffering Gloucestershire County Cricket club fans attempt to put the world (and the Glos administration) to rights. Themes include: Is one England ODI a year a good model for financial success and ground redevelopments, whether a batting average of 35 in Division 2 of the County Championship is acceptable and why Glos continue to be rubbish.
How much of a step up in class is there from Division 1 to Division 2?
Why not ask the Gidman brothers. The two principal mainstays of Gloucestershire's team for the past several years, both headed off to try their hand in Division 1 this year. This is how they have been getting on.
Will Gidman
County Championship
7 Matches
213 runs at an average of 19 with 1 fifty.
4 wickets at an average of 89.
No appearances in either the one day cup or the t20.
In 2014 Will scored 850 runs, including 3 hundreds at an average of 53. He took 40 wickets at an average of 24.
Alex Gidman
County Championship
11 Matches
374 runs at an average of 23 with 2 fifties.
1 appearance in the one day cup. 1 appearance in the t20.
In 2014 Alex scored 1,200 runs, including 4 hundreds, at 45. In 2013 he scored 1,100 runs at 51.
With nothing better to do on a Wednesday evening, the Jessop Tavern put the kettle on and settled down for good statistical analysis.
With 4 championship games of the season left it is quite possible that 3 of Gloucestershire's young batsmen could reach 1,000 runs for the season. Dent, Roderick and Tavare all have over 700 runs, which might not be setting the world on fire, but represents something in their young careers. Both Dent and Tavare have reached 1,000 runs before. Admittedly only once, but in the case of Tavare he has only played one full season, and in the case of Dent…..well, frankly he has the talent to be cruising to 1,000 runs every season and just never has. Roderick has never reached 4 figures in a year.
Tavare is 25, Dent, 24 and Roderick, 23. Could these three form the bedrock of a the Shire's batting for many years to come? And more importantly, when the hell did Dent and Tavare score these runs this year!
Three County Championship victories on the bounce. Five consecutive one day cup victories on the skid. It was ever thus down at Nevil Road. Take away Craig Miles' comic long hop to Azhar Mahmood in the T20 and Gloucestershire could really have been laughing this last month. As it is, third in the county championship and a home quarter final in the the one day competition will have to do.
With Maxi Klinger leading the way with two hundreds, Glos powered their way into the quarter finals of the Royal London carnival of poorly scheduled one day cricket. Enjoying some hard earned good fortune, including a truly bizarre last ball win against Derbyshire, the Shire have looked a very competitive outfit in the 50 over format of the game. And this despite managing to carry Kieran 'Gournet Burger' to the tune of 76 runs and one wicket spread across all 8 one day games.
Its good to see a Gloucestershire one day team operating as a unit once again. Whilst Klinger has been the obvious standout there have been vital runs also coming from Gareth Roderick, Benny, Will Tavare and Jack Taylor. Hell, even Geraint Jones has contributed, which means things have been going our way. None of these guys have dominated, but all have made vital contributions at vital times. Similarly the scatter gun group of seamers have all chipped in. All of Fuller, Payne, Miles and Howell have at least 10 wickets apiece.
Such was the Shire's comfort at qualifying for the quarter finals that forward thinking coach Richard Dawson even had time to display his acute cricketing brain by pioneering a completely unseen team selection in Gloucester's final two group matches. Convention would normally state that sides need a level of balance between bat and ball, but Glos threw this to the wind when revolutionising the game with a bold selection of only two batsmen supplement by two wicketkeepers, five bowlers and two other random players that no-one was sure why they were in the team. One wonders what the team talk in both Northants and Surrey's dressing rooms went like. "Get one and we're into the tail", was probably heard emanating from the dressing room at some point, although only once the laughter had died down.
Admittedly, this team selection was forced upon Glos by injuries. But its not a great sign if two batsmen go down and you have no one else to call on. The academy has been pretty productive at producing bowlers, but it would be interesting to know if any young batsmen are floating about. The Jessop Tavern was scratching around trying to find Kadeer Ali's number at one point.
