Preview:
So, we arrive at the defining moment of the season.
Despite consecutive innings defeats, Gloucestershire are still second in Group
2, just 10 points behind Somerset but, more alarmingly, only one ahead of
Hampshire (who they play in their final match) and eight ahead of Surrey. There
are just two games left and, this one, has become a must win game. However,
with Day 1 already under threat from the rain unless the ground staff can get the
pitch ready overnight after today’s heavy deluge, time may already be at a
premium to force a result whenever play does start.
With Chris Dent missing due to a broken finger, Ian
Cockbain still nursing a sprained ankle, Ben Charlesworth just beginning his
return from a dislocated shoulder and Graeme van Buuren still awaiting his
paperwork, the Gloucestershire squad has an unfamiliar look. Jack Taylor and
George Scott look set to return to the playing XI, with James Bracey to open
with Miles Hammond. With no place for Tom Smith, the Shire look set to play a six-man
seam attack. In theory, Ollie Price could come in as an off-spinner, but the
rain looks set to scupper his chances.
As one who grew up listening to Jim Laker on TV
stating that “if four seamers won’t do it, five won’t either”, to have six
looks like overkill, but there is no question that this is where
Gloucestershire’s strength lies. The plan is, most evidently, to ask the
seamers to bowl out Middlesex cheaply twice.
The good news is that, this time, there will be no
spin-friendly, used pitch, tailored to negate the Gloucestershire attack and
Middlesex are possibly in even greater disarray than the Shire, with the sudden
and unexpected departure of Nick Gubbins adding to the recent Lord’s dressing-room
exodus. Middlesex have lost six of their eight matches so far and even winning
the last two may not be enough to save them from the wooden spoon in Group 2.
Like Derbyshire, in Group 1, Middlesex need a mathematical miracle to avoid
Division 3 cricket when the groups split in two weeks’ time. However, the
Gloucestershire batting looks light, with several players out of form, or out
of position, or both. In contrast, the bowling attack looks well-suited to give
Middlesex a lot of trouble if the pitch and overhead conditions favour seam. It
could be a very strange, low-scoring match.
Day 1:
So, some surprises. No one quite expected the XI
that was named, which had George Scott opening and both Prices in the XI:
Oliver the off-spinning all-rounder and Tom, the medium pace all-rounder but no
Ryan Higgins, who dropped out at 04:48 in the morning, on paternity leave. The
XI, in batting order, was Hammond, Scott, Bracey, Lace, Phillips, Taylor J.,
Price O., Price T., Taylor M., Payne & Worrall. The impression was of a lot
of inexperience in the team, although Middlesex also gave two debuts and the
feeling was that if Gloucestershire could get through the New Ball, it would be
a good day to bat.
After the Sunday deluge, there was an on-time start
in sunshine, although with a lot of cumulus cloud around, with the cloud cover
increasing through the day. Middlesex won the Toss and, not unsurprisingly,
inserted, with Gloucestershire batting first for the first time this season.
After a very slow start, George Scott fell in the 7th over, bowled
for 5 by Tim Murtagh who, after four overs, had conceded just two singles and
removed the emergency opener to boot. It was an odd dismissal thought because George
Scott seemed to half leave the ball, which took the top of middle. That made it
7-1 and the decision to insert looked thoroughly justified. With James Bracey
not having had significant middle time since the Middlesex game on May 6th,
a lot was being asked of him to steady the innings with Miles Hammond, who has
been in superb form. Batting was looking difficult for the first hour, but
Miles Hammond then exploded to life with consecutive luscious Cover Drives for
four off Andersson taking the score to 39-1 in the 16th over.
James Bracey too was looking in decent form,
although there is no question that the Middlesex change bowling asked many
fewer questions than the New Ball pairing and that helped him to settle. Miles Hammond
played an imperious On Drive to bring up the 50 in the 20th over
(Hammond 22*, Bracey 20*) and the impression was that the Middlesex decision to
insert was not paying the expected dividends. Certainly, seeing no less than
six changes from the side that had lost to Leicestershire, it was heartening to
see the two batsmen on whom the innings depended most, looking solid as Lunch
approached.
So, Lunch was reached at 77-1 after 32 overs
(Bracey 31*, Hammond 35*), with the Shire looking at a positive morning,
although the news from Southampton that Hampshire were looking set to get five
batting points against Surrey meant that, provisionally, Gloucestershire were
down to third in the Group, while the traditional Somerset lower-order
fightback was also seeing them too head toward five batting points. That
Somerset, in some trouble overnight, had added 166 runs in the morning session
for the loss of just one wicket would not make the College lunch go down any
easier. The message was that Hammond and Bracey needed to hang around for most
of the afternoon, if they could, because batting points were needed almost as
much as the win points.
At Cheltenham, though, the Middlesex supporters
were already wondering about the decision to insert. It looked as if it was
based on the suggestion that Pinner 2nds would have the Gloucestershire side
6-down by Lunch, so Middlesex would too.
