Rain checks Klinger and van Buuren in Royal London loss
27 April 2017
One of the great unknowns of cricket is what might have happened had a run chase not been interrupted by a rain break.
Gloucestershire had recovered from a poor start as they set out to make 278 to beat Glamorgan in their opening group game in this season's Royal London Cup, and had reached 126-3 after 28 overs when rain forced the players off.
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Another break two overs later and the dismissal of both Michael Klinger (78) and Graeme van Buuren (51) in the same over shortly after the players returned for a third time gave Gloucestershire too much to do despite a lusty half century from Jack Taylor, and they finished 18 runs shy of their revised target on 232-8.
Listen to head coach Richard Dawson's post match thoughts here :
Gloucestershire captain Michael Klinger was one of five players not involved in the three Championship matches so far this season to be brought into the side as white ball cricket got underway.
The others were Ian Cockbain, Benny Howell, Tom Smith and Matt Taylor, and it was Taylor who shared the new ball duties with Liam Norwell on what soon looked a good batting pitch.
Glamorgan had been put into bat after Michael Klinger won the toss, and their steady start showed Jacques Rudolph's intent to try and bat through the innings. In the initial powerplay there were only four boundaries, but very little beat the bat as Rudolph and Lloyd tried to lay a base to attack from later on.
🏏HIGHLIGHTS - Glamorgan ended their innings 277/7.
The @BennyHowell510 celebration is back! pic.twitter.com/r42mrrdN88
— Gloucestershire CCC (@Gloscricket) April 27, 2017
In truth, the innings was relatively evenly paced throughout until a late flurry that brought 61 runs in the last five overs, largely because Rudolph's innings of 121 occupied 49 overs and included 65 singles. He never appeared to hurry, and his shot placement was relentlessly efficient.
At the other end he lost opening partner Lloyd (22) to Benny Howell in the 15th over, and a mix up with Karin Carlson saw the teenager run out for 14 soon afterwards. Left hander Colin Ingram then joined Rudolph, and they briefly threatened to take the Glamorgan total past 300, even though there was a sprinkling rather than a torrent of boundaries.
They added 89 in 17 overs before another poor call saw Ingram run out by Graeme van Buuren from backward point for 45, and when Jack Taylor bowled Donald for 5, Gloucestershire hopes were raised further. However the last 10 overs of the Glamorgan innings produced 84 runs, Rudolph completing a composed century and Cooke, Meschede and de Lange all getting into double figures as Glamorgan attacked. Howell and Chris Liddle finished with two wickets each but it was Matt Taylor who bore the brunt of the punishment, conceding 39 runs in his last three overs.
Gloucestershire's pursuit of 278 to win set off with Phil Mustard partnering Michael Klinger and Chris Dent moving to number three in the order. The start was brisk - Mustard swatting three boundaries in one over from Marchant de Lange - until the South African induced an edge from Mustard and 'keeper Cooke did the rest.
In the blink of an eye, 29-1 became 32-3 as Dent was caught at slip off de Lange and Cockbain played a ball from Carey onto his stumps. It looked a tall order to recover from there but gradually Klinger and Graeme van Buuren pulled the innings around, both scoring heavily on the off side square of the wicket.
One chance went to ground - van Buuren being missed at slip when on 10 - but in increasingly gloomy light Klinger completed a trademark half century from 57 balls with seven fours, and van Buuren was using his feet against off spinner Salter and some improvisation against the seamers so the rain break at 126-3 (Klinger 64*, van Buuren 45*) checked some important momentum.
Only a further two overs were possible before the players were again heading for the pavilion, and when they reappeared with a revised target of 251 in 44 overs, Ingram the bowler was to have an immediate impact, his leg spin removing Klinger and van Buuren in the same over, both of them lbw for 78 and 51 respectively.
It left Jack Taylor and Benny Howell to pick up the baton, although Howell soon lofted Meschede to Rudolph at mid off so with Tom Smith as a reliable foil at the other end, the result hung on Taylor's ability to produce another destructive late innings cameo.
His spirited effort saw him make 51 off 37 balls with three fours and three sixes, but with the rate up at ten an over it wasn't enough and he was run out in the penultimate over. Ingram, a key performer with bat and ball, had the last word by bowling Norwell with the final delivery of the match to finish with 3-39 and give Glamorgan victory under Duckworth Lewis by 18 runs.
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