An unfamiliar look to the side against the runaway leaders of Division
2. Whatever your allegiance, it is good to see Durham finally on the up after
the draconian punishment meted out by the ECB. However, they would pose a big
test even for a full strength Gloucestershire. Apart from the long-term absence
of David Payne, there was no Tom Price, no Graeme van Buuren (James Bracey took
over the captaincy from the injured GvB) and no de Lange. Back came Jack Taylor
to bat at 6. In came Josh Shaw and Zaman Akhter for only his second First Class
match.
Scott Borthwick won the Toss and decided to bat. Ajeet Dale and Matt
Taylor with the New Ball. A flat pitch, good weather and Durham, who have racked-up
the runs for fun this season, to contend with. Fourteen from the first two
overs was evidence that Durham were going to do what they have been doing to
other sides all season and attack from the off. Even so, they did not have it
all their own way. Ajeet Dale, enjoying being entrusted with the New Ball, ran
in at Michael Jones, who had 13 from 10 balls. The batsman left expansively, Dale’s
delivery angled in and exploded the stumps. Yet another clean-bowled to his
name. 15-1. Just the tonic that the side needed. However, Durham consolidated
and the appearance of Akhter for the 14th over led to an
acceleration in the run-rate, although he was unlucky not to get Lees in his
first over to an attempted cut shot that almost caught the edge. On came Zafar
to restore order and Alex Lees hammered his first delivery back over his head
to the boundary, his first over going for 12 runs.
Unusually, Alex Lees took guard well outside off to Josh Shaw. It was
not a successful tactic as he flashed, edged, and was taken by Zafar in the Gulley.
86-2 and the Shire feeling better about the morning. Even so, up came the 100
in the 25th over, with Durham scoring at better than 4-an-over.
127-2 at Lunch from 29 overs at 4.4-an over, with the batsmen taking a
special liking to Zafar and Akhter. Durham most definitely the happier of the
two sides at Lunch.
Ajeet Dale was as aggressive as ever and sat
Scott Borthwick with an excellent bouncer, however, the batsman soon got his
revenge with a Square Drive to go to his 50 from 73 balls and bring up the 50
partnership. Unusually, at this point every run was off the bat. Something is
always happening when Ajeet Dale is bowling. His eleventh over saw the first
extra (a No Ball), a bouncer aimed like an Exocet, which Borthwick ducked, a
play and miss and then an identical – and better executed, save for one detail –
shot, flicked to leg, which Miles Hammond, who was placed for the shot, intercepted
with a wonderful flying catch at Leg Gulley. 149-3. The over then ended with
new bat, Ollie Robinson receiving a short ball straight in the midriff. Action
a-plenty in that over. Dale with 2-33 and bowling with some fire on a very flat
track. Next over, David Bedingham first played and missed at Matt Taylor and
then lofted the next delivery to Akhter
at Mid-Wicket. 149-4 and Gloucestershire right back in the game, with
two next batsmen at the crease, both without scoring. It could have been even
better: first ball, Clark received a superb yorker from wide of the crease. He jammed
his bat down on it, the ball slid onto the back pad and trickled close to the
stumps, with Clark having no idea where it had gone.
Again Durham regrouped, and a new partnership
formed. Zafar was being harshly treated, with 0-47 from 7 overs and the bat was
getting back on top. The 200 came up with a massive six over Long On off the
suffering Zafar. With Akhter, who bowled some very good deliveries, along with
some very poor ones, also being expensive, things started to look ominous
again. Zafar then bowled a very fine over to Robinson, who seemed to get
frustrated, aiming two massive cuts, the second of which took an inside edge
and was superbly caught by a gleeful James Bracey. 214-5 and some cheer for
Zafar on a tough afternoon. A little control of the run-rate returning.
Again, a partnership started to build: Clark
and de Leede building again. 240-5 at Tea, Graham Clark 36*, Bas de Leede, 14*.
Up came the 250 in the 68th over. James Bracey was standing up to
Josh Shaw who was the most economical of the bowlers and helping to apply some
real pressure. It did not prevent Clark and de Leede putting up the fourth,
fifty partnership of the innings, 266-5 and the bat getting on top again.
