Derby delight as Klinger's hundred sets up Somerset win
2 August 2015
Gloucestershire recorded their first List A win over Somerset at the Bristol County Ground since 2008 with a nail biting three wicket victory in the Royal London One-Day Cup with two balls remaining.
Set 245 to win, Michael Klinger's sixth century of the season in all cricket took Gloucestershire to within sight of the finish line, but 43 runs were still needed and it took some lusty hitting from Jack Taylor - including two sixes in the penultimate over - to take Gloucestershire to victory.
It was the third successive win in the pool stages of the competition, a sequence that puts Gloucestershire in third place in Group A with four matches remaining.
Listen to Head Coach Richard Dawson's thoughts on the win here :
Somerset captain Jim Allenby decided to bat after winning the toss but half way through their allotted 50 overs he must have wondered if it was the right decision. Six wickets had gone down, and any chance of a reasonable total rested with James Hildreth and Lewis Gregory. It was a responsibility they took on with a lot of common sense.
The first 90 minutes or so of the day belonged to Gloucestershire. David Payne and James Fuller shared the new ball, and Payne soon removed Abell with a leg side catch by wicket keeper Gareth Roderick. Fuller was giving the batsmen nothing to drive and after Trego twice pulled Payne to the leg side boundary Fuller knocked out his off stump.
It encouraged Michael Klinger to give the New Zealander an extended spell, and in his seventh over the decision brought further reward as Fuller yorked opener Hose for 21.
Benny Howell had started with a maiden when he replaced Payne, and the virtue of bowling straight saw the in-form Cooper depart for only 12 as once again the stumps were spread. When Allenby edged Miles to Roderick in the 18th over Somerset were 70-5 and firmly on the back foot, a situation only made worse when Barrow, in attempting to counter attack, was clean bowled by Miles before half the overs had elapsed.
Hildreth and Gregory were then forced to bat cautiously to try and get Somerset into a position where could accelerate in the closing overs. Statistically, their half centuries were almost identical, and the century partnership contained only eight boundaries as both worked the ball into the gaps to keep the scoreboard ticking.
The late onslaught was signalled by Gregory in the 47th over, driving Craig Miles for a straight six as well as cutting the same bowler for two other boundaries. David Payne finally broke a stand that had added 118 in 23 overs when he caught and bowled Gregory for 62, but Hildreth stayed until the end, finishing 85 not out and at least giving Somerset's bowlers something to work with.
After conceding 67 in the last 5 overs, Gloucestershire knew a good start was essential if they were to record a third successive win. Groenewald's early spell was miserly, conceding only nine runs in six overs, and while openers Dent and Klinger capitalised on some loose deliveries from Gregory, the all rounder helped split the partnership by taking a low catch at short fine leg to dismiss Dent off Groenewald for 16.
The situation then appeared tailor made for Klinger, who so often this season has been at the core of Gloucestershire wins in one day cricket. The question was not only could he deliver again, but also could the rest of the batting contribute enough runs around him to secure victory. The answer was to be yes on both counts, although Gareth Roderick didn't last long, caught in his crease by left arm spinner Jack Leach and trapped lbw for 1.
Klinger's first sign of aggression was to lift Leach to long on for six, and after using his feet with minimal success against the slow left armer, Geraint Jones then also cleared the rope. The run rate was picking up so it seemed somewhat unnecessary when Jones raised his head to a ball from Allenby and was bowled for 22.
Accumulation remained Klinger's approach as he passed fifty off 73 balls with four fours and a six, and little was given away by leg spinner Waller or Trego until Benny Howell, in at number five, pulled Trego over mid wicket for another maximum.
The pair added exactly 50 before Howell , who had made 24, was lbw to Waller with 14 overs remaining and 109 runs still needed. Another new batsman put greater emphasis on Klinger, who promptly struck three sixes in quick succession, one off Trego and two in an over off Groenewald, one of them clearing the apartments and ending up in the car park behind.
Kieran Noema-Barnett, however, wasn't to be outdone. After limited chances to bat in the T20 competition, he took a liking to the Somerset spinners, striking Leach and Waller for six, and benefitting from a bad miss in the deep by Adam Hose, who not only spilled a catch but also saw the ball go over the boundary.
Unsurprisingly, the crowd got to their feet when Klinger reached his fourth one-day century of the summer in the 42nd over off 123 balls, but the result was far from a formality, especially when the Australian found the hands of Allenby at cover off Groenewald having made 107. Five overs and three balls remained, and 43 runs were still required for victory.
Inevitably, given what had happened in the previous two matches, the finale was frenetic. Noema-Barnett was caught at deep backward square leg for 34. 31 runs were needed off the last three overs, and 23 off the last two.
Only when Jack Taylor - the hero against Derbyshire last Wednesday - powered two sixes over the mid wicket boundary in the penultimate over bowled by Groenewald did Gloucestershire look likely to win, and even then James Fuller perished with five runs still needed. Taylor, though, played his second critical cameo of the week, straight driving Gregory towards the pavilion to see Gloucestershire home.
