Surrey draw after Gloucs batting heroics
By Ben Horne
July 15 2005
Surrey drew with Gloucestershire after Alex Gidman and Steve Adshead batted Surrey out of the game with a partnership of 235. Following on after Surrey made 603, Gidman hit 93 in the first innings and 143 in the second.
Day one
Surrey made a massive score of 457 for 6. Openers Scott Neman and Richard Clinton put on 136 for the opening wicket. Newman made 82 while Clinton made 66. Both batsmen were dismissed in quick succession by Steve Kirby and they were also both caught behind by Steve Adshead. Graham Thorpe warmed up for the first Ashes test with 73 and John Batty also made a half century with 55. Azhar Mahmood was the highest scorer of the day as he hit 88 not out. He and Bicknell (51 not out) shared in an unbroken stand of 136 as Surry reached 457 for 6 at the close of play.
Day Two
Azhar Mahmood could only add one to his overnight score as he was run out for 89. Bicknell reached 76 before being bowled by Hardings. Harbhanajn Singh then scored his highest first class score as he hit 85 from 95 balls. James Ormomd scored a useful 33 as Surrey were bowled out for 603.
Rikki Clarke took three wickets as Gloucestershire were reduced to 79 for 4. Gidman and Hardings put on 57 to help Gloucestershire reach 140 for 6. Fisher then joined Gidman and they took the score to 221 for 6 when stumps were called. Gdiman was 66 not out while Fisher was 32 not out.
Day Three
Surrey made an early breakthrough with Mahmood trapping Fisher leg before wicket for 36. Gidman and Taylor added 49 to take Gloucestershire to 279 for 7, however just 7 short of this century, Gidman was finally dismissed by Harbhajan Singh as he was caught by Rikki Clarke. Singh took the final two wickets of Taylor and Averis. This left Gloucestershire all out for 288, which meant John Batty, enforced the follow on
Spearman and Weston got Gloucestershire off to a good stat as they put on 85 for the first wicket. Spearman became first man to fall as he was caught by Clinton with Doshi the bowler for 47. Windows was next to be dismissed as Ormond trapped him leg before wicket. This left Gloucestershire 103 for 2. Just seven runs later, Ormond calmed his second wicket as Weston was caught behind for 52. Pearson and Gidman took the score to 156, however when on 34, Pearson was caught by Ali Brown with Harbhajan Sign the bowler. At the close of play Gloucestershire were 256 for 4, with Gidman and Adshead sharing in an unbroken stand of 100.
Day Four
Gidman and Adshead continued where they had left off. Together they added a massive stand of 235, as they batted Surrey out of the game and guided Gloucestershire to a draw. Adshead made 93, while Gidman made a huge score of 1432. Surrey did manage to bowl Gloucestershire out for 494, with Ormond claming four wickets.
This left Surrey with a target of 180 from 18 overs. Surrey were looking in a good position as Mahnood, Brown and Clarke all tired their best to up the scoring rate. However Surrey decided to give up the run chase as they needed to score 96 from 7 overs.