Gloucestershire fall to Essex despite Higgins' best efforts
2 August 2019
Ryan Higgins made an impressive 77 not out in vain as Gloucestershire fell short by 25 runs to Essex, a first defeat in the 2019 Vitality Blast.
Gloucestershire were given a high total to chase after Essex finished 206/3. Tom Westley was the games high scorer with 86 off 54, Cameron Delport and Dan Lawrence also chipped in with half-centuries for the Eagles.
Undone by the loss of early wickets, Gloucestershire left themselves with too much to do despite a frenetic fifth wicket stand of 93 in 42 balls between Jack Taylor and Ryan Higgins.
Miles Hammond got the Gloucestershire innings off to a flying start hitting 19 off 14 including a big six and another four. Klinger, Bracey and Cockbain added 32 before Higgins stepped to the crease and let loose.
At the halfway stage, Gloucestershire were 65/3 needing 142 runs to win. A second big run chase in successive days was out of reach for The Shire in spite of the best efforts of the middle order. 32 runs were needed to win in the final over, a single off the first ball of the over sealed the deal for Essex.
Head Coach Richard Dawson said:
“We didn't play our best cricket the other night (at Glamorgan) and we weren't at our best here either. On this occasion, we've been made to pay for it.
I don't think we bowled particularly well at any stage. We let them get away and, although Benny Howell gave us back a bit of control, we couldn’t exert pressure from both ends. Essex worked out Tom Smith well and never lost their momentum.
We lost it in the first six or seven overs of our innings. That total should have been one we could chase down on that pitch, but we lost too many wickets up top. Jack Taylor and Ryan Higgins played good cricket shots and kept it simple, but the damage had already been done. There are lessons to be learned and we need to learn them quickly."
Benny Howell did give the Essex batsmen issues and was by far the most economical of the Gloucestershire bowlers. He finished with two wickets from his allocation and only gave up 13 runs.
TURNING POINT
Andrew Tye fumbled a catch at mid-off to allow Essex opener Cameron Delport a life on 23 in the fifth over. The South African made Gloucestershire pay heavily, providing the platform for a record total.
UNSUNG HERO
Gloucestershire all-rounder Benny Howell again proved his worth with the white ball, applying the brakes in the middle overs and returning figures of 2-13 from four overs.
WHAT'S NEXT
Gloucestershire will likely need a victory over Sussex at the Bristol County Ground on Sunday to keep pace with the South Group front runners.
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