Over Lunch, cloud cover increased. James Bracey was
unable to build on his encouraging start. In the fifth over after Lunch he was
only able to edge a ball from Blake Cullen to John Simpson for 38: 87-2 and Tom
Lace in against his old County. Under pressure after a difficult season, Tom
Lace needed a score, having played only 2nd XI cricket recently, albeit
scoring encouraging runs in his last couple of games. A pull for four got him
off the mark and brought up the hundred in the 42nd over. Then Miles
Hammond went to another 50 (138 balls, 8x4) with an imperious pull to make it
105-2. When Andersson dropped one short, Miles Hammond launched him over Square
Leg for six. All the while Tom Lace was nudging runs and playing himself in carefully: a neat deflection
past Slip earning him a boundary. Another big six off Andersson took Miles Hammond
to 71*, with Tom Lace bedding-in nicely at the other end, no doubt helped by
his partner’s confidence. The danger of the pull shot was illustrated though
when Ethan Bamber bowled one a little quicker, Miles Hammond was late on the
shot and wore it in the box, falling pole-axed: that the bowler appealed loudly
for LBW just added insult to injury. Miles Hammond got back up, though
obviously in pain and brought up the 150 with a drive to Extra Cover, but it is
likely that the blow was a big factor in his dismissal.
As the batsmen looked to push on, who should be
nominated to “go under the lid” at Short Forward Square Leg but Josh de Caires –
better known as Michael Atherton’s son – making his First Class debut and
slated to open with Sam Robson. However, he was not required in the dismissal
of the still possibly shaken Miles Hammond who, this time not getting into
line, edged Ethan Bamber to First Slip for 75, just when a century looked his
for the taking. 153-3 and a first bowling point for Middlesex.
163-3 at Tea after 64 overs, with Tom Lace 28* and
Glenn Phillips 5*. Could Gloucestershire push on after Tea with just now 46
overs left for bonus points to be accrued?
Again, a wicket fell soon after the resumption. Tom
Lace got a ball from Ethan Bamber that bounced a little more and could only
edge it to the ‘keeper: 166-4 and some gloss going off the day, but a dismissal
that set a pattern.
A lot more gloss was to come of the day as the
evening session progressed. Thoughts of 300+ disappeared in the collapse that
one feared would come from a batting side that was shorn of experience past the
top four. The riches of 153-2 became 187-6 as Glenn Phillips and Jack Taylor
fell quickly: the former drove without due care and precaution and was caught
at Cover, the latter padded-up to a straight ball. The Price brothers took the
score past 200; Ollie Price clipped the ball past point for the runs that
brought up the first batting point, but the pair then also fell in quick
succession. Tom Price got a ball that lifted a bit more and gave Simpson his
third catch behind. Ollie Price had batted very well and with a lot of spirit
but got a good one from Bamber that sent stumps and bails flying. There was
some late defiance from Matt Taylor and, just when it seemed that a second
batting point could be rescued, David Payne and Dan Worrall became the fourth
and fifth batsmen to edge behind, the innings closing on a frustrating 248. It
could have been worse, but it could also have been a lot better, although the
impression was that this was not the easy surface, full of runs of past years. The
Middlesex bowlers stuck to their task well, with Ethan Bamber’s 3-32 the best
haul. Scoring was never easy save, briefly, when Miles Hammond was making merry
and enough balls were lifting just enough to make batting tricky.
James Bracey, Tom Lace and Ollie Price all get
starts and all got past 30, but none of them was able to reach 40, all getting
in and then getting out. Apart from Miles Hammond, no one else reached 15.
So, now, the question is, what could the
Gloucestershire attack do with this surface in the morning? With the chances of
a top-two finish slipping away, a devastating reply will be needed.
Day 2:
So, for Gloucestershire, a day that could well make
or break their season. For Middlesex, a chance to salvage some pride from
another disappointing season – since winning the Championship, each successive
season has followed a downwards trajectory. In the end, the day went massively
the way of the Shire and Middlesex only saved the follow-on thanks to a
controversial sanction of 5 penalty runs against Dan Worrall for dangerous
play.
A dull, grey, overcast, windy morning, after heavy
overnight rain. The day looked ideally suited to the Gloucestershire seam
attack but, before play could start, there was yet another earthquake. With
England obliged to name a completely new ODI and T20 squad against Pakistan due
to the seven positives between players (3) and staff (4), the selectors took what
was effectively one player from each county who were playing. This meant that
David Payne got an unexpected call-up and was withdrawn from the match, being replaced
by Dom Goodman. For Middlesex, John Simpson was replaced by Robbie White. It
meant that the much weakened home attack lost its main spearhead and that much
depended on Dan Worrall to repay the faith that the Shire have shown in him through
his multiple injury issues. It also made James Bracey captain: Gloucestershire’s
third captain in three days of Championship cricket and fourth of the season in
all cricket.