With the New Ball just four overs away, on came
Ben Charlesworth. After a tidy first over, 14 came off this second. On too came
Jack Taylor for, presumably, a single over and up came the 300 with a boundary
from his first ball. The New Ball was thrown at once to Ajeet Dale: 303-5 and,
James Bracey badly needing a wicket. Eighteen from an Ajeet Dale over and
Durham were motoring. The hundred partnership had been and left far behind in a
flash. Two more boundaries from Matt Taylor: six boundaries and 27 runs had
come off just two overs with the still new ball. Back came Zafar for just the
seventh over with the New Ball and, immediately, James Bracey brought off a
smart stumping as de Leede overbalanced. 338-6, the second bowling point up.
Bracey was jubilant and Zafar was seeing some reward. Celebration was tempered,
though, with Clark 82* and looking set for a century. A brace of boundaries off
Matt Taylor took him up to 90*. 350 came up, but then Zafar spun a ball prodigiously
from outside off that also kept wickedly low. It looked to have even turned too
much, but he won the decision: 350-7.
Still runs flowed off Clark’s bat at the
other end. A brace of fours off Akhtar took him to 99*, although he must have
been very close to departing to both the next two deliveries with the ball
passing very close first to the inside edge and then to the outside edge of
Clark’s bat: both times, Bracey and the Slips appealed loudly. Finally, Clark turned
Zafar off his legs to complete a century from 153 balls, but went just 3 balls
later, trying to cut a ball far too close to him and falling LBW. 369-8, Zafar
4-95 and his early struggles forgotten. Akhter finally got his reward just
before the Close when Matty Potts drove without due care and attention and
Miles Hammond arrested his progress with another catch. 374-9, the third
bowling point. There was still time, though, for some merry hitting from the last pair.
393-9 at the Close. Durham 7 short of the
fourth batting point. A well-contested day, but Durham have the runs on the
board and have scored fast. Gloucestershire will want to stop this annoying
last-wicket partnership quickly in the morning and use the pitch as well as
Durham have.
Day 2
A frustrating day for the Shire. Glimpses of
what might have been, but now the unbeaten run of eight matches covering the
2022 and 2023 seasons is in real danger.
So far, only Sussex and Yorkshire have kept
Durham below 400 in the first innings and only against Yorkshire have they
failed to pass 350 (and Durham still won), which is where their impressive haul
of batting points has come from. Could Gloucestershire hold them below that
symbolic mark too? The last wicket pair had put on 54 in the first innings
against Yorkshire and started by adding four singles from the first eleven
deliveries before Coughlin went big against Zafar and brought up the 400 with a
six. When Patel added a boundary from Ajeet Dale the partnership had risen to 33
and was getting more than annoying. The talk by the visitors before the start
of play of Durham getting the fifth batting point too began to seem all too
realistic for comfort: ten overs left for points, 36 required. Boundaries from
consecutive Dale deliveries for Coughlin and then another big six took him to 49 and brought
up the 50 partnership in 44 balls. Coughlin’s 50 from 43 balls came from the
next ball. The bowling was getting hammered and the 450 was approaching like an
express train. On came Matt Taylor and saw his first delivery disappear for four
more. Finally, though, he induced an edge from Patel and Bobby Bracey completed
his third dismissal of the innings. 445ao.
“Get in and go big”, said Dan Whiting. Marcus
Harris was lucky enough to be dropped second ball, which should have been a
warning. At the other end, Chris Dent scored boundaries from his first two
balls: the first no more than a firm push, the second a solid pull. Rapid
outfield. Sun. Perfect conditions. What could Shire do?
Disastrously, Chris Dent left a ball from
Matt Potts, the ball came back in, kept a little low and Dent was given LBW. Maybe it was doing too much. Maybe he was a little unlucky. What was not in
doubt was that it was the wrong ball to leave. 10-1 and with a much longer tail
than against Derbyshire. Not the start that you wanted to see.
