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DURHAM END GLOS’ T20 FINALS DAY DREAM

10 August 2016

Gloucestershire’s NatWest T20 Blast campaign ended in disappointment as they suffered a 19 run defeat to Durham Jets in the quarter finals.

Chasing 181 to win their hopes of reaching Finals Day evaporated as their top order failed to fire in front of a home crowd of more than 5000 at the Brightside Ground.

A combination of good bowling from openers Chris Rushworth and England’s Mark Wood and some less than judicious batting saw the hosts slip to 6-2 before collapsing to 62-6 after 11 overs.

It was an uncharacteristic display from a team that had showed great consistency and calm under pressure throughout the group stages.

To watch a post-match interview with Andrew Tye - playing in his final game for Glos - click below:

Jack Taylor offered a sliver of hope with a swashbuckling career-best innings of 80 off 41 balls including seven fours and five sixes before being the last man out, run out off the final ball of the 19^th over.

Coming in at 49-5 at the end of the ninth over, the allrounder struck his first boundary – Gloucestershire’s first in six overs – off Jennings in the 11^th and never looked back.

He struck two sixes off Scott Borthwick in a 12^th over that yielded 19 runs and followed it up with successive fours from the returning Wood in the 13^th.

The Glos fans began to believe that a miracle could be on the cards after an extraordinary 16^th over that yielded 24 runs including two sixes and a four for Taylor. Twenty-two of these came from the first three deliveries from Durham skipper Paul Collingwood who was then taken off by the umpires for bowling two deliveries above waist height.

But despite his valiant effort Taylor continued to lose partners at the other end before falling victim to his side’s fourth run-out of the innings with six balls still remaining.

The damage had been done in the first half of Glos innings when excellent bowling from Chris Rushworth (2-32) and Wood (2-28) put Glos on the back foot from the word go.

In the second over the pacy Wood dismissed Marshall (4) – playing his last T20 game for Glos – caught by Keaton Jennings at midwicket, mis-timing a pull before same combination did for Ian Cockbain (0) two balls later..

Klinger and Graeme Van Buuren traded boundaries before the Australian stepped up the pace against Rushworth in the fifth. He struck him for two fours and a six in successive deliveries before gloving a rising ball to Michael Richardson who took an excellent catch standing up to the stumps.

The loss of their skipper put the brakes on the Glos innings and a spate of wickets followed as Van Buuren, Howell, Noema-Barnett and Smith failed to get going.

Glos ultimately contributed to their own downfall with four avoidable run outs.

Durham were indebted to an opening partnership of 96 between Mark Stoneman (61 off 41) and Keaton Jennings (36 from 30) for their total of 180-5.

Matt Taylor (2-28), Van Buuren (0-6) and Jack Taylor (0-13) - making a welcome return to bowling following the lifting of his suspension - were the pick of the Glos bowlers as the team struggled to impose their usual control on the game.

Despite this they may have kept the score below 165 if it hadn’t been for some impressive late hitting from wicketkeeper Richardson who struck 37 from 21 balls.

The NatWest T20 Blast campaign may have ended on a downbeat note but when fans and players look back they will see it as one where huge strides were taken and some excellent cricket was played.

Gloucestershire will now turn the attentions to battling for County Championship promotion while Durham Jets head to Edgbaston for Finals Day on August 20.

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