However, that said, once the action started, Josh De
Caires was the focus of so much attention and got off the mark in the third
over with an elegant dab to off for four. However, sadly for the many fans who
hoped that he would do well on debut, he did not last long: Matt Taylor, who
had already had a very plausible shout for a catch behind against Sam Robson
denied (even Kevin Hand thought that the sound was an edge) bowled him a ball
that was full and straight and pinned him LBW; 8-1, de Caries 5. The start was
cagey, looking very similar to the Gloucestershire start on Day 1, with Matt
Taylor, the wind behind him, a younger, faster version of the Middlesex mean
machine, Tim Murtagh, giving nothing to hit, as the score inched along after an
early wicket.
There was then a bizarre incident two balls into
the ninth over when there was a long delay and an animated debated between the umpires.
First, James Bracey joined it, signalling animatedly, then the bowler Dan Worrall
joined in too. Finally, it was revealed that 5 penalty runs were awarded
because the bowler had shied at the stumps after Eskinazi’s forward defensive
and had hit him on the back, presumably accidentally, but the umpires were very
unhappy about the incident, which they have reported as a Level 2 offense,
constituting dangerous play given that the batsman had made no attempt to run.
The over cost two No Balls from a highly piqued bouncer, as well as the five
penalty runs and one thought that the captain needed to step in and tell him to
cool it and concentrate on taking some wickets. 22-1 from 10 overs and
Middlesex were seeing off the New Ball attack.
On came Tom Price for the 14th over,
bowling at a decent pace, in what was only his second First Class match. He was
followed by second change, Dom Goodman, who immediately gave Steve Eskinazi one
down the leg side. Eskinazi glanced and James Bracey flew through the air to
take it, two-handed, at waist height, a long way down leg. Those who criticised
Bracey after the Tests should have seen that catch. 34-2, Eskinazi 6 and Dom
Goodman with a wicket-maiden on his unexpected return to the side. Soon
afterwards Handscomb was very lucky to get away with an LBW shout from Tom
Price: he was pinned on the stumps and looked plumb, but was saved by the call
of No Ball. It would have been 49-3. Would that No Ball cost the Shire? It
looked as if it might as big alarms for the batsmen were in short supply.
Robson edged through the Slips at 58-2, but it dropped well short. Handscomb
pulled hard at Dom Goodman and Tom Price almost pulled off a sensational diving
catch in the Covers, but there was no sense that a collapse was coming.
Just as it seemed that Middlesex would reach Lunch
in a fairly comfortable position, with the Sun getting brighter and batting
looking as comfortable as at any time, Dan Worrall, quite literally, threw in a
curve ball. First, Robson, who was looking very solid, became the latest
batsman to pass 30, but not reach 40. He got a fast, straight delivery and
watched the bails fly high into the air as Off Stump reeled drunkenly: 76-3,
Robson 37 (91 balls, 5x4). In came Daryl Mitchell, LBW first ball, 76-4. Robbie
White, the emergency replacement for Middlesex saw off the hat-trick ball but,
suddenly, the match position was transformed.
So, it was 86-4 from 29 overs at Lunch, with
Handscomb 20* and White 4*. Gloucestershire now clearly the happier of the two
sides, especially looking at the scores at Taunton and the Ageas Bowl. However,
during Lunch it got very gloomy again and rain started to fall. Despite this, the
news that Leicestershire were putting up a decent fight against Somerset and
that, even though there had so far been no play at Southampton, Hampshire were
putting Surrey to the sword, must have made lunch taste a little better for the
home side. For Middlesex, the thought that the rain might freshen-up the pitch
for the bowlers was not so comforting. However, the intervention of Jupiter
Pluvius was short-lived and the covers were off again quite quickly, even if
the re-start was delayed by twenty minutes.
When play did re-start Middlesex must have wished
that they had spent longer enjoying their lunch. In no time at all – in fact,
it took just seven overs – they were 101ao. Astonishingly, briefly, the
follow-on had come into play, although eventually just saved.
The collapse was as eye-watering as Miles Hammond’s
blow in the box had been yesterday. First, Matt Taylor induced an outside edge
from Handscomb – 88-5, Handscomb 21 – Bobby Bracey throwing the ball up
joyfully. Then Tom Price got Andersson to edge to Glenn Phillips at 1st
Slip: 93-6. Then Matt Taylor got White to edge to Miles Hammond, low at 2nd
Slip: 93-7. The follow-on saved, Sowter edged Matt Taylor to Glenn Phillips at
1st Slip: 100-8. Next ball, Tom Price got Cullen LBW: it was 100-9
and Price had a career best of 2-28. Not
satisfied, he cleaned-up Bamber, LBW, with the last ball of the over to finish
with 3-29.
Middlesex were 101 all out, 147 behind. And, to
think that they had been 76-2 shortly before Lunch and, seemingly, close to taking
control of the match. Gloucestershire needed something devastating to keep
their hopes of a top-two finish alive and, despite everything, had found it.
You felt though for a Middlesex team that was clearly desperately low on luck
and confidence. Given that their problems have come mainly in the second
innings this season, you wondered if Gloucestershire already had enough to win.
The Sun came out and out went George Scott. He went
back on his stumps to Bamber, overbalanced, pitched over and could almost be
given out, LBW, from Square Leg: 8-1 and a duck for George Scott. It has not
been a great game for him as emergency opener: not needed to bowl and out for 5
& 0.