What followed was the sort of batting that
made the later collapse even more galling to watch. Ben Charlesworth had a
Silly Mid On and a Silly Mid Off, two Slips and a Gulley. Most definitely an
interesting field for Ben Raine, but an indication that the bowlers thought
that there was some irregular bounce to be exploited. Even so, slowly the batsmen
were consolidating. Raine bowled a little too far down leg and the ball went
for four leg byes. A Square Cut for four next ball from Harris. On came Ajaz
Patel to bowl spin as early as the thirteenth over and Harris danced down to
club him for four through Mid On, but perilously close to a fielder. Again,
Harris came down the pitch to Patel, but only got a single from it. Still, 39-1
from 13 overs was getting more respectable. Ben Charlesworth took his cue and
launched the first ball he faced from Patel far over Long On for six. Up came
the 50 in the sixteen over. However, Charlesworth also tried to dance down the
pitch to a fuller ball and was lucky to Chinese cut it for four when the ball
could have gone anywhere. A Harris boundary brought up the 50 partnership. Ben
Charlesworth then offered a very tough chance, fast and low to Short Forward
Square Leg that went down to the frustration of the close fielders. Another
Charlesworth edge, this time off Coughlin, flew through where 3rd
Slip had been not long before and added 4 more.
66-1 from 20 overs at Lunch. Probably an even
session, maybe even slightly frustrating for Durham, who had gone so close to
the fifth batting point and, with the batsmen both flirting with danger, had
seen the two shots that flew to fielders, go to ground.
Although play had started in sunshine, the
weather had got darker and more menacing before the break, which was the cue
for Gloucestershire’s weekly homage to Jupiter Pluvius. Down came the rain and
on came the covers and the big sheets. Meanwhile, those fans still depressed by
last season would do well to look at the score at Southampton, where Northants
are 27-7 and mutter “there, but for the grace of God go we”. Northants look set
to be dismissed for under 100 for the third time this season and four more
times have failed to reach 200: Division 1 is a tough old shark pond, as the
Shire found last season.
Eighty minutes lost. An edged boundary off
Coughlin took Harris to 47*. Then a delivery from Patel beat everything and
went for 4 byes. Charlesworth inside edged and the ball bounced over the stumps.
Harris gave Patel the charge, the ball squeezed under the bat, and he just
avoided it spinning back onto his stumps: 98-1 and the ball not running for
Durham. There was nothing wrong, though, with the Cover Drive that Ben
Charlesworth produced to bring up the 100. The Marcus Harris 50 came up with a
reserve sweep off Patel: two balls later he aimed a cut at a wide delivery and
edged to the ‘keeper: 110-2 and some of the gloss had come off what had been a
good session. In came Miles Hammond with his side needing a century from
someone.
Only the worst pessimists could imagine the
slide that would follow.
Miles Hammond, who played for England U19 as
an off-spinner who could bat, started well with three boundaries from a
Coughlin over. Ben Raine came into the attack and Hammond Square Cut him for consecutive
boundaries. Once again, he had started batting like a million dollars. The last
thing that the Shire needed was to lose him to the last ball before Tea,
leaving a ball that, even if it had not come back in to hit Off, would still
have been a perilously tight leave. It was another innings that illustrated both
his ability and his propensity to give away a good start with his weakness
outside off. 139-3 and the Follow-On mark of 295 suddenly looking a long way
away, especially with the out of form Jack Taylor coming in at 5.
Taylor tried an ambitious cut and just about
survived. Next ball he received one in his zone and launched Patel way over
Long On to get off the mark with a huge six. Jack Taylor is always best when he
goes for his shots… but judiciously! Raine dropped a ball short and leg side to
Ben Charlesworth who brought up his 50 with an imperious hook. Taylor tried
another big hit, but half pulled out of the shot and just cleared the fielder for
a lucky 4. Still, he was trusting his eye and deciding to go for his shots, but
it was a high risk strategy. After two cut shots off his stumps, he tried a
forward defensive and was comprehensively bowled through the gate. 168-4. Here
we go again. It got worse. James Bracey had looked in good form but reached for
a ball outside off and edged Potts straight into the midriff of Second Slip. 189-5.
Almost 15 overs left. With a long tail, would the Shire even manage to reach
the Close?
