Taylor hoping narrow victory will give Glo’sters Blast momentum
MATT Taylor hopes Monday’s tense Vitality Blast triumph against Middlesex will give Gloucestershire the momentum to become strong challengers in the South Group this season.
Taylor successfully defended seven from the final over as Gloucestershire claimed their first win of this season’s Vitality Blast with a two-run success at Merchant Taylor’s School.
The left-armer conceded just four, with former Gloucestershire all-rounder Ryan Higgins needing three off the final ball and attempting a paddle shot which led to him being run out for 24.
Middlesex, who remain winless in the tournament, had looked set to break their duck after skipper Stephen Eskinazi struck a half-century and Higgins and Luke Hollman shared a sixth-wicket partnership of 55 from 30 balls.
But they fell just short of the Gloucestershire total of 181-9, centred around Miles Hammond’s innings of 59 from 42.
Taylor said: “We always tell ourselves to keep believing. We felt we maybe got slightly under par but we had the belief at halfway we could defend it.
“All the guys chipped in and bowled really well. The boys who bowled towards the end managed to keep us right in it – Payney, de Lange, Ollie Price – and to finish it off in that way was really pleasing.
“I probably went for the most runs early on.
“I didn’t quite get it right but it was nice to come back at the end and get a second go.
“It was definitely a big game, we all knew that – in T20 cricket you can sometimes start slowly and then get on a roll. That’s what we’ll be looking to do know and hopefully we can take that momentum forward.”
Gloucestershire were quickly back in action, against Essex at Chelmsford last night.
Unfortunately, the Bristol Post went to print before the game had finished, so a full report will appear in tomorrow’s edition.