Middlesex needed quick wickets but, suddenly, runs
were flowing instead. Thirteen balls produced six boundaries as Miles Hammond
and James Bracey warmed to their task of setting a big target. Bracey, who had
looked so nervous playing for England, went up a gear and took four boundaries
from a Mitchell over, the last of them a powerful hook to bring up the 50 in
the twelfth over and was looking every inch the batsman who earned his England
cap by sheer weight of performance. More runs for Bobby Bracey took the lead up
to 200. It was fine viewing for Gloucestershire fans, not so good for
Middlesex.
58-1 from 16 overs at Tea, Hammond 26*, Bracey 29*,
the lead 205 and Gloucestershire seeming approaching an almost invulnerable
position. Could they keep it?
Miles Hammond continued his excellent form and look
set for another 50, but received a ball from Cullen that lifted nastily and was
given out, caught behind, although it was not clear from the camera angle what
it hit – glove or bat – as Miles Hammond tried to avoid it and went for 44 (66
balls, 6x4): 82-2. In came Tom Lace, who hung around for a while without ever
suggesting permanence. James Bracey though was batting nicely and moving
towards his 50. A clip off his legs raced away for four to take him to 46* and
the score to 99-2. Another was stopped on the boundary, but brought up the 100
for the Shire. However, soon afterwards Tom Lace went to drive Andersson,
missed and bails flew: 106-3 and Lace out for 7. In came Glenn Phillips, who
has been in supreme form in T20, but is not having the same success in
red-ball. At this point, you thought that a quick 30 would serve
Gloucestershire’s ends better than spending fifteen overs for 10 runs. First
though, the focus was on James Bracey, who wasted no time going to 50 with a
clip off his legs. Who though would stand firm with him? Not Glenn Phillips,
who got off the mark with a cut for four, but was largely scoreless until he
had a wild slash outside off at Andersson and was smartly taken at Second Slip
for 9: 132-4, the lead 279.
In came Jack Taylor, who has had an awful two
years, to join his captain and, immediately, he realised what he had to do. For
the last year he has been poking around, trying to build innings and getting
out cheaply, but he is an immensely clean striker of the ball, something that
he reminded the bowlers of… painfully. He began by cutting Souter thunderously
for four then, as he started to feel confidence, the leather really started to
fly. A flat drive off Souter flew for six. The 150 came up next ball. Back came
Murtagh and Jack Taylor cover drove him for four, followed by a second and a
third: 13 off the over and, in a trice, Jack Taylor was 29*. Meanwhile, James
Bracey moved into the 80s while Taylor played just the innings that his side
needed: a 4 and a 2 off Murtagh took him to 40* from just 28 balls and the lead
to 335. Sadly, he got no further: Mitchell gave him width, he edged and substitute
‘keeper, White, took a superb catch diving a long way, to take the ball very
low in front of the Slips: 189-5. In came Ollie Price, with James Bracey 81*
and with plenty of time to make sure of getting to the milestone. Meanwhile, the
news filtered through that, at the Ageas Bowl, Surrey had been bowled out for
79, were following on and had already lost Stoneman a second time. The good
news was that Somerset had only taken two bowling points and their game was
heading for a draw: calculating on your fingers, the top three looked set to
finish this round separated by just a handful of points but, crucially,
Hampshire seemed certain to start a few points ahead of Gloucestershire.
Sadly, Bracey was not to reach his century.
Mitchell gave him width, James Bracey drove and offered a catch in the covers,
falling for 88 (149 balls, 11x4). That made it 198-6, with the lead now 345.
With talk that rain was forecast for Day 3, could Middlesex escape? The light
darkened and, with the terrifying medium pace of Tim Murtagh putting the lives
of the Price brothers in danger, the umpires took the players off.
So, 198-6 and a lead of 345 at the Close.
Gloucestershire’s day. Despite Kevin Hand’s optimism, it would take rain, a lot
of luck and some bloody-mindedness for the sixteen points for the win to escape
the Shire.
As best as I can make out, if these games reach their logical conclusion, the points table will look like this going into the last round of matches:
- Somerset, 134 points
- Hampshire, 131 points
- Gloucestershire, 129 points
- Leicestershire, 107 points
- Surrey, 104 points
- Middlesex, 63 points
Day 3:
Before we start, given the likely blanket finish to
Group 2 and assuming that Gloucestershire and Hampshire duly complete their
wins, but Somerset can only draw, what are the tie-breakers? In order, the
first three are:
·
Most wins
·
Fewest defeats
·
Points in contests between tied teams
Most
wins? Assuming that Gloucestershire and Hampshire win
and Somerset draw, Gloucestershire will have 5 wins, Hampshire and Somerset, 4.
Gloucestershire win in a tie-break with both rivals.
Fewest
defeats? Somerset have 1, Hampshire have 2. Here, Somerset
have the advantage over Hants.
So, if all three teams finish level on points after
draws in the last round, the order would be:
1. Gloucestershire
2. Somerset
3. Hampshire
However, for that triple-tie to happen Gloucestershire
would need to make up 2 points on Hampshire in the last round and 5 on Somerset:
it illustrates what is at stake today for the top three.
