Rain Saves Middlesex from Defeat

We have an unbiased Gloucestershire view on what ended up as a damp squib of the 20/20 blast. We hear of some of the entertainment of match, with passing comments and a futile attempt of describing the D & L that wasn't even required.

Twenty20 may not be everyone’s cup of tea but the hoards leaving St John’s Wood Tube just before 6pm last night were certainly testament to its popularity. It would be fair to say too that Lord’s and the shortest form of cricket appear unlikely bedfellows but somehow the 200 year old venue has managed to embrace the brash format and revel in its crudeness: the throwaway tat, the flames on the boundary, and the sponsored promotions were all there.

It’s a far cry from the days where WG Grace used to turn out on the same ground for Gloucestershire but you get the feeling that were he alive he’d have relished the format. That’s more than could probably be said for some of the visiting batsman though after Alex Gidman won the toss and decided to bat (a decision Barmy Kev thought prudent as he commented “ we can’t bat under lights”).

 Gidman, standing in for Michael Klinger as both captain and opener, had time to consider his choice earlier than he’d have liked as he was caught by Higgins off Harris for nought in the first over. The Aussie style quacking duck was another very un-Lord’s-like moment as he trudged back towards the Pavilion (okay, dug-out) to be replaced by Ian Cockbain (or Cock-bane as one of the MCC types in the row behind insisted on calling him).

It wasn’t long before fellow opener Chris Dent had joined his captain in the dug-out, also caught off Harris but this time by Harry Podmore. “It’ll be over before the football starts,” quipped Dasher Denning, and it was hard to disagree, especially when Hamish Marshall was bowled by Podmore in the fifth over.

At the end of the powerplay Gloucestershire were 19/3: surely this isn’t what Twenty20 was meant to be about? To be fair to Gloucestershire the pitch appeared to be doing all sorts; there was seam movement, swing and balls were already turning square and the visitors would have been remembering the points deduction they received for a sub-standard surface at Cheltenham in 2013.

Ironically, just after the powerplay finished Cockbain hit the first boundary of the innings and as if to celebrate the spectators were treated to a “Blast Break’, which appeared to be some sort of opportunity to get pelted by the promotional tat in your seat (if you were daft enough to sit that close).

Cockbain managed an admirable 21 in the circumstances before he was caught by Denly off Dexter in the tenth, as Gloucestershire managed a not very blasting 39/4 by the halfway stage.

Will Gidman joined Benny Howell at the crease and the pair managed a whopping partnership of 51, including three more fours and a six, which at least gave the scoreboard operator a chance flash up the Nat West Blast logo a few times.

There were half chances through the partnership but each time the ball went in the air it landed safely between two or three fielders: “Howell is he finding the gaps?” asked Barmy Kev, while Dasher suggested a workout for the Benny Hill tune to accompany each comedy moment. When one of the chances did manage to find a fielder it was ruled out for a no ball in the 17^th over and a ball or two later a run out chance was missed from a metre or two – you’d have thought it was actually easier to hit the stumps.

Howell finally departed in the 18^th over for 51, caught by former Gloucestershire player Dan Christian off Podmore. It was the youngster who took what would be the final wicket of the night too, that of Gloucestershire’s fifth wicketkeeper of the season, Adam Rouse, in the twentieth over. Gloucestershire ended on 105/6 and the rain began pelting down, perhaps in an attempt to extinguish those flames on the boundary.

The crowd hung around and we spent an hour explaining Duckworth Lewis to an American at her first ever match (with limited success) but the rain was even more persistent. The umpires called time, the game ended as just a Twenty, the points were shared and the ever resplendent Lord’s was able to return to being simply a majestic