Hampshire Under 17 Boys v Gloucestershire Under 17 Boys (at Totton & Eling CC)
ECB U17 One-Day Cup Group 4A
Gloucestershire 290-4 (50 overs)
Hampshire 211-8 (50 overs)
Gloucestershire won by 79 runs

AND

Gloucestershire Under 17 Boys v Somerset Under 17 Boys (at The Brightside Ground)
ECB U17 One-Day Cup Group 4A
Gloucestershire 155 all out (34.3 overs)
Somerset 158-5 (31.4 overs)
Somerset won by 5 wickets

Gloucestershire Under 17s sit in second place in their ECB Cup group after a win, a defeat and a cancellation in their first week of competitive action.

After being rained off against Devon and suffering a disappointing loss to local rivals Somerset, Gloucestershire bounced back in style with a 79-run victory over Hampshire.

Skipper Ollie Price (Great and Little Tew) led by example, scoring an unbeaten 133 before taking 5-36 in an incredible individual performance. Having won the toss, the opener carried his bat, showing outstanding focus in an innings where he faced 156 balls and struck 16 fours.

Playing the anchor role, Price shared in three stands of over 50 including a second-wicket partnership of 61 with Joe Dryell (28) (Downend), 130 with Matt Brewer (65 off 71 balls) (Bristol) and 50 with Dom Goodman (Chesham) who made a run a ball 22. In an innings characterised by aggressive running between the wickets, Gloucestershire closed on 290-4 from 50 overs.

In reply Hampshire put on 55 for the first wicket before Goodman bowled Jack Campbell for 25. George Pardoe and Fletha Middleton steadied the ship with a stand of 102 before the dismissal of the dominant Pardoe (62 off 54 balls) brought about a major collapse. Leg-spinner Alex Russell (Frocester) made the breakthrough before off-spinner Price got into the action, claiming the wicket of George Metzger (3) to make it 107-3. Both spinners bowled with control and considerable turn to seize control of the match. Russell (2-39) picked up his second without any addition to the score and Price followed it up with four more quick wickets to leave Hampshire floundering on 131-8.

No further wickets fell as Monaam Abbas (53*) and Fisher (33*) dug in with an unbeaten partnership of 80. But they never threatened the Gloucestershire total and ended up 79 runs short.

The performance against Hampshire showed a positive reaction to the defeat against Somerset earlier in the week. After winning the toss and batting first at the Brightside Ground, Gloucestershire got off to a scintillating start thanks to Milo Ayres (Brislington) who smashed 33 off just 13 balls. But when he fell Gloucestershire struggled as the rest of the top seven contributed just 43 runs between them.

The lower order stood their ground and gave the side something to bowl with a number of useful partnerships. The biggest of these was a ninth wicket stand of 37 between Max Tryfonos (27) (Bedminster) and Ben Parker (22*) (Winterbourne) which only ended when Tryfonos was unluckily run out at the non-strikers end via a deflection from the bowler. Their stand helped Gloucestershire reach 155 before being bowled out in the 35th over.

In reply Gloucestershire made early inroads and had Somerset 112-4 with Goodman striking twice. But dropped catches and a resolute 51 from 85 balls from wicketkeeper Jamie Baird kept the visitors on course for victory. He fell before the end but the visitors reached their target in the 32nd over with five wickets remaining.

Oxfordshire Under 10 Boys v Gloucestershire Under 10 Boys (at Moulsford School)
Friendly
Gloucestershire 271-6 (40 overs)
Oxfordshire 96 all out (36.3 overs)
Gloucestershire won by 175 runs

Gloucestershire Under 10s scored the highest total since the age group started playing county cricket five years ago to beat Oxfordshire by 175 runs.

At the picturesque Moulsford Prep School ground, nestled on the banks of the Thames, the visitors amassed an astonishing 271-6 in 40 overs before bowling their hosts out for just 96.

Arthur Trotman (Winterbourne) won the toss and had no hesitation in opting to bat, opening with himself and Bertie Michael (Kingsholm). They added 18 for the first wicket before Michael was caught at mid-wicket off a leading edge. The scoring rate began to increase as Arthur Hanson (Bourton Vale) joined his skipper in a 62-run partnership that took the total to 80-2 in the 17th over. Trotman fell for 22 and was replaced by Logan Bowden (Thornbury), fresh from his half century against Gwent in the previous fixture.

Hanson scored four boundaries in a knock of 38, before he was run out with the total on 111-3 from 19 overs.

