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Match Preview: Gloucestershire v Worcestershire Rapids

3 September 2020

Gloucestershire could make it three Vitality Blast wins in a row when Worcestershire Rapids make the trip to Bristol tomorrow.

The two sides met just three days ago at Blackfinch New Road, Gloucestershire coming out on top by 22 runs thanks to a well-rounded team performance.

Ian Cockbain and Miles Hammond continued their blistering form with the bat on Wednesday against the Bears; Cockbain hit a sensational 84* off just 35 balls while Hammond applied a second 40-plus score in a row.

Their partnership of 89 against Birmingham on Wednesday followed up a 56-run partnership against the Rapids two days prior.

“It’s pretty chilled out there with Hammo,” Cockbain said. “We have a bit of a chat and talk about the bowlers we’re facing but nothing too serious.”

Speaking of bowlers, Tom Smith just broke the record for the best bowling figures in a T20 match for Gloucestershire with 5/16 in his three overs against the Bears. At the time of writing, Tom is currently the highest wicket taker in the competition with 9 at a strike rate of 7.3.  

He has been arguably the best bowler in the Vitality Blast to date and was a major factor the last time Gloucestershire and Worcestershire met. He bowled four brilliant overs in the middle of the innings picking up two wickets and giving away just over four runs an over.

Skipper Jack Taylor applauded Tom after his record-breaking performance:

“Smudge knows exactly what he’s doing, we know how good he is because he does it day in and day out. It’s nice when you can call on a bowler and know they’re going to take a few wickets and not go for many runs.”

Gloucestershire have named an unchanged side to face Worcestershire:

Last year’s finalists have had a dire start to their Vitality Blast campaign. Three defeats to Northants, Gloucestershire and Somerset leave the Rapids the only winless side in the Central Group.

Against Gloucestershire and Somerset, the Rapids showed fight in their replies but on both occasions the hole they had dug themselves was simply too deep.

Jake Libby and Daryl Mitchell hit 75 and 45 respectively to come within 16 runs of Somerset’s mammoth 230 total earlier today and the Rapids were ahead of Gloucestershire’s total after six overs last Monday.

Rutherford, Haynes and Wessels have all shown potential to make big scores and it may be a matter for time before things click for the Rapids.

With the ball, Pat Brown has been disappointing on his return from the England bubble. He gave up 57 runs aginst Glocuestershire and didn’t do much better against Somerset, conceding 49.

Dillon Pennington, who took the wickets of Cockbain and Hammond, has been Worcestershire’s most reliable bowler taking five wickets in their three matches while captain Ed Barnard has yet to take one or contribute anything significant with the bat.

The match will be live streamed via the Gloscricket Match Centre here

The match is scheduled to begin at 2pm with coverage starting at 1:30pm.

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