Zafar was flirting with danger outside off
but, when he got it right, a fine Square Cut brought up the 200. The feeling
was that Durham would bat again, even if Gloucestershire failed to save the
Follow-On because neither side would want to bat last but, the first target was
to get past 250. The task was made far harder when Bas de Leede aimed one across
Charlesworth who flashed, and Bedingham at Second Slip took a good catch above
his head. Charlesworth out for 71, 214-7 and worse was to come almost at once
as Matt Taylor survived two balls and then flicked his third gently to Scott
Borthwick: 217-7 and the ship sinking fast. Zafar played studiously forward,
missed and the ball went for four byes. He then swept hard at Patel, missed
again and this time did not get away with it, stumped as his back foot slipped
forward. 227-8. Akhter edged his first ball to Second Slip and Patel was on a
hat-trick. 168-3 had become 227-9.
In came Ajeet Dale to a fielders’ convention.
Somehow room was found for a third slip, who joined the Silly Point, Short Forward
Square Leg and Silly Mid Off. Dale swung, the ball rolled out and the batsman
survived. An edge just evaded Second Slip’s outstretched hand and brought a
boundary. Shaw and Dale decided to hit out and take their chances, as the
Durham last wicket pair had done and, improbably, the 250 and the bonus point
came up with a huge six the Shaw hit over Long On. Patel’s over went for 16
from a combination of byes and runs off the bat. Josh Shaw then hit the last
ball of the day for a gorgeous Cover Drive and the Shire survived to resume in
the morning.
255-9. 41 needed to save the Follow-On,
although nobody believes that Durham will want to enforce it. Either way, Gloucestershire
are facing a big deficit and the likelihood of a very improbable fourth innings
chase. They will need a very, very good Day 3 to save that unbeaten run.
Day 3
At some point tomorrow, probably before
Lunch, the eight-game unbeaten streak that Gloucestershire started on September
5th, 2022, at Taunton, will end in a defeat although, for a glorious
hour and a half in the evening, the faithful could dream of an astonishing last-day
chase still being possible.
There was a simple task for the Shire today:
take time out of the game. Extend the last wicket partnership as long as
possible. Slow Durham’s progress with the bat as much as possible to reduce the
time available to be bowled out a second time. It would take a titanic effort
to save the game but, if it could be saved, it would give the team great
morale. That was the theory. It just did not quite work out in practice.
Josh Shaw accumulated, supported by Ajeet
Dale, helped by some leg-side bowling that brought four byes and four leg byes.
He then brought up the fifty partnership with a huge six over Long On, followed
by a quick single. Another huge six over Long On took them to within four of
the Follow-On mark and within eight of a second bonus point. Seven overs
survived, 37 added, but the New Ball looming. Hold your breath. Keep your head.
One edge through the slips or deflection
off a pad would do. Sadly, Ajeet Dale went for an ambitious drive with just
four balls to go to the New Ball and Matthew Potts castled him comprehensively.
Josh Shaw left high and dry, five short of his First Class Best.
292ao. Better than we dared hope, but the 300
was so close. The last pair had showed that, against an old ball at least,
there was not too much wrong with the track. Durham were soon to demonstrate it
comprehensively.
The two key numbers of the Gloucestershire
innings, though, were 8, 2 and 3: eight batsmen got a start, just two reached
40 and three were dismissed, leaving a ball. Too many batsmen had done the hard
work of getting in and had got out. Second time around the order of the day
would be “same batting order, better batting!”
Durham batting again, 153 ahead. How long
would they bat?
It was no great surprise to see Zafar
wheeling away as early as the fifth over and he must have come precious close
to removing Jones immediately after a New Ball thrust that proved a little more
costly than James Bracey would have liked. Ajeet Dale’s first six overs went
for just 11. Zafar’s first five went for 16. Matt Taylor was, though, more
expensive and, when he returned to rest Ajeet Dale, he gave too much width and
went for two boundaries.
Gloucestershire had good reason to be happy
with their first hour of bowling. It was tight. Scoring opportunities were
limited. Durham progressed to 48-0 without many alarms, but without racing
away. The half hour before Lunch was, though, a horror story. 48 were scored from
those first 16 overs. 53 came from the next nine, which included a Matt Taylor
maiden over. It was if the fifty coming up with a Square Cut from the first
ball of the 17th over, delivered by Zafar, flicked a switch. Another
boundary and a six, clubbed by Jones, followed. Fifteen from the over. Matt
Taylor bowled his maiden, and all hell was let loose. Jones’ 50 included three
sixes, the first two hit off consecutive Zafar overs, the third when Jack
Taylor replaced him. The hundred came up in the last over before Lunch. This
would have been even worse had the imminence of the break not caused the batsmen
to reduce the intensity of their assault a couple of notches for the last four
overs.