To get there, we needed first to complete the last
day at the Ageas Bowl and at Taunton and Day 3 at Cheltenham. First order of
the day was the rain radar. It said that Southampton looked set fair for the
day (no relief there for Surrey), but Cheltenham had already been visited by
morning rain and looked set for an on and off day, with a big storm on the way
up the Bristol Channel, while the Taunton weather looked (and so it proved to
be) terminally dodgy later in the day.
What happened at the end of the day, though, was
that things took a most unexpected turn when Surrey held out for a draw thanks
to a monumental effort of stonewalling, mainly from Hashim Amla, making a win
for the Shire on the ‘morrow half a ticket to Division 1.
The best guess was that Gloucestershire would look
to get the lead up to 400 and declare, if not bowled out first: that meant that
scoring 253 was the target. With rain around, it makes no sense to take any
risk of running out of time so, if play got underway on time and was not
interrupted (both big “ifs”), Middlesex could expect to be batting around 40
minutes before Lunch.
An 1130 start was announced after the morning rain
but, soon after 11, more light rain fell and the square was exposed for a
couple of minutes before the covers could be pulled out. The umpires decreed an
early Lunch and a 1230 inspection, with a view to a 13:10 start, mainly worried
about how wet the College Square was. The Sun came out, at least occasionally,
and play could start in the end. 80 overs were scheduled over two, long
sessions.
Cullen opened the attack to Ollie Price, who put up
the 200 and then the 350 lead in the first over of the day, scoring a confident
two and a four. The former passed straight through the legs of Handscomb in the
Covers, suggesting that there was something of an air of resignation in the
fielders. It did not take long before Bamber started to have problems with the
footmarks on the delivery stride and both sawdust and the tamper were in
action. When the bowler was satisfied that the damage was repaired, we got into
an “anything Ollie can do Tom can do too” situation of fraternal rivalry: the
latter responding to two boundaries from his brother by getting off the mark
with a nice drive for four, followed by a lovely clip through Midwicket for
another. Eighteen runs from the first four overs of the day showed that the
batsmen were going to get on with it, especially with the weather still
threatening.
As a big storm that, surely, would have ended play
for the day had it passed over, decided just to skirt the ground, we had the
bizarre situation that rain was falling on the marquees, but not in the middle.
The light darkened but that did not faze the batsmen, Tom Price accepting
gratefully a couple of edges past the three Slips that ran swiftly to the
boundary. Given the attacking field, anything the beat the close fielders was,
despite the slow outfield, almost invariably going for four. From Middlesex’s
point of view the score was advancing alarmingly fast, with 40 added at better
than a run a minute and that could only mean one thing: Tim Murtagh was wound
up for yet another effort to dig his side out of a hole.
Up came the 50 partnership at 248-6 (Ollie 24*, Tom
27*), in the twelfth over of the day, with the lead 395. By now, the Sun was out,
the threat of rain was easing by the minute and Middlesex had no other aim than
to delay the declaration as much as possible. A slashing cut from Tom Price
went for four and brought up the 250 and the 400 lead: it was now just a matter
of how many more James Bracey wanted. All the more contrast with the Ageas Bowl
where, finally, a fourth wicket fell, leaving Surrey on a barely believable 34-4
from 43 overs!!!!
That, though, was just about as far as the lead
went. Ollie Price edged Murtagh to the substitute ‘keeper for 33 (61 balls,
5x4), making the score 262-7 and the lead 409. Out came Matt Taylor; would we
see a thrash and a declaration? He came up with what could only be described as
a declaration shot and saw the stumps flattened: 263-8, the lead 410. Dan
Worrall took a wild swing at his second ball and was caught behind: 263-9.
Still James Bracey did not declare.
Surrey were now 40-4, with 33 maidens in the 48
overs bowled so far: 56 overs to survive.
Dom Goodman drove gloriously past the bowler for
four, then hooked an angry bouncer for a single: 272-9, the lead 419. Would we
see a tenth wicket partnership to drive Middlesex to distraction, or would one
of the bowlers send down a straight one? Instead, Dom Goodman sent a slog into
orbit: 272ao and the target 420.
De Caries started the chase with a couple of twos
and then, last ball of Dan Worrall’s opening over, edged to Glenn Phillips, who
put it down. Not the start that the Shire wanted. Second over of the innings,
De Caries charged down the pitch looking for a single, was sent back by Robson
and scrambled back thanks to a wayward throw. It was a nervous Middlesex start.
The escapes extended the opening partnership to 16 balls: De Caries then
repeated his edge off Dan Worrall to Glenn Phillips who, this time, pouched it:
4-1 and 416 still needed. A loud appeal by Dan Worrall for caught behind was
not given, but a wicket still fell quickly. Matt Taylor had still not conceded
a run when he thudded on into Robson’s pads. The umpire gave the LBW and Robson
refused initially to walk, appearing to indicate that he had hit it, although
it seems that what he was saying was that the ball had pitched outside leg: still,
he had to go in the end, but a conference between the umpires suggested that he
would be reported for dissent, even if a replay from in-line suggested that he
may have had a point. Either way, it was 8-2 and Middlesex were in deep trouble.
