Home RLODC quarter final secured despite Surrey defeat
18 August 2015
Gloucestershire will be at home in the quarter finals of the Royal London One-Day Cup despite losing their last match in the group stages to Pool A winners Surrey at the Bristol County Ground.
The abandonment of the game between Yorkshire and Northants meant that Gloucestershire were guaranteed a top two finish, even though Surrey proved too strong on a sunny day in Bristol, winning a high scoring game by 12 runs. Details of the quarter final fixture will be known later in the week.
Listen to James Fuller's thoughts on the match here :
After the defeat at Northampton on Monday, Gloucestershire changed two of the bowling attack, bringing in Liam Norwell and Tom Smith for Craig Miles and Miles Hammond, and skipper Geraint Jones decided Surrey should bat first after winning the toss.
The Black Caps scored quickly from the off, David Payne in particular struggling with his line on a slow pitch. It was James Fuller who provided the first breakthrough, Tom Smith taking a juggling catch at short cover to remove Jason Roy for eight. Vikram Solanki was nearly run out after a poor call from partner Aneesh Kapil, but Fuller ensured he didn't stay long as Solanki edged to Roderick in the seventh over with only 39 on the board.
Thereafter Rory Burns took control. With Kapil playing very straight, it allowed Burns to play himself in until Kapil top edged Fuller to Chris Dent for 33. The left hander was unruffled by Gareth Roderick immediately standing up when Benny Howell was introduced into the attack, and he pulled the first six of the day to long leg off Liam Norwell.
With the docile nature of the wicket, the margin of error over line and length was even less than normal, and Burns and Ben Foakes added 50 together in eight overs without a hint of a chance. Half way through their innings Surrey were 133-3, and it was James Fuller's return for a second spell that broke the partnership, plucking out a fine one handed catch on his follow through to send back Ben Foakes for 30.
Sam Curran then joined Burns, and the two left handers relentlessly ticked the score along with none of the Gloucestershire bowlers able to apply any sort of brake. Burns had made 199 in the Championship at the Bristol County Ground last season, and reached his fifty off 59 balls although it contained only three fours and a six.
With 10 overs remaining both men were well set and Surrey looked likely to post a score of well over 300 until Curran played a horrible switch-hit against Jack Taylor and was lbw for 42. The pair had added 92 in 15 overs.
Burns soon followed, having got to 95 with a minimum of fuss he tried to reach his first one day hundred in the grand manner with a six off Benny Howell, only to be caught on the long on boundary by Will Tavare.
Such a double breakthrough would have checked the run rate of other teams, but Surrey's batting is deep and although Burke made only 11, wicket keeper Gary Wilson accumulated a brisk 37 being bowled by Howell off the last ball of the innings. 291-8 was still a good score and a challenging target.
Gloucestershire's reply set off at an even pace, although is was Chris Dent who dominated the scoring. He set the tone by cutting Dernbach past point, and then collected two further boundaries off the same bowler in his opening spell.
Will Tavare had made only eight when he edged Tom Curran to 'keeper Wilson, who was to end the day with five catches. Gareth Roderick played a couple of lovely cover drives before he went the same way for 19, and when Geraint Jones chopped Gareth Batty to Roy at point, Gloucestershire were 83-3 in the 15th over.
At that stage Chris Dent looked the most likely anchor for the innings, and he was within a single of his first one day fifty of the summer when he steered James Burke straight to Burns at backward point.
Neither Noema-Barnett (11) or Jack Taylor (14) gave much ballast to the innings and when James Fuller joined Benny Howell, Gloucestershire were 137-6 and on Duckworth Lewis a long way behind in the game.
Howell, however, had made 80 at Northampton 24 hours earlier, and by using the pace of the ball and some common sense he and Fuller they were able to add 90 in 16 overs. Fuller showed some invention to reach a best List A score of 45, scooping Burke over 'keeper Wilson and being confident enough to pull Sam Curran through mid wicket for four before playing across a straight one from the same bowler.
Critically with eight overs left, Howell was out just six balls later, striking six boundaries in 77 ball innings of 60 before being caught behind trying to lift Dernbach over 'keeper Wilson.
It was then left largely to Tom Smith to pull off an unlikely victory, and with the aid of a couple of boundaries he and Liam Norwell reached the start of the last over with 22 needed after David Payne also edged Dernbach to Wilson.
The first two balls went for four, but Smith then lost the strike and Tom Curran gave Surrey victory by bowling Norwell to finish with four wickets as Gloucestershire were dismissed for 279.
Despite the result both teams qualify for the Royal London Cup quarter finals with home ties. Before that however, the teams meet again with important Championship points at stake in a four day game starting at the Bristol County Ground on Friday.