101-0 at Lunch. 254 ahead. At this rate of
scoring Durham would be able to declare after Tea, at least 400 ahead. Not
good.
The news got worse. Ajeet Dale off the field after
Lunch, apparently as a precaution because of his heavy bowling load. Dom
Goodman on as substitute and the Shire a bowler short.
First over after Lunch, Akhter had Jones
pinned in front and launched an appeal running right down until he was facing
the batsman. The ball kept low and was hitting middle. The only problem was
that the impact was just outside off. Then he aimed an expansive sweep,
top-edged and the ball cleared the ‘keeper. Zafar was getting turn but gave
Jones too much room and was launched square for six. Finally, Zaman Akhter got
his reward, bowling Lees round his legs (!!), middle and leg. 119-1, Lees out
for 40. An odd dismissal and not one that Lees will be proud of.
Zafar seemed to be indicating,
understandably, that he wanted a fielder in the carpark past Square Leg, but he
started to get huge turn from the rough outside the left-hander’s Off Stump.
Scott Borthwick did not play a shot to a ball the spun back a long way and was
given LBW. 122-2 and the Durham charge slowing a little. Unfortunately, not for
long. It was a different matter bowling to the right-hander as Jones launched a
sweep for six over the short boundary at Square Leg and then swept Zafar’s next
two deliveries for boundaries: lead over 300, Jones in the 90s. After a quiet
period, 24 came from two over.
Josh Shaw came into the attack and was hit
through the covers for two crunching boundaries before Bedingham got a little
early on one that was a bit straighter and top edged to Chris Dent.178-3. The
lead 331 and Durham scoring so fast that you could see a declaration 450 ahead
possibly even before Tea. Another Square Cut and up came Michael Jones’ century
from 127 balls. Durham chasing quick runs and prepared to risk losing wickets.
The result was carnage. Josh Shaw’s punishment for the temerity of taking a wicket
was to concede two boundaries and ten runs in his next over. Zafar’s tactic of wanting
a man out beyond the Square Leg boundary was justified when Robinson put one
straight down the throat of Paul van Meekeran… unfortunately, it didn’t count
because (a) van Meekeran was not playing and (b) the ball had cleared the
boundary by a large margin. Just the thirteen runs off the over. It added up to
39 from 4 overs of Shaw and Zafar.
Potential bowlers must have wanted to hide
every time James Bracey tried to catch their eye. The unlucky one to hold the
stare was Jack Taylor. First ball short. Robinson launched it high into the
stands at Square Leg. Second ball, rinse, and repeat. Third delivery, a wide
outside off. Fourth, a fraction closer and crashed square for four. Acrobatic
fielding kept Robinson to a single from the last three deliveries, but it was
still 18 from the over and a pre-Tea declaration looking more and more likely.
45 minutes to Tea, 393 ahead.
The 400 lead came up in the 45th
over. Robinson’s 50 came from 25 balls. It was a good rate of scoring even for
a T20. Robinson tried to reverse sweep Zafar, missed, dragged his back foot out
and James Bracey executed his second smart stumping of the match. 272-4 and the
declaration, 425 ahead and Tea taken with 46 overs remaining.
Good news: no short
session before Tea.
Bad news: the two
overs to be deducted for the change of innings, would not be.
142 overs to play. 426 the target. 3.00 the
asking rate. Nothing to it!
Chris Dent needed a long innings, but it
almost ended second ball when he edged at catchable height, between Second and Third
Slip. He got four for it, but it was a moral victory. Two balls later, he was
perilously close to LBW (ball pitched outside leg??) Next ball, a lovely Cover Drive
for four. Buckle up! It’s going to be a bumpy ride! Hope lasted 15 balls. The
16th accounted for Chris Dent, the 17th for Ben
Charlesworth (nick to the ‘keeper and catch to Third Slip, respectively). 11-2.