What followed was an exhibition of control and
self-denial that rivalled Surrey’s. Eskinazi and Handscomb embarked on a
partnership that lasted 38 overs, but accrued just 48 runs. Matt Taylor ended
the day with figures of 13-9-14-1, the Middlesex batsmen treating his bowling
like a suspicious bomb disposal officer would treat an unstable World War II
bomb. The result was 26 maidens bowled out of the 57 overs delivered during the
afternoon.
Just when Middlesex had a real opportunity to grind
down the young and inexperienced attack and maybe even set up a half chance of
a last day chase, Dan Worrall pinned Handscomb in front and got the affirmative
from the umpire: his dance of sheer joy showed what the wicket meant to the
side. Handscomb had resisted for two minutes under two hours for his 14. With
21 overs left in the day, the Shire must have hoped for a couple more wickets.
What happened though was yet more self-denial. Thirty-seven overs were bowled
in the last two hours of the day – a monumental efforts by the standards of
today – but just 45 runs were scored.
Thus, the day ended with Middlesex 97-3. With 96
overs to bowl on the last day and 323 runs needed, all four results are quite
genuinely possible. It is a cliché to say it, but the first hour will be vital.
Right now, the top 5 is:
1 1. Somerset,
134 points
2. Hampshire,
123 points
3. Gloucestershire,
113 points
4. Surrey, 112 points
5. Leicestershire,
107 points
Now, according to how tomorrow pans out,
Gloucestershire will finish the day one of: 2nd, with 129 and 6 ahead
of Hampshire; 3rd, with 121 points and needing to beat Hampshire in
the last game to finish in the top 2; or 4th, on 113 points and in
real danger of playing in Division 3.
No pressure, lads. No pressure!
Day 4:
Blue sky, with plenty of fluffy white cumulus
cloud. Nothing on the rain radar, but talk of potential, heavy showers later.
And some fans bemoaning the flat, Cheltenham pancake of a pitch that would let
Middlesex escape. What was evident is that Gloucestershire needed a wicket in
the first hour but, if Middlesex could avoid losing one, their chances of
escaping would be massively enhanced, even if all logic said that one of the
four results was a lot more likely than the other three. Could a Middlesex side
that is having an extremely difficult season, produce the depths of resistance
that they would need to see out a full day of 96 overs, losing no more than two
wickets in each session?
For much of the day it seemed as if Middlesex would
save the game and might even have a chance to win it. The pitch was flat, the
bowling too and, at one stage, just a single wicket had fallen in more than 80
overs of play. The overs were running out. The ball was getting older. The
collapse, when it came, was astonishing and the end, sudden. From 241-4, with
an early handshake looking likely, the last six wickets fell in nine overs for
just 14 runs. It defied belief that a side that had resisted for so long and
that had made the attack look totally ineffectual for the best part of three
session, should disintegrate so quickly.
Dan Worrall said overnight that the pitch was not
so flat as might appear, nor was batting so comfortable if the bowlers got
their lines right. He made a point with the first over of the day when it took
just four balls for the first, raucous LBW appeal that umpire Mick Newell
considered long and hard. An opening maiden for Dan Worrall, bowling with three
Slips and a Gulley. Mitchell though took three from Matt Taylor’s first ball of
the day, bringing up the 100 in the 59th over of the innings. The
first nineteen balls of the day produced just that one scoring shot. It was
evident that, at least for now, Middlesex were not thinking of chasing and the
game continued in slow motion. A push for three that stopped just short of the
Point boundary brought up Eskinazi’s 50 (173 balls, 4x4) and was the first runs
of the morning off Dan Worrall. The biggest scare of the first half hour came
with a drive for three from Eskinazi that brought up the 50 partnership, but ended
with a desperate dive to make his ground as Dan Worrall broke the wicket. So,
14 runs from the first 30 minutes play but, from a Middlesex point of view, no
wickets had fallen.
After four overs each from Worrall and Taylor, on
came Tom Price, who had bowled with verve. Given that 15 overs remained to the
New Ball, there was a need to rest the New Ball bowlers, which produced a burst
of runs including a Cover Drive for four by Eskinazi: 8 off the over. Debutant,
Ollie Price, came on to introduce some spin, giving a Price duo with the ball.
A nice action showed that he was in no way overawed by the situation, but he was
not posing a big threat either, although his job was to keep things tight
before the New Ball and, if he could nip out a wicket, so much the better. As
the New Ball approached, the brief flurry of runs ended and the Phony War
returned. The first hour ended with Middlesex firmly in control of their
destiny, fifteen overs bowled, 31 runs scored but, crucially, no wickets had
fallen: 128-3, 291 needed. Gloucestershire had not managed the breakthrough
that they needed.
