Match Preview - Gloucestershire v Essex
6 May 2019
Gloucestershire's group matches in the Royal London One-Day Cup come to an end against Essex on Tuesday (1.00pm) with a place in the play offs still within reach. To achieve it, a win at Chelmsford is essential. After that, things get rather more complicated, as a victory alone will not be enough.
Only the top three sides in each pool qualify, and Hampshire, as South Group winners, are already certain to host one of the semi finals on Sunday. Who will finish directly behind them is still unclear, with four teams having varying chances of filling the two available spots in Friday's play off.
If Middlesex and Somerset - currently second and third - both win their games on Tuesday, Gloucestershire are likely to be squeezed out unless they beat Essex by a huge margin. A defeat for Middlesex in particular, however, coupled with any Gloucestershire win, would open the door as Gloucestershire's superior net run rate would take them through to play either Worcestershire or Lanacashire depending on results elsewhere in the South Group.
It was a rate helped significantly by Sunday's 116 run victory over Sussex at Hove, where Jack Taylor bludgeoned an unbeaten 69 in a total of 335-6 having come in with only 7.1 overs remaining.
"The information from the guys was that the pitch was a bit tacky and if we got anywhere between 280 and 300 we'd be in the game" Taylor said. "We had talked about the first four or five setting it up for Benny, Ryan and myself, and the way Miles Hammond and Chris Dent batted to blunt their seamers was fantastic."
"Matt Taylor and David Payne then bowled nicely at the top and didn't let them get away. We knew they were a dangerous side who have had some good chases in the competition so we couldn't write them off."
"We said we wanted to give ourselves a chance going into the last game, and we've done that. We know it's out of our hands to some degree with other results but if we play some good cricket and get a fifth win that would be a decent effort."
The players went directly from Eastbourne to Chelmsford on Sunday night, so Tuesday's team will be chosen from the same squad of 13 :
Dent (c), Hammond, Roderick, Bracey, Howell, J.Taylor, Higgins, van Buuren, Smith, Payne, M.Taylor, G.Hankins, Liddle.
Benny Howell sewed the win at the Saffrons up with a hat trick - the first in a Gloucestershire List A game since 2016 - and he felt the bowlers collectively did their job.
"In the past we've struggled to break some big stands so it was pleasing that we didn't let happen and hopefully we can take that forward to Essex as well" Howell said.
"As a side they have some serious players who can be devastating but also inconsistent. We know what we've got to do and we cannot really worry about the other scores. Yes, we want those results to go our way but above all we must win, and win well if we can."
