With seven sixes from Taylor, Gloucestershire remains competitive

With seven sixes from Taylor, Gloucestershire remains competitive – T20

Glamorgan crashes as the captain’s 80-n-out sets up a 121-run thumping.

Gloucestershire defeated Gloucester Organ 85 (Payne 3-7, Smith 3-33) by 121 runs with 206 for 6 (Taylor 80*, Bancroft 44, Gorvin 3–26).

In a lopsided Vitality Blast match at Cheltenham, Jack Taylor blitzed his way to a superb unbeaten 80 as Gloucestershire defeated Glamorgan by 121 runs.

In front of a boisterous crowd at the College Ground, Gloucestershire’s skipper led by example as he smashed 80 from 35 balls with seven sixes and four fours to propel his side to a commanding 206 for 6. The home team earned their highest-ever winning margin in a Twenty20 match with a partnership of 64 between Cameron Bancroft and James Bracey at the second wicket and Beau Webster at the third in a thrilling stand of 63 in 6.3 overs, with Taylor at the fourth wicket.

Glamorgan found it all too much to ask for as they were bowled out for 85 in 15.5 overs, with only Colin Ingram providing top-order resistance in a 20-over innings, with five of their top six hitters failing to reach double figures. As Gloucestershire prevailed inside the distance, David Payne, who had been playing well in the short format, returned figures of 3 for 7 from three overs. Josh Shaw and Tom Smith chipped in with 2 for 7 and 3 for 33, respectively.

Gloucestershire, still in fifth place in the South Group, has a chance to advance to the quarterfinals despite Essex’s defeat to Surrey in their penultimate game. Gloucestershire must defeat Middlesex in their last encounter on Wednesday in Chelmsford and hope Essex loses to Hampshire at Southampton.

“It was a great way to finish the Cheltenham Festival,” Taylor said. “It was really nice to get some runs, get the win and keep the campaign alive going into the final round of matches. Cameron Bancroft and James Bracey laid really good foundations at the top of the order, and that enabled Beau Webster and myself to come in and strike the ball through the middle during the later stages.

“I really enjoyed batting here and it was good to get a good score. Any score of 200 or more is a good score in T20, and we knew we could defend it. We were never going to risk sitting on our laurels and all five of our bowlers hit their lengths and did an awesome job in setting the tone. After taking those early wickets, we just had to keep it going.”

“This win will help with our run rate and we’re pleased to be able to take it into the last game. We have to do our bit by beating Middlesex and then see what happens elsewhere.”

Miles Hammond hit the fourth delivery straight to mid-on, and Timm van der Gugten opened with a wicket-maiden from the Chapel end, justifying Glamorgan captain Kiran Carlson’s decision to field. However, Bracey did not waste any time in turning the tide. He removed van der Gugten twice to the mid-wicket boundary. Then he helped himself to three fours in a 13-run over from Dan Douthwaite. At the same time, Bancroft took Jamie McIlroy for four to give the batting much-needed early momentum.

After that, Bancroft took McIlroy for 23 runs in an over, six of which came off a no-ball, helping Gloucestershire go to a valuable 61 for 1 after the powerplay. Bracey raised van der Gugten above the cow corner at that moment, a corner for an imposing six; it took him to 1,000 runs in T20 cricket.

With Bracey holding at long-on for a 20-ball 31 in the seventh over and Bancroft removed for a 25-ball 44, the Australian held in the deep as Gloucestershire reached midway on 92-3, Andy Gorvin provided the visitors with much-needed respite.

In one Mason Crane over, Taylor smashed two boundaries. He hammered Gorvin for six over mid-wicket to restore the home team’s lead. After playing himself into the ground, Webster offered push at the other end, hitting three fours in a row to put further pressure on van der Gugten. The fourth-wicket pair picked up the pace as Taylor blasted Crane for six off the ground, bringing up the 50-ball partnership in just 31 balls.

Douthwaite dismissed Webster, who made 33 off 36 balls and caught behind the stumps. Marnus Labuschagne removed Ben Charlesworth, and Ollie Price fell to Gorvin, who ended with 3 for 26 from four overs. However, Taylor maintained the pressure, blasting a rapid 50 off just 24 balls, including a six over long-off off McIlroy. He capped off his innings by scoring 19 runs in the final over, which further diminished Douthwaite’s figures and propelled his team to a formidable total.

Gloucestershire strengthened their position when Payne took out Will Smale and Carlson with successive deliveries from the College Lawn end. Shaw then dismissed Tom Bevan, who was caught at short third man. Matt Taylor took a return catch to remove Labuschagne, leaving Glamorgan struggling at 18 for 4 in a lackluster powerplay that produced only two boundaries.

The situation worsened as slow left-arm spinner Smith quickly took out Chris Cooke and Ingram. Webster bowled Van der Gugten lbw, leaving the visitors in dire straits at 48 for 7 by the tenth over. Douthwaite, the seventh batsman to fall for fewer than 10 runs, was caught by Shaw at deep midwicket. Payne returned to dismiss Gorvin, and Smith wrapped up the innings with 4.1 overs to spare.

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Katarzyna Nowak

Katarzyna Nowak is a seasoned writer with over five years of experience in editorial content, news reporting, and cricket sportsbook app reviews. As an author for Top Cricket News, she combines her deep understanding of the sports betting industry with a passion for cricket, delivering insightful and accurate content that keeps readers informed and engaged.