Match Preview: Glamorgan v Gloucestershire
17 September 2020
With qualification to the knockout stage of the Vitality Blast already guaranteed, attention now turns to a rematch with Glamorgan and the potential to secure a home quarter-final.
Match starts - 6:30pm
The Welsh side visited the Bristol County Ground on 29 August and came away with a 15-run victory that was never close. Glamorgan posted a score of 150 in the first innings, a score Gloucestershire have surpassed in every match since, but on this occasion runs proved difficult to come by for the Glos batsmen.
The match will be broadcast live on the Gloscricket Match Centre here
It wasn’t until George Scott and Graeme van Buuren came in that the run rate would start to pick up for The Shire. Since then, the pair have only been involved in short cameos in the last few overs of matches because the Gloucestershire batting lineup has significantly improved.
Chris Dent and Ian Cockbain have been the standout performers, both now past 250 runs for the season. Dent has seen the ball go for four off his bat on a remarkable 32 occasions: that’s more than one every five deliveries. Meanwhile Cockbain leads all players in the Vitality Blast in sixes made (19).
The somewhat unsung hero of the top order, Miles Hammond, scored his third 40+ knock in the last outing against the Bears at Bristol; the first time this season he has top scored for The Shire.
The left arm bowling attack of Gloucestershire was on full display against the Bears with van Buuren, Taylor, Payne and Smith taking nine wickets between them. The only other wicket a runout by George Hankins.
If the bowling unit can produce more of the same, they should have no trouble taking down a Glamorgan lineup that looked frail with the bat on Wednesday against Somerset.
Gloucestershire have named an unchanged squad from the match against Birmingham:
Glamorgan’s opening victory against The Shire hasn’t led to much as they’ve only managed to pick up one two more points since. That solitary win came against a depleted Northants side who lost Levi and Stirling in the opening seven balls of the match.
Their penultimate home match against Somerset was a showcase event for Pakistan batsman Babar Azam who made 114 not out off 62 balls. The home side’s run chase was effectively over when they lost David Lloyd and Chris Cooke after only nine balls.
When Nick Selman was dismissed in the sixth, the rest of the Glamorgan side seemed to swing for the fences in an attempt to either give themselves a chance of an unlikely comeback or get the match over and done with.
An away match at Cardiff against a team with nothing more than pride to play for could be a dangerous thing. And Gloucestershire have failed to come home with a win at Sophia Gardens in the last two attempts.
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