Game over.
Hat-trick ball. Miles Hammond digs out a
yorker in front of just the five waiting slips.
One thing that favoured the batsmen was that,
with attacking fields, anything that beat the in-field was likely to go for
four. Scoring quickly was not a problem. It was scoring quick AND staying in
that was the problem. And no one seemed to be up to the task.
Many Gloucestershire supporters seem to lose
patience with Miles Hammond. When he gets in, he looks top class and bats like
a million dollars, but he has just two First Class centuries and a very poor
conversion rate of fifties to centuries, getting out far too often to loose
shots when set. Off the mark with a glorious Cover Drive, maybe this was the
situation to get his juices flowing? Miles Hammond plays spin well and it was
almost a relief to see Patel on for the ninth over of the innings. He played
three balls studiously and then danced down and unleashed a perfect Cover Drive
for four.
The batsmen were scoring at better than
four-an-over. Surely those two early wickets were just an aberration? Another Hammond
Cover Drive brought up the 50 in the thirteenth over. The batsmen looked in no
difficulty. Raine bowled a ball from round the wicket that lifted a bit more.
Hammond tried to remove his bat and just guided the ball gently to Second Slip
off the face. It is a shot that gets no better when seen again. 53-3 and the out
of sorts Jack Taylor coming in. A cricket pitch is a lonely place when you are
low on form and confidence. Seeing a ball from Patel turn and leap at Marcus Harris
out of the rough and run for four byes probably did little for the confidence
of the batsmen. Harris then took a single. First ball, Jack Taylor took a big
stride down the pitch, played forward, missed, and was stumped. He stared at
the line for some considerable time before walking off, perhaps suggesting that
he did not think that his back foot had moved, but the scoreboard said
otherwise. 58-4 and the odds on the game not entering its final day. The
experiment of playing Jack Taylor at 5 to protect James Bracey had failed. It
was almost 58-5. Bracey was hit on the pad second ball and probably was only
saved because he was hit just outside off when playing a shot.
James Bracey scored just two from his first
twenty balls before breaking the shackles with a sweep for four and then deflecting
the next delivery through the slips for another. Thirteen off the Patel over,
but Durham had a lot of runs to play with. A brace of boundaries for the
Captain brought up the hundred in the 23rd over and the Shire were
motoring along at almost four and a half per over. A few quiet overs of
accumulation and James Bracey came down the pitch and launched Patel over Long
On for another boundary. All the while, Marcus Harris was playing quietly and staying
out of trouble. Nothing flashy, but effective. He flicked Scott Borthwick’s
first delivery to bring him a fifty from 86 balls in his last innings before
leaving for Test duty. 126-4. Was a bubble of hope starting to rise?
When James Gracey turned Scott Borthwick off
his legs for his seventh boundary it brought up his fifty (in 77 balls) and the
team 150. The partnership stood at 97. Another hour of this and some nerves
might just start to assail the opposition. Endless field changes. Maybe a bit
of gamesmanship to break the batsman’s concentration? A Leg Slip came in for
the next delivery, which got big on Bracey and was guided straight to that Leg
Slip. Bracey out for 50. 150-5 and a very entertaining counterattack was ended.
Zafar likes to play positively and deposited his second ball into the crowd at
Square Leg. His third went flatter and only brought four. The fielder at Short Forward
Square Leg must have felt that he was the coconut in a coconut shy. That,
though, was the end of the fun. Borthwick was removed with the attack with figures
of 4-0-36-1 but he had got the vital breakthrough. Just over six overs to go to
the Close. Zafar danced down the pitch and missed. Ollie Robinson behind the
stumps missed too. There was an almighty confusion of the batsman diving, the ‘keeper
scrambling for the ball and flicking off the bails. The umpire adjudged that Robinson
had won by a whisker. 174-6 and Durham into the tail.
Six men around the bat for Matt Taylor, but
he survived. The day ended in brilliant sunshine, with long shadows across the ground,
the longest of all, another collapse on a far from impossible pitch.
181-6 at the Close. 245 to win. Marcus Harris 71*.
