Western Daily Press (Saturday)
FESTIVAL ENDS IN ANOTHER DEFEAT FOR GLOS
JAMIE Smith and Laurie Evans kept Surrey’s Vitality T20 Blast campaign alive as they beat Gloucestershire by seven wickets on the final day of the annual Cheltenham Festival.
Surrey faced a must-win game at the College Ground, their final fixture, and knocked off a chase of 178 with ten balls to spare.
Smith set things up with a fine 60 from 47 balls and Evans took his side to the verge of victory with 58 from 36.
Gloucestershire will get another chance to seal a quarter-final spot in their final game against Somerset at Taunton tomorrow, but they will need to raise themselves with defeat here coming two days after their County Championship hopes were ended by Hampshire.
Having been sent in to bat, the home side only played in fits and starts.
A more measured opening than in previous matches saw them to 69 for one in the eighth over, but they then lost three wickets in 18 balls.
Glenn Phillips’ 48 from 26 balls picked the innings up, but 177 for nine proved well short.
Phillips struck four sixes in his knock, hitting Gareth Batty over long-on, pulling Rikki Clarke over midwicket, while also slog-sweeping Will Jacks and then whacking him over long-on.
But when set for serious damage, the New Zealand international hit a low full toss from Gus Atkinson (four for 37) to long-on.
Benny Howell made 30 from 20 balls but fell in a fine spell from Batty, who took two for 21 to help prevent the home side from getting away.
Will Jacks opened the chase with a flick off Dan Worrall for six over deep square and a swing over long-off as Ryan Higgins conceded 19 from the fifth over, but he skewed Josh Shaw to deep cover to fall for 24 off 14 deliveries.
Jamie Smith drove his namesake Tom over extra-cover and swept him for four more and at the halfway stage Surrey were well on course at 88 for one.
Evans cleverly paddle-swept Howell for his first boundary before slog-sweeping him for six.
He then struck Worrall over longon to effectively end the contest as the visitors cruised to victory in glorious sunshine.
■ CYCLING: Great Britain’s Mark Cavendish must wait until the Champs-Elysees tomorrow for his chance to make more Tour de France history after Matej Mohoric won stage 19 following a breakaway in Libourne.
The largely flat 207km stage from Mourenx promised to be one of two remaining chances for Manxman Cavendish to move clear of Eddy Merckx and score his 35th career Tour stage win, but the breakaway had other ideas as Mohoric took his second stage of the race.
The Slovenian champion attacked out of the break with 26km to go and rode solo to the finish to give Bahrain Victorious a win, their third of the race, two days after their team hotel was searched by police in Pau as part of an ongoing anti-doping investigation.