Pro40 Hampshire v Gloucestershire

Adams top scores and Griffiths takes four wickets as Hampshire beat Gloucestershire.

With Hampshire still in with a fighting chance of adding the Pro40 to the 2009 trophy cabinet, there was all to play for on a sunlit evening at The Rose Bowl.

In his opening spell of five overs David Griffiths took his first Pro40 wicket – and his second. Both were cleaned bowled; Kadeer Ali went for 8, followed in Griffiths’ next over by Alex Gidman, victim of a beautiful yorker, for 2. It was a good start for Hampshire, with Griffiths (17 for 2) and Dimitri Mascarenhas exhibiting a great degree of control and restricting Gloucestershire to 37 runs by the end of the tenth.

But with two international batsmen at the crease the Gladiators began to cut loose with Hamish Marshall, and particularly William Porterfield, scoring more freely. Mascarenhas juggled his bowlers well, with brief spells from Hamza Riazuddin and Sean Ervine giving way to the double spin of Imran Tahir and Liam Dawson from the 17th over. Almost immediately Tahir struck, forcing Marshall (23) into a drive which was plucked from the air by Jimmy Adams at cover leaving Gloucestershire on 82 for 3.

Not to be outdone, in the next over Dawson had the dangerous Porterfield lbw for 47 as he tried to play a shot across the line. The combination of spin and wickets slowed the rate right back down, with Gloucestershire not picking up their hundredth run until the 25th over. There followed a period of quiet accumulation for the Gladiators, until Tahir had David Brown caught and bowled for 19. When Tahir and Dawson finished their spells at the end of the 32nd over, Gloucestershire’s score was 140 for 5.

The return of Griffiths brought the 6th wicket when he trapped Steve Adshead lbw for 14. Mascarenhas’ was equally successful, coming back in the 38th, when he removed Richard Dawson (5) the same way, leaving Chris Taylor, on 40, to nurse the Gladiators’ tail home. Instead he was bowled by Griffiths in the next over for 44, the Isle of Wight paceman looking every bit as dangerous with the old ball as he had with the new. Griffiths received rapturous applause from the crowd on the boundary where he returned to field, and no wonder given his List A career best figures of 29 for 4.

Gloucestershire finished on 184 for 8 and with Hampshire having to bat under lights the result was far from a foregone conclusion.

Adopting the tactic of preventing Hampshire getting off to a flyer, Gloucestershire opened their bowling with the off breaks of Richard Dawson and the medium pace of the very much part time Hamish Marshall. The move reaped immediate dividends as a Marshall delivery held up in the pitch and Michael Lumb skied a simple catch to Ali leaving Hampshire on 2 for 1 in the second over.

Dawson was followed by Taylor (more off breaks) and the relative pace of Anthony Ireland was saved until the ninth over. But despite some confident stroke play from Jimmy Adams and James Vince, by the end of the tenth the Hawks had made only 31 runs. The batsmen clearly considered it was time to up the rate, and Hampshire’s 50 came just three overs later with an Adams cut shot off Ireland that went fine to the boundary.

But very soon Marshall doubled his career tally of List A wickets when Vince smacked a ball square to Porterfield and was out for 22. Hampshire were behind the rate, but Adams and Ervine began to build a partnership and at the half way point the Hawks had 85 runs on the board – just one behind Gloucestershire at the same stage, and with two more wickets in hand.

Hampshire’s hundred was brought up in style when Ervine smashed Taylor to the fine leg boundary in the 23rd over, edging the Hawks’ run rate ahead of the Gladiators’.  With the hosts beginning to pull away, Gloucestershire captain Gidman was forced to turn to faster bowling mid innings, and Ian Saxelby struck almost immediately with Ervine caught behind for 37 and Hampshire on 112 for 3.

Starved of the strike it took Adams a long time to move from 45 to 50 and he reached the milestone with a neat single off Gidman and the minimum of fuss. With Chris Benham beginning to settle at the crease Adams began to inch the score away from Gloucestershire while Gidman mixed his bowlers to minimal effect. 18 year old David Payne from Bournemouth, making his List A debut, went for eight valuable runs in his first over despite bowling well. He bowled even better in his second to remove Benham caught behind for 7.

By the end of the 30th the Hawks were 138 for 4, nine runs ahead of the Gladiators at the same point. But immediately Dawson had his Hampshire namesake caught by Taylor for 1 and the hosts’ lead was beginning to look a little fragile. However Mascarenhas soon put paid to that, smashing Payne for 10 in a single over and taking Hampshire’s score to within 30 runs of the target by the end of the 32nd.

Adams’ innings finally ended in the 35th over when Saxelby knocked over his stumps for 79 leaving Hampshire 17 runs short of victory and the rate hovering at around 3 an over. Mascarenhas was in no mood to hang around, but could easily have been out if Ali hadn’t slid on the damp grass while attempting a catch. Burrows brought the scores level when he cut Saxelby to the third man boundary and then was bowled next ball. Mascarenhas scored the winning run off the first ball of the 37th, finishing 28 not out.

Match report by Jane Cable

 

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