Mon 7 August, 11:00
Report: Warwickshire v Gloucestershire, Metro Bank One Day Cup
Warwickshire made it two wins from two in the Metro Bank One Day Cup with an eight-wicket success against previously unbeaten Gloucestershire at Edgbaston.
The westcountrymen had won their first two games but surrendered their 100 per cent record to a Warwickshire side which retained theirs after a ruthless display of bowling supported by brilliant catching.
Gloucestershire were skittled for 120 with only Jack Taylor (55, 65 balls) able to resist an attack led by the excellent Olly Hannon-Dalby whose three for 14 included the wickets of three of the top five batters.
Warwickshire then eased to 123 for two from 25.5 overs as Ed Barnard added a fluent 36 (39 balls) to his two wickets, Will Rhodes struck an unbeaten 36 (27) and Michael Burgess an unbeaten 33 (44).
After choosing to bowl, Warwickshire made lavish use of the new ball.
Gloucestershire were 10 for four after Barnard took wickets with his second and 11th deliveries and Hannon-Dalby struck with his seventh and ninth. All were caught behind the wicket as Barnard induced fatal edges from the Price brothers and Hannon-Dalby had Chris Dent and Graeme van Buuren taken in the cordon.
When Danny Briggs started with a wicket-maiden, James Bracey chipping back a return catch from the sixth ball, the visitors were 35 for five.
Taylor and Ben Wells added 29 but the edges continued to come. Wells nicked a perfectly-shaped outswinger from Craig Miles and Zafar Gohar left in high dudgeon after being adjudged caught behind off Hannon-Dalby.
Taylor and Anwar Ali constructed the best stand of the innings – 38 from 42 balls – but then fell to brilliant catches. Anwar tickled Miles down the leg side and wicketkeeper Burgess dived low to take his fourth catch of the innings. Taylor passed 50 for the 18th time in List A cricket but is still to turn one of those fifties into a hundred after he thrashed Jake Lintott to extra cover and fell to a stinging catch from Ethan Brookes.
When Lintott spun one on to Ajeet Singh Dale’s stumps, Gloucestershire were 120 all out.
Warwickshire openers Barnard and Rob Yates added 46 in 12 overs. Barnard batted attractively before falling lbw when he missed a reverse sweep at Ollie Price.
Captain Will Rhodes arrived in no mood to hang about, moving from one to 15 with two fours and a six in four balls from Ollie Price and lifting Gohar into the Hollies Stand.
Tom Price rattled Yates’ off-stump with a jaffa but Gloucestershire’s batting implosion meant that jaffas had to arrive on a conveyor belt to rescue them and Rhodes and Burgess steered the Bears to the most straightforward of victories with 145 balls to spare.
Rhodes said: “That’s two really good results and I think we have already found a nice blueprint for how we want to bowl in this competition.
“To have them ten for four was a fantastic start – you don’t want to tempt fate but the game’s almost over after four overs there. From that position you should kill the game and that’s what we did. 120 was well under par and it was then just about us getting over the line.
“It was nice for Burge to find some form. He was a little bit rusty at the start of his innings on what was a tricky wicket but then hit some nice shots and for him to get a 30-not out and see us home was very pleasing.
“I was pleased to score a few runs too – I’m always looking to improve my white-ball game and hopefully get back into the T20 team.”
Additional tickets released for first three days of West Indies Test
A small number of tickets have been released for the first three days of our Men’s Test against West Indies this summer (26-30 Juy).
Tickets are limited for these day and are expected to sell quickly. Early Bird tickets for Day Four are still available if purchased before midnight on 31 March.
