v Gloucestershire @ Taunton 20/20 Wednesday 6 July 2005

Scorecard

A make or break game for a place in the last 8 of the 20/20.  Gloucestershire need one point to qualify and came unstuck against Glamorgan earlier in the week and we have lost the early momentum that made us look like favourites for the regional title.  We go in with effectviely the same side as we have had for the whole campaign, except for John Francis who returns from injury to his first 2005 20/20 at Taunton.  Arul Suppiah stands down.

The evening has the usual 'razamatazz' - "The Doughboys" on the back of a lorry, some dancers from a local dance troupe, three legged races with chickens etc.  We get a video rundown of the rules - for those who have never seeen it before, the rules are explained.  Especially this one..."A Free Hit for a Front Foot No Ball will be awarded" - well there you go.  If you've never watched one before that will be incredibly clear!!  The place is packed and there is a lot of away support,as is natural when the two South West sides meet.  Mark Alleyne wins the toss and asks us to bat.  The wicket is well over to the Scoreboard boundary...it could be a high scoring game!

Graeme Smith and Matt Wood start as usual.  Steve Kirby opens for the Bombers and makes a real mess of his first over.  A first ball wide is followed by a fourth ball free hit.  Matt misses that one but the next ball is also wide and when he gets one in line, it is straight driven for four.  So he bowls another wide and we have 12 off the first (4 from the bat).  Greenidge is on at the River End and he is more on the money - 16 off 2.  Kirby is having a mare though.  He provides another free hit at the end of his next over and this time, Smith connects and boundary's the ball.  It's 8 per over and we have a stable start.  Gloucestershire are not the side they were, it seems.  The fielding is sloppy and they don't look sharp.  After seeing no free hits in any game up to now in this competition, we are treated to our third in this innings in the 4th over....and our fifth during the captain's first over when he replaces Kirby at the OP end.

The scoring is steady and we pass 50 in the sixth.  It is then time to push the score along a bit and Wood treats us to the first six when he smacks Alleyene to the scoreboard with the second ball of the seventh...and again the next ball.  Smith does the same to Hardinges but Wood tries once too often and is caught going to the longer boundary in front of the Business Club.  We are one down with 81 on the board.  Matt has contributed 39 off a mere 28 balls and the score is starting to motor.

Once again, Ian Blackwell is promoted because of the start and fireworks could ensue.  So the Bristolians bring on the spin with Ball at the OP end.  With a 4, a single, a six and another four, our two bring up the 100.  It is 105 at the halfway stage but Blackwell is pushing his luck and is dropped in the eleventh - a chance that wasn't that hard, although he did have to dive for it.  Ian replies with a four to the Stragglers which could also have been called a chance to Kirby.

Ball changes ends and GS goes to 50 off his first ball.  Ian  then "gives it large" with a six to bring up 130 off 12 overs - this is going to be a big score at this rate.  Kirby is back but the opposition fielding is not what it used to be and the score keeps on going up until Smith flatbats one to the Old Pavilion fielder and it is 146 for 2.  53 off 38 balls for the captain.

Blackwell is non plussed and provides a cheeky four to bring up the 150.  Then, for some reason, he skies the next ball and goes for 45.  With 5 to go, just as we want to push it along, we have two new batsmen at the crease and no time to settle in.  James Hildreth and Keith Parsons get down to it almost immediately and from 153 at the start of the sixteenth, and with the help of a trio of boundaries from the willow of Hildreth we arrive at 171 by the end of the first 6 balls.  But Hilda is going mad and he then takes 24 off the next (with support from KP).  Kirby is re-introduced and gets the young man for 32 off 10 balls at 196.

John Francis walks to the wicket and looks to support Keith as he brings up 200 with a boundary.  Unfortunately, as KP tries to push along, he is caught for 23 and we are 209 for 5.  Wes Durston looks to make something of the last over.  Greenidge is given the job of bowling it and we start it at 212.  Durston boundaries the first ball, fails to score off the second, boundaries the third and takes 2 off the fourth.  A single brings John down for the last ball, which is missed - but is a no ball and we have another FREE HIT (end as you started lads).  That goes for 2 and Gloucestershire face the highest ever 20/20 score of 228 for 5.  That's 229 to win!! 

Excellent work from the batsmen.  They took this one on when it was needed and finished it off in fine style.  Gloucestershire don't look like the side we have come to expect them to be in these competitions.  They aren't sharp and tight, their bowling can be got at.  No Smith or Harvey...it's not the same...such an awful shame to any Somerset supporter!!

The Glos fans believe this is in their sights and with Spearman and Weston to start with there is always a chance.  We need a tight and difficult start for them.  Out we come, the pre-start huddle, the ball to Caddick, but from the River End this time and Spearman to face.  The fielders spread out...surely there is something wrong?  Except for one fielder at mid on, every other fielder is on the off side, the leg side is completely bare of cover!  Gloucestershire need 11.45 per over but this is very wierd.

