Marshall's vigil undone by Viljoen
23 August 2016
A gritty half century by Hamish Marshall and a doughty stand between the New Zealander and Phil Mustard were the backbone of Gloucestershire's first innings on a slow scoring first day against Kent in glorious conditions at the Brightside Ground.
In what is the penultimate home Championship game of the season, Sam Northeast's decision to field first was upheld by Kent's five front line seam bowlers as the visitors reduced Gloucestershire to 84-4 at lunch, with veteran Darren Stevens taking two wickets in a nine over opening spell which cost only 14 runs.
It was then that Marshall and Mustard showed the patience head coach Richard Dawson had called for, adding 68 runs together as they batted throughout the afternoon session.
However Mustard's dismissal for 38 in the first over after tea and Marshall's departure for 58 after more than four hours at the crease checked Gloucestershire's progress and Kent's South African debutant Hardus Viljoen finished with 5-55 as they were dismissed for 221 in the penultimate over of the day.
Listen to Hamish Marshall's thoughts at the close here :
Gloucestershire captain Gareth Roderick returned to the side after his finger injury, and it was on a pitch with a green tinge that Roderick and Chris Dent faced Kent's new ball attack of Matt Coles and Darren Stevens, the latter's medium pace causing problems from the outset on a pitch without any appreciable bounce.
Dent hadn't scored when he chopped Stevens onto his stumps in the fourth over of the day with only six runs on the board, and Will Tavare was soon forced to play and miss by the 40 year old, who earlier in the week had indicated a desire to keep playing beyond the end of the season.
Roderick, after more than a month out, collected a couple of boundaries off Coles - one through mid wicket and one cut past point - although he too had trouble with Stevens, edging a chance to slip which Coles put down. It proved only a brief reprieve however, as two runs later a ball from Stevens kept low and trapped the Gloucestershire captain lbw for 23.
Tavare played the best shot of the morning, driving Stevens for four through the covers but his patience was tested by a series of bouncers from Mitchell Claydon, all of which Tavare left alone.
Umpire Alex Wharf turned down two big appeals for catches at the wicket before lunch was taken, and although Klinger survived one of them off Stevens, the Australian was trapped lbw by Hardus Viljoen for 10 as the South African maintained Kent's grip on proceedings from the Pavilion End with a tight first spell.
It was left to former Gloucestershire favourite Will Gidman to further accentuate Kent's authority on the scoreboard as Tavare (20) was bowled trying to pull a ball pitched further up than he anticipated.
Marshall - the other player to survive an appeal, in his case over a possible edge to 'keeper Billings - and Mustard saw Gloucestershire to lunch with much to do from a position of 84-4, and the first hour after the resumption saw neither side give way as every run became a valuable commodity.
Stevens thought Marshall was lbw when he had made only 11 but umpire Wharf didn't agree and thereafter the steady trickle of wickets and chances that threatened wickets to that point dried up until later in the day.
Both players' natural game would be to play shots and score briskly, yet here their application to the cause was to be applauded as the pair took 24 overs to put together a valuable 50-run partnership with timing never appearing easy.
Catchers at short mid wicket and short cover indicated the pitch's modest pace, and Marshall and Mustard had doubled the score from 67-4 to 134-4 when Kent turned to James Tredwell's off spin for the first time but with no breakthrough by the tea interval, more than two hours of hard graft had significantly improved Gloucestershire's position.
It remained a day, however, where control of the game was still in the balance so Kent's immediate capture of Mustard - caught behind by Billings in Viljoen's first over of a new spell for 38 - left a lot of responsibility with Marshall and new partner Jack Taylor, who maintained his record of playing every Championship game this season.
Only 15 overs remained until the second new ball so Taylor, after some watchful observation initially, reverted to his more usual approach and when spinner Tredwell switched ends he was lofted both over the infield for four and straight over the bowler's head for six.
Marshall meanwhile, followed up his century at Canterbury earlier in the summer, with a half century from 166 balls with five boundaries before the new ball was due, although by that stage Miles had replaced Taylor who, having made 24 out of a stand of 40 with Marshall, clipped Claydon to Coles at short mid wicket.
It was then South African Viljoen who hastened the end of the Gloucestershire innings by trapping Marshall lbw for 58, made in a little over four hours. Payne, Norwell and Miles went for the addition of a further 21 runs, Viljoen taking two further wickets and ending the day 10 deliveries early when Miles edged to Stevens at slip.
6 wickets had gone down for 76 runs after tea, a session which Marshall felt had left the team short of a par score. It will now be down to the Gloucestershire's bowlers to replicate Kent's accuracy on the second day.
