June 2008 Archives

Gloucestershire 243 for 4 (75 overs). Taylor 25, Snell 0.

A much-needed breakthrough arrives as Marshall, having batted with calm authority this morning and advanced to 121 (189 balls, 18 fours, two sixes) receives a Carter long hop and laps it straight to Botha at mid-wicket.

It was looking ominous for the Bears with Taylor, having taken 16 balls to get off the mark, beginning to flow to the tune of 25 runs from his next 20.

Warwickshire have adopted a defensive approach with Trott bowling with a deep cover and deep long leg.

No spin yet today.

Gloucestershire 208 for 3 (65 overs). Marshall 113, Taylor 0.

Martin has started with an aggressive spell from the Pavilion End and trapped North lbw on the back-foot for 10.

Flip-flops are grotesque. They should be banned. Or at least permitted to be worn only in the privacy of one's own home.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. It is a sunny morning, although with plenty of clouds around, and play will start on time. A couple of early wickets and Warwickshire would be right back in the game, bearing in mind Gloucestershire's inconsistent batting this season.

As I entered the ground this morning a Bears follower offered this strident view: "Tim Ambrose eh? Ten runs in five innings and they rest him! ******** ridiculous".

He has a point, I think.

Rain has stopped play again with Gloucestershire 190 for 2 (59.4 overs) and it is hurling it down so the chances are they won't get back on again until tomorrow at 11am.

Gloucestershire 186 for 2 (59 overs). Marshall 103, North 2.

Porterfield, on 74 from 175 balls with 13 fours, aimed a big drive at Martin and edged to Frost to provide the bowler's first championship wicket.

Excitingly, seconds later, the 'd' dropped from the scoreboard as the wickets column changed from one to two.

The light is not great now and the Bears need to exploit that and winkle one or two more out to even up the day. Martin is bowling a good spell.

The sun is out, tea has been taken and play will resume at 4.30pm, ten overs having been lost from the day.

Gloucestershire 174 for d1 (53 overs). Porterfield 74, Marshall 94.

Rain has stopped play, much to the batsmen's irritation. They were ticking along serenely and have already set a new Gloucestershire second-wicket record against Warwickshire. Porterfield and Marshall have so far added 172, eclipsing the previous best of 148 by Alf Dipper and Harry Smith at Cheltenham in 1922 and Matt Windows and Tim Hancocks in 1996.

This could be a sizeable stoppage. Quite heavy.

Gloucestershire 136 for 1 (or as the scoreboard has it, 136 for d1), 45 overs. Porterfield 63, Marshall 67.

"There doesn't seem to be a great deal of penetration out there," an esteemed scribe has just commented on the bowling attack. The Bears are toiling a bit with Salisbury and Carter plugging away at the moment.

The scoreboard was rebooted at lunchtime but the 'd' came straight back up next to the wickets column. The operator has no idea why that rogue 'd' is there, how it got there, or how long it will remain there.

Among the questions this raises is: Why a 'd'?

Why not an 'e'? Or, perhaps, a 'j'?

Lunch: Gloucestershire 89 for 1 (30 overs). Porterfield 41, Marshall 42.

Gloucestershire will be well-pleased to have got through the session with just one out. The ball did a bit early on as you would expect and there has been cloud cover at times but its a decent track so, having come through the new ball with little damage, they might fancy their chances of building a decent total.

The Bears have used six bowlers. Martin 8-2-27-0, was hit for successive fours by fellow Kiwi Marshall.

The helicopter has departed but a rather stylish cream stretch limo has just turned up.

Gloucestershire 46 for 1 (16 overs). Porterfield 25, Marshall 19.

Carter and Trott have taken up the attack. It's quite a lot to ask of Trott to be manning the seam attack after just an hour on the first day but he started with a tidy maiden. Martin's first first-class spell for the Bears: 6-2-15-0.

It has clouded over. A helicopter has circled the ground three or four times, perhaps trying to find a way of hooking off that inexplicable 'd' which is still there, silent, ominous and brooding, like 'Vain' from Stephen Donaldson's 'Wounded Land'.