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Ollie Price and Ben Charlesworth inspire famous Gloucestershire victory

21 June 2024

A superb display of clean hitting from Ollie Price and Ben Charlesworth propelled Gloucestershire to a thrilling five-wicket triumph over arch rivals Somerset in a Vitality Blast derby encounter to remember at the Seat Unique Stadium in Bristol.

Coming together with the score on 108-5 in the fourteenth over, Gloucestershire's young guns staged a blistering unbroken sixth wicket stand of 82 in 32 balls as the home side chased down a target of 189 with eight balls to spare, Price top-scoring with 43 from 15 deliveries and Charlesworth contributing a 19-ball 36.

Somerset had no answer as Price accrued 4 sixes and 3 fours, while Charlesworth mustered 2 sixes and a quartet of fours to bring a sell-out crowd of 7,000 to their feet.

Tom Banton had earlier posted a high-octane 79 from 53 balls, smashing 8 fours and 3 sixes and dominating crucial stands of 66 and 76 with Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Tom Abell for the second and third wickets respectively as the defending champions ran up 188-4 after losing the toss.

A first defeat in five games saw Somerset miss out on a chance to take over leadership of the South Group, while Gloucestershire's third win on the bounce improved their prospects of reaching the knockout stages.

Gloucestershire made an important breakthrough in the second over, Will Smeed pulling Josh Shaw's first delivery to deep mid-wicket. Banton was then fortunate to survive, dropped at long-on by Jack Taylor off the bowling of David Payne on one as the home side's seam attack applied early pressure on a used pitch.

Seizing upon his good fortune, Banton helped himself to four boundaries in one Shaw over to afford the innings momentum, while Kohler-Cadmore launched Matt Taylor for a huge six over long-on and a brace of fours as Somerset recovered to reach 50-1 at the end of the powerplay. Kohler-Cadmore had harvested 25 from 21 balls when he carved Beau Webster to short third man with the score on 70 in the ninth, much to the relief of Gloucestershire supporters in a near-7,000 sell-out crowd.

But Banton adapted his game to suit the conditions and go to 50 via 41 balls before pressing on the accelerator. Abell played his part, pulling Shaw backward of square for a startling six as he, too, scored at better than a run a ball.

Banton received another life on 65, dropped by Miles Hammond on the long-on boundary off the bowling of Shaw as Gloucestershire passed up a rare opportunity to redress the balance in the fifteenth. Making good his escape for a second time, Banton helped himself to two further sixes off Marchant de Lange before hoisting the South African to Price in the deep and departing for 79.

Abell made 39 from 23 balls before driving Shaw to cover, but lusty hitting from Sean Dickson and Lewis Gregory, who staged an unbroken fifth-wicket alliance of 31 in 17 balls, ensured the cider county finished with a flourish.

With rain forecast to arrive at around mid-evening, Gloucestershire were aware of the importance of keeping up with the required rate, and Hammond crashed three boundaries off the third over, sent down by Josh Davey, to give the reply a solid start.

Riley Meredith then produced a wonderful yorker to pin fellow Australian Cameron Bancroft lbw for nine as umbrellas began to go up inside the ground. With rain falling steadily, Hammond managed a fortuitous top-edged boundary off Gregory in the next over and Bracey plundered 3 fours off Meredith as Gloucestershire attained 50-1 at the end of the powerplay, slightly ahead on Duckworth Lewis.

Warming to their task, the second wicket pair continued to find the boundary with sufficient regularity to stage a stand of 41 and remain ahead of the required rate. Somerset desperately needed a wicket and wily spinner Roelof van der Merwe obliged, bowling Hammond for 39 in the eighth as the rain eased.

Bracey picked up the cudgels thereafter as Gloucestershire advanced to 88-2 at halfway, requiring a further 101 runs from 60 balls. The left-hander had scored a 30-ball 44, with 5 fours and a six, when he hit England spinner Jack Leach straight to long-on with the score on 101 in the twelfth. Jack Taylor was held at the wicket off the bowling of Ben Green in the next over, at which point the home side were 106-4 with Somerset back ahead on Duckworth Lewis. Leach then accounted for Webster, caught on the long-off boundary, as Somerset tightened their grip. 

Price and Charlesworth smashed 24 off the fifteenth, bowled by Green, and Leach conceded 21 off the next as Gloucestershire's sixth wicket pair mustered a blaze of boundaries to raise a 50 partnership in 18 balls and tip the scales in favour of the home team.

VITALITY BLAST HIGHLIGHTS

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