Henry Driver-Dickerson (Frocester) and Logan Bowden then featured in an extraordinary partnership of 87 from the next 10 overs. The boundaries were not short and nor was the outfield, but, even so, Driver-Dickerson smashed 48 from only 34 deliveries, striking three huge sixes and three fours in the process. He was only dismissed by an incredible catch that deprived him of a deserved 50.

Bowden batted in a very different, but equally effective fashion. His final total of 70 not out included only one boundary but the maturity of his batting, shot selection and placement, had to be seen to be believed.

After Driver-Dickerson was dismissed, Jamie Maxwell (Winterbourne) also batted superbly, scoring 19, in a 56-run partnership with Bowden that lifted the total to 269 and, after a couple more runs, the innings closed.

With the ball, Harry Tegg (Frocester) was the first to strike, bowling Oxfordshire opener Alex Tervet without scoring.

Harry Bryan (Bedminster) followed this up with a good caught and bowled to make it 15-2. Joe Armitage (1-10 from eight overs) (Bedminster) then entered the attack and captured a wicket with his first delivery in county cricket. This reduced Oxfordshire to 19-3 and there was no way to avoid a heavy defeat. Jamie Maxwell, Jonty Taylor (Winterbourne), James Burton (Hatherley), Arthur Hanson and Arthur Trotman all captured a wicket in good spells as Gloucestershire used 10 bowlers to dismiss the home team for 96.

Coach Jonny Tegg said: “This was the best batting display I’ve ever seen by an under-10 team and the frightening thing is that they’re improving so quickly, they could improve on this total before the season is out. However, we will keep their feet on the ground!”


Gloucestershire Women v Buckinghamshire Women (at Moreton-in-Marsh CC)
ECB Women’s County Championship, Division 3, Group C
Buckinghamshire 161-8 (50 overs)
Gloucestershire 151 all out (27.5 overs)
Buckinghamshire won by 10 runs

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Hertfordshire Women v Gloucestershire Women (at Harlow CC)
ECB Women’s County Championship, Division 3, Group C
Gloucestershire 200-7 (50 overs)
Hertfordshire 135 all out (42.5 overs)
Gloucestershire won by 65 runs

Gloucestershire Women finished as runners-up in their ECB County Championship group after a defeat and a victory in their final two fixtures.

The side finished the campaign with a convincing 65-run win over Hertfordshire but their hopes of going through to the promotion play-offs were ended the previous day with a 10-run reverse against Buckinghamshire.

In that match they won the toss and chose to bowl first at Moreton-in-Marsh CC. Sidra Khan (Bristol Phoenix) was the star of the show, taking 5-27 from her 10 overs as Buckinghamshire ground out a total of 161-8 from their 50 overs. Charlie Phillips (1-17) (Brislington) and 16-year-old Helen Cutler (2-23) (Claverham) also bowled well to restrict run scoring and build pressure.

In reply, Gloucestershire started brightly, adding 30 for the first wicket before skipper Abby Evans (Bristol Phoenix) was bowled by Hannah Bates (3-18) for 11. This sparked a mini collapse as Gloucestershire slipped to 41-3. But they fought back through Phoenix pair Naomi Forecast and Molly Thomas.

The former made 19 in a fourth wicket stand of 51 before becoming the first of four wickets for Hannah Davis (4-56). Thomas remained at the crease and took the attack to the Buckinghamshire bowlers in a fine knock of 66 from 67 balls (12 fours). Her dominance showed in a fifth wicket partnership of 41 with Phillips who made just five. When Phillips departed Gloucestershire needed just 29 more runs to win with more than half their overs left. But the final five wickets fell for the addition of just 18 runs to shatter Gloucestershire’s promotion chances.

Despite the disappointment of losing to Buckinghmashire the previous day, Gloucestershire Women ensured their Championship season ended with a victory as they beat Hertfordshire at Harlow.

Batting first Gloucestershire made 200-7 thanks to 62 from Evans, 27 from Forecast and 22 from Nat Wraith (Frenchay).

In response Kezia Hazell stood firm for the hosts with an unbeaten 72 but with no other player making more than 10, Hertfordshire were bowled out for 135 in the 43rd over. Wickets were shared around with two apiece for Khan (2-21) and Lucy Farrant (2-14) and 3-4 for Cutler who ripped through the tail.

Gloucestershire Women now move into the T20 competition with a double header against Scotland and Hampshire at Cove CC on 10th June.