On came Glenn Phillips with his quickish, flat off
spin, giving an all-spin attack. Gradually, close fielders were added to make
the batsmen think a bit, with Eskinazi surrounded by five close catchers for
Ollie Price (Glenn Phillips only got three), but still no alarms. Up came the
80th over and the umpire immediately showed the New Ball to crowd
and players. Back came Dan Worrall for what was going to be a critical half
hour before Lunch, Eskinazi, on 77*, approaching slowly… very slowly… his first
century since 2017, already having his best Championship/Bob Willis Trophy
score since 2018. After three maiden overs had been delivered with the New
Ball, Dan Worrall went off and Tom Smith came on as substitute. Was Dan Worrall
injured? Then, Worrall came back on and took the ball again, the process being
repeated after his next over. So, it appeared that he must be getting treatment
between overs for some problem. Five overs passed without a run but, in truth,
that was because the batsmen barely had to play at a delivery and the New Ball
was being wasted. Everything about Gloucestershire was, at this point, looking
very flat. Even the juvenile sea-gull who was patrolling Long-On and had been
for most of the match, seemed listless. Off they went for Lunch after seven
overs with the New Ball, 155-3, 265 needed and, crucially, no wickets had
fallen in the morning session. The odds were moving towards a chance of a Middlesex
win, even if there seemed to be no obvious intent to keep the scoreboard
ticking over: the key seemed to be that, for them, a draw would feel like a win
anyway but, if they needed 100 or so in the last session with 6 wickets left,
they would surely go for the runs.
Dan Worrall did not continue after Lunch, giving
way to Dom Goodman, who finally get a bowl, which made no difference to the
batsmen as Eskinazi moved into the 90s and Mitchell approached his 50, with the
score 179-3 and just 240 wanted and 59 overs left. Surely Middlesex could not
snatch this? There was no threat, no menace and the pitch looked totally batting
friendly. Back came Tom Price to relieve Matt Taylor, but there was an air of
inevitability about proceedings as an inexperienced attack was obviously losing
heart. After three overs without a run scored, Steve Eskinazi produced a
flashing cover drive as Dom Goodman gave him some width and up came his century
– his first since 2017 – from 273 balls with 10x4.
Back came Dan Worrall for his third spell of the
day, only deepening the mystery as to why he had been going off: maybe he was
not injured after all? He gave Mitchell some width and saw the batsman cut hard
to go to his fifty with a boundary. Eskinazi flashed at a ball from Tom Price
and came so close to getting an edge. Then Tom Price got one to lift nastily
off a length and hit him on the hand. Interesting. Dan Worrall produced a
genuine edge from Mitchell that flew past Tom Lace in the Gulley and brought up
the 200 in the 104th over. The odd ball was starting to do
something.
In retrospect, that delivery from Tom Price was the
turning point in the day. A Leg Gulley was brought in for Dan Worrall and,
immediately, Eskinazi clipped the ball, hard off his legs, straight to Ollie
Price who had been put there for the shot, departing for 102. 201-4, a third
wicket for Dan Worrall. Could there be an opportunity still to win this? Tom
Price produced two edges in an over that did not quite reach the cordon.
Briefly, things were starting to happen again after hours of chanceless play.
However, Dan Worrall and Tom Price had to be rested and, again, the match
started to go back to sleep to the extent that the sight of Cheltenham Town
Council workers removing four portaloos on a lorry, combined with the prolonged
absence of Dave Townsend from the commentary tent, led to raucous laughter at
the prospect that he had been retired forcibly from commentary duty and was now
in a Council warehouse somewhere.
222-4 at Tea. 198 to win and just 38 overs
remaining. Two set batsmen. The draw was now firm favourite. What was to come
defied all logic.
Miles Hammond donned his headband and shades, a
sure sign that James Bracey was bringing him on to bowl in the hope that he might
buy a wicket. With the Run Rate Required 5.2, 17 runs from the first three
overs after Tea was actually ahead of requirements as Miles Hammond proved
stylish, but expensive. The significant event, though, was at the other end
where Matt Taylor came back for another, possibly final, spell. Three overs
after Tea it was 239-4, with Mitchell 73* and White 24*, both well set and in
no obvious difficulties.
Matt Taylor came in to bowl his twenty-sixth over, the
119th of the innings and the fourth after Tea. And all hell broke
loose.
Ball 1 – Mitchell clipped in the air to Leg Slip,
just avoiding the dive of James Bracey, who tried to bring off a brilliant
catch.
Ball 2 – White clipped off his legs for a long
single. 241-4.
Ball 3 – Mitchell drove, missed, was given LBW and
departed slowly, shaking his head. 241-5, Mitchell 73.
Ball 4 – Andersson edged to James Bracey, who took
a good, low catch and sprinted off towards the boundary, celebrating, at a pace
that would not have shamed Usain Bolt. 241-6. Golden duck for Andersson and
Matt Taylor on a hat-trick. The momentum had changed 180 degrees.
Ball 5 – Matt Taylor to Souter. Hat-trick ball.
Three Slips and a Gulley waiting. Short ball. Souter sways away.
Ball 6 – Souter blocks it.
Dark clouds are swirling behind the College and,
for the first time, the weather enters the equation. How long before light became
an issue?