It becomes wierder when Caddick puts the first down the leg side and Spearman simply helps it on its way to the boundary.  He continues to do this and after about 4 balls Smith moves another fielder to mid wicket while the Glos batsmen just pepper the leg side boundary or hit Cadd straight back over his head.  He seems to have no defence to this at all and after 6 balls they have amassed 24!!  The score is definitely on and the Glos fans are well aware of it as we have "Gloucestershire La La La!" constantly.  Why? What was the theory?  Caddick shouldn't be playing in these games anyway and is only there because others are unavailable.  He is capable of coming to the game in two guises and the most common one up to now in these games is as "run drain".  Why start with him?  Keith Parsons? Gareth Andrew?

Anyway, Simon Francis has the awful job of getting the focus back.  He is hammered for six off his first and we start to wonder whether this is all going to take 10 overs, like the last time they were here!!  However he sticks to it and Weston skies the next one.  Gareth takes the catch it's 30 for 1.  John Francis then shows that the heads are still up, as well as reminding us of what a phenomenal close fielder he is, by stopping a certain four, overtaking Caddick and diving to save a certain boundary.  But it is 34 for 1 off 12 balls!!

So who is now going to bowl the third.  What?  Caddick takes the ball.  Would that have happened if it had been anyone else bowling that first over?  I understand having faith but this is not the first time in this competition.  If he goes for loads, he will continue to go for loads.  Why bowl him again?  Anyway, he has the chance to redeem this situation.  The Glos batters must have thought all their birthdays have come at once as the Somerset paceman, exhibits absolutely none of his experience and fails to bowl length balls or yorkers to guys who are looking to murder him.  Instead we get more of the same and it gets the same treatment.  At least we have a more balanced field.  But it makes no difference.  4, 6, dot, four, dot, four byes.  He's gone for 42 in two overs and allowed the visitors into a game that should have been dead from the start.  Madness!!

John Francis is still stopping all kiinds of things, another certain four and then a brilliant stop and throw that should have resulted in a run out but is muffed at the strike end.  It all looks very bad at 61 down with 4 overs gone.  Keith Parsons finally replaces the tall man and shows how it should be done when he bowls Taylor with his 3rd ball and keeps the over rate down to 6.  Gareth Andrew goes one better as he takes the ball at the OP...and comprehensively Yorks Gidman with his first ball, totalling him completely.  He goes for 8 but it was an excellent over.  The pressure starts to pile on again as the bowlers rebuild the devastation created by their 'strike' bowler.  Spearman is aware of his role and tries to push the score along with a reverse sweep to Parsons, he misses and is LBW in front and we have the initiative again.  Excellent work by these two.  Now Ian Blackwell is introduced as Gloucestershire finish the eigth at 83.  He bowls Windows with his first ball.  Then bowls Adshead with his second.  Out comes Alleyne to face the hatrick ball...he keeps it out but it was a close run thing!  Brilliant and it breaks the back of Gloucestershire's resistance and shuts up the moronic chanting of the same thing over and over again (replaced quite quickly with "Somerset"  replacing "Gloucestershire")!  Ian's first over takes 2 wickets for 1 run.  The rate starts to rise!!

In the tenth, another man who has had criticism on these pages comes to the party.  Carl Gazzard takes an absolute blinder of a catch, at full stretch on the leg side, to remove Alleyne.  Gareth Andrew is on song and it's just a matter of time for us as they reach 87 off 10 overs.  When Simon Francis returns for the thirteenth, they still haven't gone past 100.  Hardinges tries to push it by taking KP on and simply gives his wicket away - 124 for 8.  Greenidge arrives and we are still fielding like demons.  Hildreth misfields and Wood storms around the boundary and saves the four while totalling a speaker in the process - real commitment.

Ball tries to do something and Smith dismisses him by catching him out off that man Andrew.  In comes Kirby to finish what he started some three hours before.  Andrew stomps in and bowls him first ball to give us a 95 ball victory, give himself 4 for 22 and put his name back in the frame for more cricket when we get back into the big stuff.

A really good comeback with some really memorable performances.  Keith Parsons got the Man of the Match award for his overall performance - 23 off 14 balls and 3 for 12 off 3 - stupendous.  Now play him in the four dayers!  But the man everyone talked about was Gareth A who put the pride back in our bowling attack after that awful start.

The worrying thing is that Cadman had no answer.  He stood there taking a bow when he finally bowled a dot ball..it would have been funny if he'd then varied his line, length or pace.  He did none of them.  It was embarrasing, no less for him than us I would imagine. 

Andy should never play another of these games but he also now has to prove that he still has something to offer to this club.  His critics may be using this to look at his performances in all formats but it was his lack of ability to do anything about it that creates the worries for those who rate him.  He has been hammered in the past and he has been able to come back and redress the issue.  He hasn't done that in these games.  Maybe it it because there are only four overs, maybe he no longer has the tools to do it.  He has to give us proof now in other formats that he is a weapon we can rely on.  If he can't, he has to look closely at his future.

The guys who did do it tonight need to keep that momentum.  Gareth Andrew put his balance in the positive overall in this competition tonight but he still has to transfer this to other formats.  he's shown he can...now he has to show he will!

Ian Blackwell was excellent and Keith Parsons has to be considered along with Mike Burns in the four day format.  We have a gap and he can fill it.

It was a good day.  Friday needs to be a better one! 

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