Gloucestershire v Middlesex: Friends Life T20 - Second Innings Recap
Kevin O’Brien’s blistering half-century guided Gloucestershire to 165/4 against Middlesex in a match of the Friends Life T20, at the County Ground, Bristol in England on Wednesday, July 13, 2011.
The visitors would have hoped to restrict the opposition to a lesser total after electing to field first at the toss. They had things pretty much under control until O’Brien walked out in the middle and launched his assault.
However, the visitors were still not out of the game, as they had plenty of depth in their batting. Their batsmen were fully capable of chasing big totals against any opposition.
It wasn’t Middlesex’s day though, as they failed to cope with the pressure and were restricted to 140 for the loss of seven wickets at the end of their allotted 20 overs.
The pitch was still good for the batsmen, as the conditions didn’t change much after the first half of the game. However, hitting was not easy due to the fact that the ball came a bit slower onto the bat off the wicket.
Middlesex gambled with their batting order, as former England all-rounder Jamie Dalrymple was sent to open the innings. His partner was Chris Rogers at the other end.
Rogers, who was also leading his team in yesterday’s match, failed to make an impression and was dismissed early. He only managed four runs in his short stay at the crease.
Scott Newman was also unable to get going and was sent back to the pavilion after adding just six runs to the total.
Dalrymple and Dawid Malan steadied the ship for their side with a solid 52-run partnership for the third wicket. The latter played aggressively, collecting 32 runs off just 21 balls with the help of four boundaries. He failed to carry onto the start though
and was dismissed in the 11th over of the innings.
The lower-order struggled to get going and wickets started to tumble towards the end of the innings. Tom Scollay got out after managing just eight runs in his short stay at the crease. He was followed by Dalrymple, who had played well for his 36-run knock
off 34 balls, striking a couple of fours and one massive six.
Wicketkeeper batsman John Simpson and South Africa’s Ryan McLaren were the next two batsmen to be dismissed in the innings after contributing 15 and six to the total.
Steven Crook and Tom Smith remained unbeaten on 16 and 13 in their respective outings, but failed to win the match for their side, as the visitors only managed 140 in the end.
Ian Saxelby was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts, as he picked up two wickets in the match.