Surrey lose floor on leaders as Gloucestershire edge thriller

Gloucestershire 127-8 (S Curran 3-20) beat Surrey 124 for 9 (Payne 3-21, Taylor 3-27) by two wickets

Matt Taylor produced a gritty all-round efficiency to assist Gloucestershire edge previous Surrey in an exhilarating Vitality Blast contest beneath the Seat Unique Stadium floodlights.

He took 3 for 21 with the ball after which scored an important eight not out beneath stress as Gloucestershire chased down a modest victory goal of 125 with two wickets and 5 balls to spare on a low and sluggish Bristol floor.

Ollie Price top-scored with 25 and James Bracey contributed 22, however Surrey took wickets at key moments to maintain up the stress, with Sam Curran returning figures of three for 20 to assist take the sport into the ultimate over.

Gloucestershire received the toss, inserted the guests and produced their most full bowling and fielding efficiency of the marketing campaign thus far to limit Surrey to 124 for 9 from their 20 overs. Left-arm seamers David Payne and Matt Taylor claimed three wickets every.

Surrey by no means recovered from the wreckage of 29 for 4 within the fourth over, Jamie Smith top-scoring with 29 and Jordan Clark and Chris Jordan contributing 25 and 24 respectively as solely 4 batsmen made it into double figures in an innings that yielded a mere 12 boundaries.

Gloucestershire’s second win in 5 matches breathed renewed life into their try to progress from the South Group, however Surrey, overwhelmed for under the second time, misplaced floor on leaders Somerset, who comfortably beat Middlesex at Taunton to increase their lead on the high of the desk.

Gloucestershire got here at Surrey onerous with the ball, Slow left armer Smith, having been hit for a 4 and 6 off consecutive deliveries by Laurie Evans, made amends when Will Jacks holed out to Price within the deep Having smashed a match-winning 83 not out towards Hampshire at Southampton two days earlier, Jacks mustered a mere six on this event.

Unsettled by Gloucestershire’s new-ball depth, Surrey then dropping three wickets in as many balls with the rating on 29. Matt Taylor eliminated the Curran brothers with out scoring in successive deliveries within the third over. Sam was caught in two minds and bowled by a ball that got here again into him and hit center and off, whereas Tom, cramped for area, drove to Jack Taylor at mid-off. Worse adopted when Payne, now working from the Bristol Pavilion End, had Evans held at cowl level for 16 off the primary ball of the fourth over to spark pandemonium amongst a vociferous residence crowd.

Determined to struggle hearth with hearth, the fifth wicket pair of Clark and Smith went on the assault, plundering six boundaries between them within the subsequent three overs as Surrey nonetheless managed to boost 58 from the Powerplay. But Clark hoisted Smith excessive to long-off as Surrey additional subsided. A parlous state of affairs that was not helped when mortgage signing Danny Lamb induced former West Indies all-rounder Sunil Narine to edge a short-pitched supply behind.

Economical within the excessive, Zafar additional heightened Surrey’s discomfiture, the guests failing to document a single boundary between the ninth and 18th overs. Smith tried to speed up, solely to ship a vanguard spiralling to mid-off because the returning Payne struck within the seventeenth over.

Gloucestershire’s new-look opening partnership of Grant Roelofsen and Ben Charlesworth posted 28 in 4 overs earlier than the latter was held at mid-off off the bowling of Sam Curran, whereas Jordan bowled Miles Hammond for 4 to cut back the house facet to 34 for two within the sixth.

Tied down by Narine’s wily off breaks within the earlier over, Roelofsen performed an injudicious shot towards Cameron Steel and sliced to backward level for 21 with the rating on 37, after which Zafar and Price discovered the going robust towards the spinners. Zafar had made 11 when he was bowled by Narine, reverse sweeping, with Gloucestershire nonetheless requiring 67 from 59 balls.

No doubt relieved to have seen off Narine, who solely conceded 16, the fifth-wicket pair of Price and Bracey introduced reassurance in a stand of 36. They took 11 runs off Steel’s remaining over to ease the stress, just for Bracey to hit the returning Sam Curran to long-on and depart for a 17-ball 22 with the rating on 94 within the fifteenth over.

Gloucestershire wanted 23 extra runs from 25 balls when Price lofted Gus Atkinson to midwicket, and the stress was proper again on when captain Jack Taylor hit Jordan to mid-off.

Charged with the duty of seeing their facet over the end line, Matt Taylor and Lamb obliged in a gritty alliance of 19 from 14 balls. By the time Lamb fell to Sam Curran for 11, Gloucestershire have been just about residence and dry. With two wanted off the ultimate over, Smith hit the successful runs, glancing Jordan off his legs to the boundary.