Northants Got 15 Too Many Says Alex
16 July 2013
Alex Gidman admitted Northants had been allowed to get too many runs after Gloucestershire had slipped to their fifth Friends Life t20 defeat in six games at Cheltenham.
The visitors ran up 206-3 after losing the toss, with Richard Levi blasting 110 not out. Despite a rapid 49 of 19 balls from Alex and 60 from Ian Cockbain, Gloucestershire lost by 17 runs, closing on 189-6.
After the low scoring contest against Warwickshire on Sunday, the College Ground pitch played more as expected and produced a run feast.
But that was of little consolation to Gloucestershire’s players, who now look destined to miss out on the quarter-finals.
Alex told this website: “We feel Northants should have been restricted to ten or 15 runs less, but we shouldn’t be surprised that a team has scored 200 in a 20-over game at Cheltenham and felt we had a chance of chasing it down.
“Unfortunately, we lost too many wickets in the power play. No one tries to get out and anything can happen in T20, but the fact that we got so close to their total anyway shows what was possible.
“It was a big chase, but we felt we had the skills to do it and are disappointed to have fallen short. I had to take risks by the time I got out there and luckily I hit a few out of the middle and gave us some momentum.
“It might have been different if I had stuck around for an over or two more, but T20 is a high risk game and you have to keep taking chances.
“Ian Cockbain is our sort of security blanket if we lose a couple of quick wickets. He played superbly against Somerset at Taunton and he relishes challenges like today’s.”
The result meant Northants joined Glamorgan on eight points from five games at the top of the Midlands/Wales/West Division, while Gloucestershire remain bottom of the table with two points from six fixtures.
The Cheltenham Festival continues tomorrow with the start of a four-day LV=County Championship game against Worcestershire.
Young off-spinner Miles Hammond, who was drafted into Gloucestershire’s team to face Northants, will again be in the squad.