Can Gloucestershire progress any further? Well, the Jessop Tavern's glass has never known to be half full, but if both Klinger and O'Mish can recover from injuries then they will fancy their chances.
Gloucestershire 416 (Marshall 70, Meschede 4-89) and 108 for 3 (Dent 65*) beat Glamorgan 299 (Salter 73, Payne 4-73) and 224 (Ingram 45, Payne 4-50) by seven wickets Scorecard
The 'shire interrupted their 50 over winning run for a trip down to Swansea to face 3rd placed Glamorgan at their festival ground. This was a tricky fixture, especially as injuries left the boys without much in the way of batting firepower. Ian Cockbain and Klinger both missed out through knocks and O'Mish only played after being summoned from Bristol after Craig Miles pulled up injured on the eve of the match.
This proved a handy move however, as the Irishman struck a useful 70 in Glos' first innings in partnership with all round genius and newly-promoted number 4 batsman Benny Howell (67). Their partnership was the stand out of the entire match and again the only one above 100 on either side. Which doesn't paint Division 2 batting in a favourable light, but there you are.
Glos were in the field after losing the toss and quickly struck early blows through Payne and Norwell, before Jacques Rudolph settled in for a patient 68. Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals, before an excellent couple of partnerships involving Adam Salter saw Glamorgan rebuild from 186-8. Luckily enough he failed to add to his 73 on the second morning and we polished them off for a below par 299, with Payne impressing with 4-79. A six man bowling attack with Gourmet-Burger at first change and Benny Howell fourth seamer held up well, with both spinners returning economical figures, too.
Dent (11) fell typically early in our response, as did Roderick for 19 although acting skipper Will Tavare did better, posting 47 before falling to off spinner Salter. Then came the Marshall-Howell partnership and the lower order also delivered invaluable runs- taking us to 416 all out from 262-6.
Day 3 saw another excellent team bowling effort, with Glamorgan again failing to build meaningful partnerships on the way to 224 all out. Payne added 4 more to his tally for 8 wickets in the match and even Noema-Barnett chipped in with 3 of his own. Norwell took out the dangerous Chris Cooke, breaking a handy partnership with Ingram and had the last wicket not added 59 then the game could have finished inside 3 days.
As it was, Glos finished things off with ease on the final day, despite a worrying rain delay which saw 15 overs lost before lunch. Chris Dent recovered a semblance of 4 day form with 65 not out and we cruised to victory inside 40 overs, for an impressive third win on the trot and 23 points.
The win has lifted the 'Shire to 4th in the table (albeit level on points with Northants) and was especially impressive given the limited batting resources available. Well done lads, now back to the 50 over stuff before we face Surrey at Nevil Road on the 21st August.
Regular readers will know that much like our beloved 'Shire, the Jessop Tavern View typically begins to slow down and lose interest in the season around this time of year. Results have begun to slide, key players are injured or out of form and our early season enthusiasm seems misplaced. What to make of the current situation then, with the boys already qualified for a 50 over quarter final and three wins on the bounce in the Championship leaving us handily place for a promotion push?
The Glamorgan game was so remarkable that it gets its own post, but first here's a brief summary of the festival games at Cheltenham last month. First up were Northants, who were dismantled inside two days, after a brutal career-best knock from Jack Taylor.
Gloucestershire 372 (Taylor 156*, Stone 4-91, Kleinveldt 4-129) and 38 for 1 beat Northamptonshire 246 (Wakely 104, Norwell 6-41) and 160 (Levi 64, Miles 5-28) by 9 wickets Scorecard
This game was crazy: 4 innings inside 2 days and an easy Glos victory completed from the unpromising position of 108-6 on first innings. On Day 1 Liam Norwell took an excellent 6-41 as we bowled Northants out for 246. Glos then reached 82-4 by the close, before losing two cheap wickets to leave us well behind. Then Taylor game in and turned the game on its head, with stands of 113 with Howell and 104 with Miles on the way to a career-best 156* from just 125 balls. The last 4 wickets put on 264, a magnificent effort in the circumstances.
