V Gloucestershire C&G @ Taunton 1 May 2006

Scorecard

Finally home then in the 2006 season after a win and a loss in the CC and the smashing of Kent in the C&G.  It seems wierd to be talking about a chance for revenge after only a fortnight but the Bristolians murdered us at their place and we'd like to return the favour at ours.  Ian Blackwell is back to captain and it may be the last time we see Marcus for a while.  Dan Cullen is here but his spin will have to wait.

So what will the line-up look like?

Trescothick, Wood, Blackwell, White, Willoughby, Gazzard, and Hildreth will play and according to reports the rest will come from the rest of the squad from the first C&G match against Kent

Andrew, Trego, Caddick, Durston, Johnson and Parsons K.  I thought they would rest Caddick but they didn't and after his 9-fer midweek I don't see how they can.  They aren't resting Johnno and one would assume he will complete the pace frontline.  That leaves the allrounder and the batsman who bowls a bit.  So take your pick from Trego v Andrew (Trigger has the place and did well in the CC but Gareth is pushing and may get the nod for the one dayer) and Durston v Parsons (Wes also did well in the four day game but we may not need another spin option and Keith offers tight bowling if someone comes off the tracks as well as being one of the best one dayers we have!)

Whoever is there, is going to play in front of a full Bank Holiday crowd one would imagine.  All our internationals on show and the old Enemy as the target.  If you're going, be there early!  The report will come in during the day if the technology works so expec the initial information about 12 and then first innings report just after the changeover with the final assessment as soon after the game as I can manage.  See ya there!

The Game

The rain stays off and we seem to be starting on time. The side is roughly as expected; Wood, Trescothick, Hildreth, White, Blackwell (capt), Parsons, Gazzard, Andrew, Johnson Willoughby, Caddick No place for Trigger or Wes. Glos have won the toss and will bat first. The sun is out but the wind is up and the umpires are wandering down at this very moment. The crowd is a bit sparse though at about 2,000 ish - thought there would be more.

Weston and Adshead open for the Bristolians and Caddick takes the first over from the River end (with the wind). Nothing off the first couple but Weston tries a dodgy single off the third and is nealry run out!. The fifth whistles past the bat and the sixth misses the outside edge by not a lot. 1 for 0 after six balls. Charl Willoughby takes the Old Pavilion end and looks for some movement as the sun goes in. He also gets it as his second is also met with a waft by Weston. Nothing off his first and a bit of swing to boot. 1 for 0 after two overs.

The Gloucestershire innings is a tale of two ends and one bowler really. Caddickat the River end against everyone and their mother tried at the OP! Adshead doesn't last long and is caught behind off Mr C in the 5th bringing Ian Harvey to the stumps at his second batting home. Caddick nearly has him first ball LBW but that is a forlorn hope as things transpire. Nevertheless, the initial overs are tight and runs are very hard to come by. They have 3 after 5 overs and a mere 6 when Weston flips one back to Caddickand he takes his second. 7 for 2 after 42 balls and all is right in the Somerset world.

But Spearman and Harvey are together now and whatever Willoughby was getting at the Old Pavilion has disappeared like the early morning dew. The first boundary of the innings whips past him at the start of the 8th and ushers in things to come!! By the third ball he's taken 11 off the over and it's all looking a bit different.

Caddick is keeping the other end covered though and although Harvey tries to get after him, his boundary is followed by one that whips past the bat. Don't mess with AC in full flow! Anyway, there's always the other end where the Antipodeans start going after Charl and they are at 34 by the 10th. Richard Johnson is on for the 12th but gets creamed with 10 off the first 3 bringing up the 50 and his finish on 57 heralds the ball being given to Gareth Andrew for the 14th after Caddick goes for just 1. Willoughby nearly fights back against Harvey with a whipped long throw that splits the stumps from over 35 yards to leave Ian prone in the dust...but safe. Gloucester reach 73 at the end of the 15th in a much healthier position.

The main problem is that the Old Pavilion end is leaking runs - it's all too short and too wide - the 82 at the end of the 16th is a lot better than the 7 they had 10 overs ago. But even that changes when RJreturns for the 18th and Harvey puts his first ball onto the roof of the OP and ringing up Harvey's 50 (44 balls with 1 six and 8 fours). The 100 arrives before the end of the over. Not a brilliant first home game! While Caddick is there though we have something happening and he gets Spearman, gloving it to a forward dive from Gazzard for 39 at 108. Taylor comes out and AC brings an good spell to an end with figures of 10/1/3/40 - amazing in the final analysis of this performance.

Keith Parsons is called on to to replace AC at the River while RJ suffers at the hands of Harvey again with 2 consecutive sixes in the middle of his next. Ian Blackwell has left the field quite early after fielding in the slips - may be a back problem - he doesn't return and may not bat - so we turn back to Charl W. This is absolute joy to Ian Harvey who takes him for 6,4,6,4,4 off his over and reaches a 73 ball ton with 5 sixes and 12 fours.

