Up for the Cup
September 19th
2015
When I
was a kid back in the 1970s the Gillette, or NatWest Cup Final were the highlight
of the year. Crowds were large and noisy. Matches were televised on the BBC.
And everyone wanted a trip to Lord’s at the end of the season but, if your side
got there, tickets were like gold dust – it was always a sell-out. While the
County Championship was the competition that carried the most prestige, winning
at Lord’s in the big Final was probably what most players most desired.
It is
easy to see why the competition was so popular: it was a pure knock-out – you only
got one chance and, unlike its modern version, could not win the competition if
you lost any match – it was not seeded and there was the romance of knowing
that an upset could happen. While normally First Class county against Minor
County produced a ritual slaughter (Alvin Kallicharran finished one such game
with a double century and 6-32), sometimes the unthinkable would happen. In
1973 Durham beat Yorkshire and, although upsets were infrequent, ten Minor
Counties won matches against First Class opposition up to the end of the
knock-out tournament in 2005. When the competition was expanded to County Board
teams, in theory any club player had the opportunity to be selected for his
County Board XI and perhaps play against Middlesex at Lord’s, or against Yorkshire
at Headingley. Even more attractive was a local derby: First Class County v its
County Board – professionals v recreational cricketers, with the chance for the
weekend cricketers to beat their heroes.
There was
another Cup competition, the B&H, with its early season regional league and
Final in July, but it was always the consolation prize – yes, it was nice to
win, but it was not a patch on winning in September.
The Cup
created heroes. David Hughes pummelling the unfortunate John Mortimore in the
darkness at Old Trafford to win one of the greatest ever one-day matches. Geoff
Boycott hammering 146 against Surrey in 1965, which was to remain a record
score in a Final for many years (Yorkshire ran up the unheard of total of 317
that day). Brian Rose and Derek Taylor combining to make a run out from the
last ball of the 1977 Semi-Final, allowing Somerset to win on fewer wickets
lost with the scores tied at 287.
Lancashire
and Kent were the sides to beat in the ‘70s. Lancashire were one of the
greatest ever one-day sides, but Kent were not far behind. And always there or
thereabouts were a Gloucestershire side led by the greatest all-rounder ever…
Mike Proctor. Gloucestershire have frequently fallen on hard times since but,
for several years with Proctor, Zaheer, Andy Stovold and a host of lesser names
in their pomp, Gloucestershire were a power in the land, just missing out on
the 1977 County Championship, winning the Gillette Cup in 1973 and the B&H
in 1977 and three times being beaten semi-Finalists in one or other (1971, 1972
and 1975). Time and again, Gloucestershire seemed to come up against Lancashire
and, when it was not Lancashire, it was Kent blocking the way to the Final, but
they were always fantastic games.
Since
then, with the exception of 1999-2004 when Gloucestershire won an astonishing
eight titles with a side without stars that had hit on a winning formula thanks
to John Bracewell and captain Mark Alleyne, times have been hard. The team
almost went under in 2011 when, after a narrowly failed bid for promotion to
Division 1, the team lost almost all its stars in a desperate cost-cutting
exercise. For the next three years Gloucestershire lived hand-to-mouth, with a
minimum playing staff and relying on amateurs to be able to field a 2nd
XI. The core of a decent side though was built up, despite the regular loss
of rising stars as there was simply no money to keep them, with some young
players and a small nucleus of seasoned pros. In hindsight, the left-field
signing of Maxi Klinger was a masterstroke: after an uncertain beginning he has
brought the side on and there have been constant signs of halting progress.
Finally, in 2015 though, things have started to look up properly: five matches
won in Division 2, with the team in a cluster of sides fighting for 3rd
place; just missed out on the last evening on the T20 Quarter-Finals but, with
the jewel in the crown of a deserved One Day Cup trip to Lord’s.
Gloucestershire
have got through on merit, completing a difficult chase to beat Hampshire in
the Quarter Final, followed up by beating Yorkshire against all the odds at
Headingley in the Semi Final. 87 and 137* from Klinger make both wins look like
one man shows, but that sells the side short: in the Quarter Final
Gloucestershire needed 55 from 33 balls with 5 wickets down and a long tail; in
the Semi-Final, Yorkshire were 50-0 from 7.1 overs and looking set for a huge
total, but they were reeled in by a superb collective bowling effort led by the
unsung Benny Howell.
Benny
Howell plays the role that James Averis played in the Gloucestershire
cup-winning sides of 1999-2004, with accurate seam bowling at a gentle medium
pace that allows batsmen few liberties and the addition of runs in the middle
order to boot. He is the epitome of this Gloucestershire side: he is unheralded,
looks innocuous, will never play for England, but it is amazing how important
he is to a team effort and how often he makes a vital contribution.
The Final
looks similarly one-sided to the Semi-Final. Surrey can boast a hatful of
international caps in Jason Roy, Jade Dernbach, Kumar Sangakkara, Gareth Batty
and Steve Davies. Gloucestershire have Klinger and the two old-stagers with
international experience, Hamish Marshall and GO Jones; apart from them, the
side is as green as the Lord’s turf. All logic says that Surrey must win, but
they would underestimate Gloucestershire at their peril.
When the
subject of the structure of the First Class game is discussed, the existence of
Gloucestershire is often called into question. If sides are to disappear, they
are usually one of the first to be mentioned: “they do not produce England
players and never win anything” is the argument. Winning a Lord’s Final will,
hopefully, finally earn them some grudging respect and help set them up for a
tilt at promotion in 2016.
This will
be GO Jones’s last match but one before retirement. All of Gloucestershire and,
probably, many fans around the country will hope that he finally wins a trophy.
And few will begrudge him success.
Now, let
us hope that the match is not decided by the Toss.
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