Then Miles got to work with the ball as well, ripping through the fragile top order alongside Fuller, to leave them 18-4. The whole seam attack contributed as Northants were skittled for 160, with Miles starring with 5-28 and only Levi (67) and Kleinvedlt (37) topping 20.
This left us 35 to win before the close of the second day and we knocked them off for the loss of just Dent. 23 points and our third Championship win of the season in remarkable circumstances.
The Cheltenham festival concluded with another convincing 20 point win over bottom feeders Leicestershire. This was a more normal match, albeit one marked by a decisive 3rd innings partnership between hitherto run-shy pair Benny the Frenchman and Kieran Gourmet-Burger.
The pair put on a crucial 139 for the 5th wicket, comfortably the highest of the match, as Glos recovered from a disappointing first innings batting performance to post 321 on second innings and set the visitors 325 to win. Howell struck his maiden first class century (and first 4 day score over 50 this season) and the Kiwi hit 61, also his first 50 for the 'Shire before falling to Charlie Shreck. Michael Klinger continued his profitable run of form with 60 as injured skipper Cockbain 'runs' were barely missed.
The target was always likely to be too many for a poor Leicestershire side and so it proved once Miles dispatched Angus Robson and Ned Eckersley from consecutive deliveries and with just 20 on the board. The rest of the way was a team effort, with Fuller's 4-35 the pick and even the mighty Kiwi accounting for Matt Boyce. The win was completed just before tea on the final day, when Norwell got into the act by having Clint McKay caught behind to send Leics to their 8th loss of the season.
We'll keep it brief, with the exception of the Surrey match below, as Glos didn't ultimately qualify after a bad spell in the middle games cost us valuable ground on the leaders.
However, both halves of the The Jessop Tavern View were present at the Oval for one of our rare live county watching outings back on July 1st, and that game gets its own post.
July 3rd Gloucestershire 178 for 2 (Marshall 93, Klinger 58) beat Somerset 174 for 6 (Ronchi 49) by eight wickets Scorecard
A fine 93 from O'Mish saw the 'shire to a comfortable win in the cider derby. The only disappointment was that the Irishman failed to complete his ton. Klinger update: 58 more = 578 from 9 innings.
Video highlights below
July 12th Kent 170 for 7 (Blake 59*, Northeast 49, Miles 3-27) beat Gloucestershire 166 for 7 (Klinger 75, Claydon 3-27) by three wickets Scorecard
First Cheltenham T20. Alex Blake hits violent 59* as group leaders Kent (rare to hear those words in association with them) qualify after a three wicket win. Glos struggling to make the quarters at this point, Klinger update: 75 more = 653 from 10 innings @ 108.
Video highlights below
July 14th
Gloucestershire 117 for 5 (Jones 40) beat Hampshire 116 (Miles 3-25) by five wickets Scorecard
Second Cheltenham T20. GO Jones rolls back the years on his 39th birthday, after announcing his retirement at the end of the season a few days prior. Glos collapse to 44-4 chasing just 116 after Miles 3-fer, but the Welshman steadies the ship with 40 from 30 balls. QF hopes depends on favourable results in final group game v Glamorgan. Klinger update: Horrible failure as bowled for a duck by Jackson 'Dickie' Bird. 653 from 11.
Post-match video with Benny the Frenchman
July 24th
Gloucestershire 51 for 2 (Dent 28*) beat Glamorgan 45 for 1 by eight wickets Scorecard
Comedy 5 over thrash after epic rain sees easy 'shire win. Essex qualify for quarters at Glamorgan's expense. Glos bowl incredibly well, despite 17 run opening over. A Fuller maiden (!) and Howell 1 run over restrict them to 45. Dent shows rare T20 promise, finishing with a six in an unbeaten 28 in Glos chase of 46.
Shire fail to qualify as most of other fixtures around country rained off. Debate around whether Friday night T20 works continues to rage online. Klinger update: caught for 1, 654 from 12 innings @81, competition's leading run scorer in group stages.
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.