We turn to spin finally as Cam White comes on at the OP and has the Aussie caught in the deep byWes off his second for a match turning 112. It doesn't stop the runs but they do slow down now and don't get to 200 until the end of the 32nd but it isn't over.

Gareth is on at the CA in the 36th but Taylor pushes on and goes to 50 off 53 balls while Johnno returns in the 38th as they push past 240 - 300 is well on now - they keep going for him but he holds it together and goes for a mere 5 before Taylor skies him to mid-wicket to at least give him a wicket as they pass 250. At 259 for 5 at 40 overs, the bowling optiions in the run in become very interesting!

Gidman isn't finished and he plonks another 50 on us off 45 balls (6 fours) but Gareth gets him at 291 in the 46th chasing a wide one. Hardinges arrives as we try Hidreth at the River End and they pass 300. But the Gloucester man doesn't stay long as Andrew has him caught by White for 5 at 302. Big hitting keeps them moving despite Lewiis going to the big hands of Trescothick at deep mid-wicket for a quick 15 and Ball sees them through to a very creditable 328 seeing that we were wndering whether we would see them pass 100 2 hours ago

Not the greatest bowling performance we'll see this year at home (I hope). Besides Caddick, Gareth comes out with some credit with 46 off his 8. KP averaged 5.4 off his 10 but poor old Johnno went for 86 off 9 - an average only a bit lower than Hilda who went for 20 off his 2 at the end! We just have to h ope we dn't need to rely on Blackie and that MT has his eye in again!! We've let 'em get away

It's not often that I report on half an innings and tell you it is all over but unless something massive happens in the next 10 overs this is a defeat.

It was promising at the start as Marcus Trescothick and Matt Wood accrued 30 off the first 5 overs of Averis and Lewis but the visiting attack put the brakes on and cut the scoring rate to a mere 12 off the next 5. Boundaries dried up and the only interest came from how many ways Ball could find to injure himself. Firstly he saved a full blown Trescothick drive with his hand and very little else and then,5 balls later, he was looking one way as the keeper threw the ball to him on his blind side and provided him with an egg size bump above his eye.

Wood seemed to realise that attacking the second string of Gloucestershire's bowling wasn't going to get us far and opened his shoulders, bringing up the 50 in the 11th and taking 11 off the last 3 balls. He starts the next in the same vein but the second ball is a miscue and we are 61 for 1

Harvey comes on at the OP for the 15th but there isn't any real acceleration although White does look like he may be the man to do it. It's therefore unfortunate that Harvey deflects a straight White drive onto Banger's stumps with him out of his ground and it gets even more unfortunate when Cam misreads one and is comprehensively bowled at 73.

So, three down, new batsmen at the crease, IB in possible traction and well behind the required run rate. Even Hardinges coming on at the River end for the 17th doesn't really raise spirits.

KP and Hildreth make the most orf opportunities and there is some frantic running between the wickets to push the score on but when James is plumb LBW to Ball 6 short of the hundred it looks like a lost cause.

Gazzard joins Parsons with 236 to get and 30 overs to get them in. The visitors bowling is a tight as a duck's backside and we don't have a big innings player in sight. We pass a hundred just before Carl offers a weak C&B to Ball and out comes a big innings player. After resting for two weeks, half a game in, Ian Blackwell comes out with Hildreth as a runner at 113 for 5, halfway through and nowhere near.

Ian is obviously not right, a couple of biggish shots come but he is very stiff and uncomfortable and although he hits 15 he is caught at 138 and departs. It's down to Andrew to help Keith keep it together and bat out the 50 if possible and they have taken it past 150 in the 31st, 173 off 18 means a run rate of about 6 so it is still on.... Big hundred from Johnson ???

Well we'll soon find out as Gareth doesn't hang around and is caught at 162 in the 34th. Richard isn't going to redeem himself though as he is stumped for 0 going for the big one and although Keith passes 50 (52 balls with 2 fours) there is only Caddy and Willoughby to come.

Caddick is up for it and takes a quick 11 before he is out to an interesting LBW decision - I heard a noise - and at 195 we are down to the last partnership and a required run rate of 10 for 13 overs.

Ball finishes with 5 for 48 and Harvey returns to finish us off, which he does, bowling Parsons for a fighting 65 on 199. Oh dear

You simply can't go for that many against a one day unit like Gloucestershire and expect to be pushing to win a game. From the loss of Trescothick we were always chasing this game because our ball men hadn't done their job. Johnson and Willoughby gave away a whopping 132 runs off their 15 overs and that was that. Ian Blackwell could have helped if he had been able to link up with White to tie the visitors down but back spasms stopped that and we weren't good enough. Don't tell me Caddy is over the hill, tell me where the support for his sterling efforts is going to come from? So Harvey has done us again and we are 0 for 2 against the Old Enemy with only three weeks of the season gone!! Well done to Keith Parsons for trying to keep us in it but it was a lost cause from about the 15th I'm afraid

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