Gloucestershire begin preseason with two red-ball wins in Stellenbosch
21 March 2025
Mark Alleyne’s Gloucestershire got off to a successful start to their 2025 preseason, winning both red-ball preseason tour matches against Northamptonshire and Durham UCCE.
Gloucestershire v Northants (Thursday 13 - Friday 14 March)
Gloucestershire faced Northants in the first of the two games, where Glos were tasked with posting a score. Openers Ben Charlesworth and Joe Phillips got Glos off to an impressive start, with both players meticulously bringing up their fifties before lunch, subsequently retiring.
Northants then made some much-needed breakthroughs, restricting Glos to 230/4 at tea.
Glos ended the day on 359/5 after Graeme van Buuren also reached a half-century.
Day 2 saw Glos take to the field, where the seam bowlers got off to a brilliant start, limiting Northants to 105/5 at lunch.
Luke Charlesworth and Ajeet Singh Dale taking two each, with Zaman Akhter picking up the fifth. Spinners Ollie Price and Ed Middleton then got in on the action in the afternoon session, leaving Northants 222/7 at tea.
Tom Price (2) and Luke Charlesworth (1) took the final three wickets in the evening session as Gloucestershire wrapped up victory, beating Northants (271 all out) by 88 runs.
Gloucestershire v Durham UCCE (Sunday 16 - Monday 17 March)
The Shire's second game was a similar tale to that of the first, with Gloucestershire posting 356-7 on day one, with Ben Charlesworth and Graeme van Buuren reaching unbeaten half-centuries.
Academy player Zaman Shafi impressed in the Gloucestershire lower order, contributing 38* in his first knock of the tour.
Day two saw the bowlers get off to a quick start for the second time on the trip, with Durham UCCE reaching 52/3 off 24 overs. The opposition batters rallied to 170/6 at lunch but were quickly bowled out in the evening session. The university outfit ended all out for 222 with Academy player Alfie Johnson picking up the final wicket to wrap things up for Gloucestershire.
A Ben Charlesworth four-for and a brace of wickets for Ed Middleton also contributed as Gloucestershire won by 136 runs and capped off an unbeaten double in Stellenbosch.
Gloucestershire continue their match preparation in two friendlies away to Hampshire and Somerset, before returning to the Seat Unique Stadium on Sunday 30 March for a three-day match against Leeds/Bradford UCCE.
There are no formal team sheets or scorecards available for our pre-season fixtures in Stellenbosch.
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