Match Reports

Gloucestershire v Middlesex - RLODC

Gloucestershire's interest in this season's Royal London Cup ended at the group stage after a powerful batting performance by Middlesex saw them post a match winning 322-3 at a sunny Brightside Ground.

The loss of four wickets in a seven over spell gave Gloucestershire's fifth wicket pair of Ian Cockbain and Ryan Higgins a testing situation, but they added 116 together before Higgins departed for 65.

Cockbain completed the second List A century of his career in the closing stages, but he ran out of partners as Gloucestershire were dismissed for 289 in the penultimate over. It left Middlesex winners by 33 runs, and Gloucestershire in seventh place in the final South Group table.

Gloucestershire made three changes for their final match in the pool stages of the Royal London Cup, with David Payne, Graeme van Buuren and young off spinner George Drissell coming into the side in place of Matt Taylor, Tom Smith and Craig Miles on what looked a typically easy paced Bristol pitch.

Chris Dent decided to field first after winning the toss but for the second game in succession two opposition players made centuries, opener Paul Stirling and England limited overs captain Eoin Morgan both reaching three figures in different styles.

Stirling batted throughout the entire Middlesex innings, his century coming from 128 balls with no fewer than 66 singles. He might have been stumped when on 39 and was later dropped twice, but he glued things together whilst Morgan blazed away, often with immaculate placement especially on the off side. He reached his hundred from only 69 deliveries with seven fours and five sixes, including three off van Buuren in a a single over.

Gloucestershire had two early successes, Ryan Higgins removing Dawid Malan with a fine catch from Gareth Roderick and then Nick Gubbins dragging a ball from Chris Liddle onto his stumps. However from 49-2 Middlesex gradually went through the gears to set a challenging target, Stirling and Morgan adding 158 for the third wicket and Hilton Cartwright (60*) further raising the momentum of the innings late on, adding 116 with Stirling in the final 14 overs.

Gloucestershire's response began brightly enough with George Hankins and skipper Chris Dent picking off five boundaries in Tom Helm's first three overs but the indroduction of former Gloucestershire all rounder James Franklin triggered the loss of four wickets in seven overs to give the visitors a tangible advantage.

Hankins (26) clipped Franklin's first ball back to him and in his next over Howell was caught by a tumbling Helm close to the boundary in front of the apartments. Chris Dent mistimed a clip off James Harris to mid-wicket before the powerplay was complete, and Ian Cockbain had only eight to his name when Gareth Roderick was run out answering his call for a single.

As a guide, Gloucestershire were a long way behind the DLS score but Jack Taylor added 67 with Cockbain including a six over long on off leg spinner Nathan Sowter. The New Zealander's first three overs cost 31 runs but when he bowled Taylor for 33 having switched ends, more than half the innings remained and any challenge looked to depend on Cockbain and Ryan Higgins.

Collecting runs in singles initially - they added 55 together without a boundary - the blue tough paper was lit when Higgins drove James Harris for four past mid off and followed it with a straight six that ticked Gloucestershire past 200 in the 37th over.

By the time the last powerplay started, Cockbain had followed up his half century at Beckenham on Sunday with another one from 56 balls, and Higgins, taking one delivery more, had also registered his second of the competition. Gloucestershire's chances remained until the stand was halted at 116 when Higgins top edged Helm to backward point for 65.

Predictably perhaps, with the run rate climbing steeply, van Buuren and Payne went cheaply before Cockbain took some personal satisfaction from the day by completing a well constructed hundred from 109 balls, containing as it did only four fours and three sixes.

The previously expensive Helm bowled Liddle to end the match, although with all the results elsewhere going against Gloucestershire even a victory would have left them outside the play-off places. Middlesex also go out - although the sides will meet again in white ball cricket when the Vitality Blast T20 starts next month.