Match Reports

Surrey v Gloucestershire

 

Gloucestershire's exit from the Nat West T20 Blast at the pool stage was confirmed after another nervy, low scoring match in their final South Group fixture against Surrey at the Kia Oval.

An over in which Sam Curran took three wickets gave Surrey an early grip on the game despite losing the toss, and on a pitch where the timing of shots was again a challenge, Jack Taylor top scored with 28 as Gloucestershire were restricted to 130-9.

It looked a modest total to defend, but Surrey lost dangerous openers Finch and Roy in Craig Miles' first two overs and it was only a steady 45 from Moises Henriques that kept them on track until Ian Cockbain ran him out. Gloucestershire chipped away at the lower order but Surrey captain Gareth Batty clipped the second ball of the final over, bowled by Noema-Barnett, to the  boundary to secure Surrey a narrow win by two wickets.

Head coach Richard Dawson with some final thoughts on the T20 campaign after the 2 wicket defeat to @surreycricket pic.twitter.com/pB11Gwc73f

— Gloucestershire CCC (@Gloscricket) 17 August 2017

Gloucestershire named the same side that had been beaten by Middlesex at Uxbridge on Tuesday, and skipper Michael Klinger decided to bat first when he won the toss.

A quiet first three overs looked to averted the poor starts in the previous three matches, but Sam Curran changed all that with three wickets in five balls which set Gloucestershire back on their heels. Klinger (11) was caught by Batty at mid off, Mustard (9) played around a full length ball and Bancroft was bowled first ball to leave the scoreboard at 20-3.

Ian Cockbain counter attacked with three boundaries in an over off Stuart Meaker but he too fell to Curran as Finch took a routine catch at mid off and as at Uxbridge on Tuesday Benny Howell was at the front of the queue when the call for repair work was made.

Boundaries were scarce, but Howell and Kieran Noema-Barnett made up for that with four sixes in a stand of 39 which helped to re-balance the innings. By half way, Gloucestershire had recovered to 75-4, but the first of several pieces of smart fielding in the match broke the partnership as Noema-Barnett was run out by Jason Roy's direct hit at the striker's end for 24.

Howell's departure to Gareth Batty ten balls later left a situation head coach Richard Dawson had commented on before - a lack of wickets in hand reducing Gloucestershire's ability to apply pressure in the closing overs. Jack Taylor and Graeme van Buuren added 26 but the runs only trickled along until Taylor struck a clean six over long on off Rikki Clarke in the 18th over. He finally fell to Dernbach in the penultimate over for 28, and Gloucestershire's total of 130-9 looked short of a par score.

With the South Group so close, Surrey would have wanted a win which would have boosted their run rate, and Aaron Finch's despatching of Graeme van Buuren's first ball for six was a signpost of intent. Gloucestershire's bowlers have, however, made chasing small scores an awkward business in the last four games, and here it was Craig Miles and Benny Howell who made the road to victory a bumpy one.

Miles had a wicket in each of his first two overs, Jack Taylor taking a well judged catch at deep square leg to send back Finch for seven, and then Noema-Barnett safely taking the chance offered by Jason Roy at mid wicket. Surrey completed the powerplay at 35-2, and had added only eight more runs when Burns, frustrated by Howell's economy, holed out to van Buuren on the mid wicket boundary.

Any stability in the Surrey innings appeared now to hinge on Moises Henriques, their Portuguese born batsman best known for a decade in Australian state cricket with New South Wales. With the big playing area at the Kia Oval he was more concerned with sensible singles than boundaries, and although he lost Ollie Pope to a nonchalant catch by Noema-Barnett off Howell, he steered the Surrey innings until the 16th over when, going for a second run, an accurate throw from mid on by Ian Cockbain found him short of his ground.

With their linchpin gone for 45, Surrey still needed 33 to win from the final four overs and the history of the 2015 Royal London Cup final suggested that was not a foregone conclusion. Rikki Clarke's six off David Payne eased their nerves a little but a dreadful call for a single enabled Craig Miles to run him out in the 18th over, and from the final ball Sam Curran was bowled by Miles for 12.

Gloucestershire realistically needed all three remaining wickets in the final two overs to win as Surrey were within 15 runs of their target. David Payne got one of them by bowling Stuart Meaker, but not before an edge had found its way to the third man boundary and skipper Batty hit the winning runs with four balls remaining. It condemned Gloucestershire to a fourth straight defeat at the end of their South Group campaign and bottom place in the final table.