Gloucestershire
2004 C&G Trophy Winners
where are they now?
Phil Weston admits that one of the main attractions of signing for Gloucestershire was their domination of one-day cricket.
When he arrived at the county in 2003 it was three years after they had done the one-day treble and had also won the Second Division of the Sunday League.
In his first season he helped Gloucestershire beat his former county Worcestershire at Lord’s to win the C&G Trophy by seven wickets after scoring 46 in 50 balls.
Weston points out that when he was at New Road he found his chances limited in the one-day game. He said:“I came from Worcestershire in 2003 and one of the main attractions were how good Gloucestershire were as a one-day unit.
“It was really important for me to improve my one-day cricket. Everyone knew their roles, we had no stars but everyone knew what was expected of them.
“At Worcestershire I suffered a little bit because Tom Moody played for a lot of my career and opened the batting there with Tim Curtis.
“So I opened in the four-day stuff but in the one-day stuff I didn’t open a huge amount and quite often I had to bat down the list, if I played.
“I don’t think Worcestershire were a particularly good one-day team when I was there and I don’t think people knew their roles well.
“It was one of the reasons why I went to Gloucestershire was that I felt they were a better side in limited-overs cricket.”
As luck would have it Gloucestershire followed up their 2003 C&G Trophy win by returning to Lord’s 12 months later to retain their title.
And waiting for them in the final were his former employers and even though the result was the same they were at least made to work for their win.
Jon Lewis ripped the heart out of Worcestershire, reducing them to 8-3, before Vikram Solanki's 115 helped them post 236-9.
It wasn’t enough, however, Weston who scored an unbeaten 110 putting on 141 for the first wicket with Craig Spearman (70) helping them home by eight wickets.
Weston added:“Mark Alleyne was a good reader of people and in those days Worcestershire put a lot of pressure on themselves.
“He felt that if we could isolate them they would be susceptible to pressure and he was proved right both years.
“Jon Lewis was a fabulous bowler and the game could have been over a long time before it was but Vikram Solanki made a fabulous hundred.
“It was one of the best hundreds from anyone I was playing against and took them up to a score that at least gave them a fighting chance.
“But it was never going to be enough if we played anything like we knew we could. It was a very flat wicket and we were never really under any pressure.
“I opened with Craig who was a brilliant one-day opener, he was before his time. If he was around now he would be world class.
“He would be sought after in all the T20 leagues around the world.
“He just took the pressure off me and allowed me to bat because he scored so quickly.” BACK ROW (LEFT-RIGHT): Alex Gidman:
All rounder who was forced to retire in February. Now runs his own company that helps sportsman make the transition into the corporate world. Mark Alleyne: The former England one-day player left his role as MCC head coach last October and is now a high performance coach and pro at Marlborough College. Mike Hussey:
Australian allrounder who is known as Mr Cricket has worked with Australia at the T20 World Cup and commentated on the IPL. James Averis:
A seam bowler who also played rugby for Bristol is now a housemaster and geography teacher at Clifton College Prep School. Ian Fisher:
The spinner is now back at his native Yorkshire as strength and conditioning coach after working for Essex. Phil Weston:
Opening batsman and son of England rugby international Mike is now general manager of management company TLA. Mark Hardinges:
The allrounder now teaches economics at Malvern College, where he is also master in charge of cricket. Jon Lewis:
An England bowler who retired to become the fast bowling coach at Sussex where he ended his career after a spell with Surrey. Mike Smith:
A bowler who won one Test cap for England. Since 2007 has been an employment solicitor at Bevan Brittan in Bristol. FRONT ROW Martyn Ball:
A spinner who is based in Bristol. Since retiring in 2006 has been a director of B4 Developments a real estate developing firm. Steve Adshead:
A wicketkeeper-batsman who went into sales and is national account manager for Treasury Wine Estates. Chris Taylor:
A batsman went into coaching and is the lead fielding coach for the ECB and also runs two companies – Prosport Coaching and Sport Billys. Matt Windows:
The batsman whose father Tony also played for Gloucestershire went into wealth and investment management and now works for LGT Vestra. Tim Hancock:
Batsman ran the Stroud and South Gloucestershire College’s cricket academy, worked at Colston’s School, in Bristol, and is now head of performance for Gloucestershire Cricket Board. Craig Spearman:
New Zealand opening batsman is now living and working in his native Auckland. NOT PICTURED: Nathan Bracken:
Australian international fast bowler works for an asphalt company and has started his own coaching consultancy. James Franklin:
The former New Zealand all rounder is currently playing county cricket for Middlesex. Alastair Bressington:
Allrounder, whose brothers Nathan and Edward were also connected to the county. A teacher at King’s School, Gloucester. Roger Sillence:
The batsman is partner with former Gloucestershire team-mate Will Rudge in Centena, a Bristol-based recruitment consultancy. Shabbir Ahmed:
The Pakistani fast bowler is now running the Shabbir Ahmed Cricket Academy in his homeland. Shoaib Malik:
The former Pakistan captain is still playing and is the captain of the Karachi Kings.