Maiden over from Tom Price to White, including a superb
Yorker first ball that White just about jammed his bat down on. Suddenly,
Middlesex were staring down the barrel and looked a beaten side.
New over from Matt Taylor.
Ball 1 – Defended. Brother Jack, fields.
Ball 2 – Defended.
Ball 3 – Short. Into the body. Souter fends it
gently to Miles Hammond at Second Slip, who pouches it nonchalantly. 241-7.
Ball 4 – Defended. Missed. Bracey takes it.
Ball 5 – Another play and miss.
Ball 6 – Thin edge. Simple catch to Bracey. Cullen
looks ruefully at the pitch. 241-8.
Four wickets have fallen on the same score in
sixteen balls. Matt Tayor now has 5-37.
Four overs pass. Bamber and White add 7 runs. Back
comes Dan Worrall. The sky is getting darker and darker behind the College, the
wind is rising and an electrical storm is approaching. Four balls: a quick
single, a dab and run to bring up the 250 and a couple of dot balls. What has Dan
Worrall got left? Bamber has faced 16 balls and has looked safe. Dan Worrall
runs in to deliver the 17th ball of his innings. On leg stump,
clipped hard off his legs and Tom Lace pouches a very tough catch at Short Leg!
250-9.
White is 31*, but now has only the Lambeth Lara to
support him. Once, more a batsman than a bowler, Murtagh is a genuine tail-ender
now. It is now a matter of when defeat will come, not if. Matt Taylor takes a
break and Tom Price comes back. Robbie White refuses an easy single early in
the over, but accepts one, fourth ball. Murtagh hits the next ball towards
Third Man for an easy single which is again refused. Last ball, defended safely.
Twenty-six overs remaining.
Dan Worrall to Robbie White. First ball outside off. Left
alone. Second ball, wild down leg: 4 byes. Third ball, again down leg. White
picks it up and clips it in the air to the Square Leg boundary where Jack
Taylor dives and brings off a brilliant catch, just inside the rope. Middlesex
272ao. Dan Worrall 5-54. The margin 164 runs. A fifth win of the season for the
Shire, a record that only Yorkshire can match. Middlesex did not even get close
to the last hour. No one saw that coming.
The long and short of it is that Gloucestershire
effectively have a cushion of 7 points over Hampshire. With just 2 bowling
points, Gloucestershire ensure that they will finish second by avoiding defeat
in their last game, starting on Sunday at Cheltenham.
Aftermath:
At Tea yesterday it looked as if the game was
moving towards an early handshake. Set batsmen at the crease. A ball that was
getting older. A tired attack that had taken just a two wickets in just under
three sessions of play. A pitch that seemed to be blameless. The sudden nature
of the end was so unexpected as to be utterly bizarre.
With the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, the key moment
is clear. The ball from Tom Price that lifted and hit Steve Eskinazi started to
put doubts in the minds of the batsmen. Then the Leg Gulley was put in to
exploit any unpredictable bounce and Eskinazi hit the ball straight to the
newly-placed fielder. Although Middlesex seemingly continued calmly even after
Eskinazi was out, there was an opportunity. The bowlers knew that with one more
wicket they would be into the soft underbelly of the innings and that meant
that the batsmen could not afford a single mistake or dose of the unexpected.
The ODI call-up meant also that there was no John Simpson to add some steel to
the lower middle order and tail. When the wicket came so soon after Tea and,
what is more, of the dangerous Mitchell, the Middlesex-watchers knew what was
coming. Robbed of someone to keep an end closed-up solidly and with little
batting to come, there was an expectation of a collapse. The phrase “one wicket
brings two” kept being raised but, in the knowledge that, for Middlesex, all
too often, one wicket can bring three or four. All the hard work of increasing
the fragile confidence of the side was undone.
What was remarkable was that Dan Worrall and Matt
Taylor, on whom so much depended and who must have been pretty tired by then,
were able to raise themselves one more and exploit the breech in the Middlesex defences.
Each bowled 38 overs in the match and now, due to the late start to the game,
have just two days to recover before the winner-takes-all game on Sunday.
The Price brothers, with just one First Class match
between them, gave admirable support. George Scott was little used but, like
Dom Goodman, who looked to be far from match-fit, kept things tight when called
upon. The amazing thing was that without David Payne, Ryan Higgins and Josh
Shaw the attack was able to sustain pressure and exploit the opening when it
came. The same attack skittled Middlesex cheaply in the first innings,
setting-up a winning position.
The final game of the season now comes down to one
thing: any respectable draw or better will ensure that Gloucestershire play in Division
1 and will have a chance to challenge to be County Champions when the
tournament returns in September. In fact, even if Hampshire take all bonus
points on offer in a draw, just ONE bowling bonus point plus the draw points
will guarantee that the Shire finish above Hampshire.
So, Hampshire MUST WIN to finish above Gloucestershire
unless:
- Hampshire score 350 in 110 overs in the first innings and Gloucestershire take no bonus points at all in a drawn match.
- Hampshire score 400 in 110 overs in the first innings and limit Gloucestershire to a maximum of one bonus point in a drawn match.
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