We Were Poor At The Death - Bracewell
11 July 2014
John Bracewell blamed Gloucestershire's seven-run defeat by Somerset in a thrilling NatWest Blast T20 derby at Taunton on two overs at the end of each innings.
The club's director of cricket was unhappy that, with seven wickets down, Somerset still managed to add 30 to their score off the last 12 balls of their innings before closing on 175-8, having lost the toss.
And John was equally displeased that his team could not finish off their opponents when only 19 runs were needed off the last two overs of their reply, which finished on 168-6.
He told this website: "Four overs decided the game. We were sloppy at the end of Somerset's innings and they later gave us a lesson in how to bowl and field at the death.
"We were ahead of the game for a long period and it was very disappointing not to finish it off. But again we were very competitive and the players now feel very despondent at losing close games, which is a measure of how far we have come."
Gloucestershire did well to peg back their opponents after Nick Compton and Craig Kieswetter had produced an opening stand of 69 in 8.1 overs. From 90-1 the hosts slipped to 141-7 before the late rally from Tim Groenewald and Alfonso Thomas.
Michael Klinger's return after injury boosted the visitors and when he and Alex Gidman produced an opening stand of 89 in 8.5 overs Gloucestershire looked in control.
Gidman hit 6 fours and a six in a polished 55, while Klinger made 39. But only Ian Cockabain (29) of the middle order provided much support.
Benny Howell did his best to see Gloucestershire to their target with 19 off 13 balls. But Dirk Nannes conceded only five from the penultimate over and when Thomas dismissed Howell in the final over eight were still needed with only two balls left.
Adam Rouse was caught off the final delivery, leaving his team to reflect on a game that slipped from their grasp.
The defeat left Gloucestershire on eight points in the South Division and they may need to win all their remaining three games to stand a chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals.
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