Gloucestershire Sink The Toothless Tykes

Dear oh dear, the flip side of Yorkshire's progress thus far in this year's County Championship is an inept attempt at competing in the Yorkshire Bank forty-overs tournament. Whilst the white rose county has either won or dominated all but one of their County Championship engagements, by contrast the Tykes have lost all but one of their limited overs encounters. The latest county to help themselves from Yorkshire's buffet bowling was Gloucestershire.

Yorkshire should be awarded points for winning the toss because it is an art that Andrew Gale excels at. If only his batting was as impressive. However, of more pressing concern is Richard Pyrah's stream of failures as an opening batsman. If one were to contrast Yorkshire's top order efforts with that of Gloucestershire, then the difference between failure and success in this tussle is fairly obvious. Yet again for the second week in succession, Phil Jaques batted Yorkshire to some semblance of a demanding total, with Adil Rashid weighing in with another fine knock. Surely one of these two indiviuals needs to be upgraded to open the batting.

Now that the wilting white rose is merely making up the numbers in its group, the Yorkshire Bank competition is now little more than a glorified nets session for Yorkshire. The county will clearly treat all remaining commitments in this event as an opportunity to blood new talent, which is no bad thing. The County Championship is clearly the prize that the first XI is aiming at. Perhaps our limited-overs crew will redeem themselves in the forthcoming Twenty20 circus.

YORKSHIRE versus Gloucestershire; Sunday 2nd June 2013; at Headingley; YORKSHIRE won the toss.

YORKSHIRE: 240 for 6 (40 overs)

Gale c Gidman b Payne 26 (56-2)

Pyrah c Howell b McCarter 2 (4-1)

Jaques b Gidman 70 (183-5)

Ballance c Dent b Hammond 37 (119-3)

Lyth b Gidman 30 (164-4)

Rashid not out 43 

Hodd c Klinger b Payne 4 (188-6)

Rhodes not out 19

Extras: 9

GLOUCESTERSHIRE: 243 for 5 (38.1 overs)

Marshall c Wardlaw b Coad 44 (74-1)

Klinger c Ballance b Ashraf 96 (226-5)

Roderick c Hodd b Wardlaw 63 (193-2)

Gidman b Pyrah 5 (206-3)

Howell c Coad b Pyrah 8 (216-4)

Cockbain not out 16

Fuller not out 7

Extras: 4

GLOUCESTERSHIRE WIN BY FIVE WICKETS