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Alex Milestone On Tough Second Day

29 August 2013

Alex Gidman became the first Gloucestershire player to pass 1,000 first class runs for the season as his side plunged into trouble against Essex on the second day of the LV=County Championship match at Bristol.

The former skipper reached the milestone with a leg-side boundary off Reece Topley shortly after completing a 72-ball half-century in testing conditions.

Gloucestershire had slipped to 41 for three in reply to an Essex first innings total of 400 before Gidman and Hamish Marshall put together a spirited fourth-wicket stand of 101.

Despite the brief fightback, the hosts closed on 211 for nine at the end of a day curtailed by rain and still require 40 to avoid following on.

Gidman made 63 off 93 balls with 11 fours, to take his tally of Championship runs this summer to 1,010, while Marshall contributed 54 from 90 deliveries, with eight boundaries.

Alex told this website: “I think this is the quickest I have every got to a thousand runs in a season. My best is in the 1,200s, so hopefully I can go on and beat that.

“It’s always a target for batsmen to reach 1,000 and when you do it suggests you have had a pretty decent season. Given good weather and a bit of luck it should be achievable and that has been the case for me this year.

“Hopefully the weather stays fair and I can achieve a career-best.”

Of the game situation, Alex added: “We now need to do something special with bat or ball, but we don’t believe we are out of it.”

Greg Smith finished with a career-best 177 as Essex clinched maximum batting points for the first time this season.

For more details of day two against Essex click on Cricket and then Match Reports.

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