Friends Provident T20: Somerset beat Gloucestershire; qualifies for the quarterfinals
Somerset made it through to the quarterfinals of the Friends Provident T20 with an easy six-wicket win over Gloucestershire at Bristol on Friday. Trego’s whirlwind 46 run innings off just 17 balls along with his 2 for 29 bagged the South Division leaders a berth in the knockout stage with 3.1 overs to spare.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Alex-Gidman-c984 partnered with James Franklin for the second wicket laid down a decent foundation for a formidable target. But the efforts of the top and middle order were ruined by the capitulation of the lower order. Five lower order batsmen could not reach the double figures. Kieron Pollard, Alfonso Thomas and Peter Trego contributed a major role in restricting the local rivals to 156-9 after a brilliant start. Though the start of the run chase from Somerset was a bit shaky but once again, Trego’s whirlwind 46 runs helped Somerset reach the next stage of the Friends Provident T20.
Somerset, after winning the toss, offered Gloucestershire to bat. Redmond lost his wicket in the second over of the game with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Gloucestershire-c785’s total at 11. But a flurry of boundaries from captain Gidman along with a stable innings by James Franklin eased the nerves in the dressing room. Both Franklin and Gidman took their side to 54-1 in the sixth over. Nevertheless, Peter Trego earned a breakthrough for his side on the first ball of the seventh over when he trapped Gidman in front of the stumps. The captain, in his 25 minutes stay at the crease, scored 31 runs off 23 balls with the help of four boundaries and a six. The next man sent back to the pavilion by Somerset was James Franklin as he nicked a sharp Trego delivery straight into the hands of Kieswetter. He scored 20 runs of 17 balls including three boundaries to his credit.
Marshall and Dent continued the job they added 61 runs to the scorecard for the fourth-wicket partnership. With 131 for 3 on the board in sixteen overs, Gidman would have expected for an imposing total but Kieron Pollard’s two crucial wickets in the next over shattered Gloucestershire’s dream of a bigger total. Dent departed in the 17th over after he spooned a catch to de Bruyn standing at wide long-on. Two deliveries later, Marshall followed Dent as he slashed Pollard straight into the hands of Kieswetter. After the dismissal of these two players, Gloucestershire kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. The last four overs could only earn twenty runs for the loss of 3 wickets.
Pollard took 3 wickets for 36 runs in his 4 overs spell and remained the most successful bowler for the South Division leaders. Both http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Peter-Trego-c2181 shared two wickets each but Thomas was more economical, conceding 21 runs in 4 overs as compared to Trego’s 29.
Somerset's run chase got off to a bad start with the opener http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Jon-Lewis-c1726 and James Franklin were slaughtered by the pugnacious Trego for a number of boundaries and one monstrous six to both of them over the leg-side boundary. Trego lost his wicket in the 6th over of the innings when he gave an edge to wicketkeeper Snell off Franklin’s bowling. His 46 runs were well supported by 37 and 30 byBruyn and Pollard to bag Somerset a six-wicket victory with 4.1 overs to spare. Trego’s 2 wickets along with a whirlwind 46 earned him the man-of-the-match title.
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