Day 4
Gloucestershire tied in knots that would have
taxed Houdini. There comes a point where all hope is gone and you can sit back,
relax, and just enjoy the game for what it is. This is one of those occasions.
Defeat is inevitable. Let’s have some fun.
The end came much later than anyone could
have expected, thanks to an eighth wicket partnership of 88 and there was even a
moment when it looked as if the match could extend past lunch. It made it all
the more deflating that the last three wickets fell in the space of eleven
balls after a titanic fight through most of the session. The final margin of
defeat was 125 runs. The Shire was well beaten, but Marcus Harris and Josh Shaw
gave us plenty to cheer while we waited for the inevitable axe to fall.
The main question was one of whether the tail
could see Marcus Harris through to his century. Harris, for his part was willing
to take singles first or second ball of the over and to trust Matt Taylor, who
is not the worst tail-ender in the county game. Matt Taylor stuck it out for
five overs of the morning, when the Gloucestershire cause really needed
something closer to fifty. He pushed forward to Patel, was hit on the back leg
and was dead in the water. 202-7. Josh Shaw came in at 9 and, again, shaped-up
well enough to suggest that he could have a role as a bowler who can bat a bit,
hitting some confident boundaries. All the while, Marcus Harris’ score was
creeping up through the 80s and into the 90s. Josh Shaw was lucky on 18 that Slip
could not quite scoop up an edge, but he was unfazed and Harris just kept
going.
Finally, on 97*, facing Patel, he got the
ball that he wanted. WHACK! Josh Shaw took avoiding action as the ball flew over
Mid On for the boundary that Marcus Harris needed to reach his landmark. 163
balls, 14x4. A calm, class knock. Josh Shaw was also more than holding his own:
a hook off Raine took him to 23* and the score to 245-7. He then hammered Patel
over the bowler’s head to bring up the 250 and the fifty partnership with
another boundary. Raine was hooked for his sixth boundary, bringing the runs
required under 170. The margin of defeat was getting a little more respectable.
It was a victory of sorts when partnership-breaker, Scott Borthwick, was
brought on with twelve overs still to the New Ball. Borthwick offered Shaw an
awful delivery that bounced halfway down: Shaw swivelled and despatched it over
Mid-wicket. A single and he was onto 40. A slightly misdirected yorker from Bas
de Leede dug out for a single and now, he was just one from his career best. A
single to one on his legs and up came his First Class best score. The target
was less than 150 away. A fifty was there for the taking. Borthwick and de
Leede bowling. Durham waiting for the New Ball.
Four to Marcus Harris behind Square Leg and runs
from almost every ball of a de Leede over: thirteen in total. Just get through to
Lunch. Durham wouldn’t be sweating, but it would maybe put a little grain of
doubt in a few minds.
290-7. Harris 120*, Shaw 44*. Patel bowled a
magic ball that started well outside leg, turned right across Josh Shaw, and
was edged to Slip. Shaw could not believe it, but he had more than done his
job. Back came the front-line bowlers. Marcus Harris took a single first ball
of the next over leaving Zaman Akhter to face Matt Potts: it was a catchweight
contest and it took just three balls for him to get one through the gate and
re-arrange the batsman’s stumps. 291-9. Lunch would be delayed, if necessary. No
delay was needed. Again, Harris took a single early in the next over and again,
the result was repeated. A lusty swipe over the non-striker’s head for four
followed by a slashing shot straight to Cover. 300ao. 125 runs the margin.
Where do we go from here? For this match,
Gloucestershire were missing David Payne, Graeme van Buuren, Tom Price, Marchant de Lange, Dom Goodman
(all injured), and Ollie Price (exams in a week and a half), quite apart from
the long-term issues that have kept Tom Lace out of the team. For the next round
of games, in three weeks’ time, David Payne should be available. GvB’s hamstring
injury is not serious but may keep him out of the first couple of Blast
matches. Probably most serious is the loss of Marcus Harris for six weeks,
although the good performances of Ben Charlesworth suggest that he will be an
able replacement, with Ollie Price potentially batting at 3, as he did with
some success last season. The team that lines up at Bristol on June 11th
should be much stronger, at least in bowling, but the lack of first innings
runs remains a concern: that is the biggest problem that Steve Snell must
address.
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