Glo’sters suffer defeat at the Oval

WILL Jacks struck 51 and Sam Curran starred with the ball as

Surrey beat Gloucestershire by 37 runs in the Vitality Blast despite being bowled out for 129 on Tuesday night.

In a contest reduced to 16 overs per side, Jacks and Jason Roy hit 60 runs from the first 27 balls of a game that was then dominated by the bowlers. Gloucestershire were dismissed for 92 in 15 overs in reply. The match was also a tale of the two powerplays, with Gloucestershire slumping to 23 for four in theirs after Surrey had sprinted to 66 for two.

Left-arm spinner Tom Smith took three for 13 from his two overs and Paul van Meekeren three for 32, but by then the damage had been done and not even David Payne finishing off Surrey’s innings with seven balls left could stop them reaching a score that proved beyond the visitors.

Curran, who finished with four for 14 runs, removed James Bracey and Glenn Phillips – mis-hitting to mid-off for one and caught and bowled for two – in a two-over new ball burst, while in between Reece Topley bowled Miles Hammond for two. When Dan Worrall had Ian Cockbain caught for eight it left Gloucestershire 18 for four. Ryan Higgins did take three fours from Chris Jordan’s first over, but Jack Taylor holed out off Kieron Pollard for 10 and Sunil Narine bowled Benny Howell for a duck.

Narine’s one for 17 from four overs was outstanding, while Jordan bowled Smith for 14 and the returning Curran had Payne caught before bowling Higgins for 37.

The match ended with Topley having Naseem Shah caught at long on for two to finish with figures of two for six from three overs.

Surrey made an explosive start, after Gloucestershire had chosen to bowl first. Jacks and Roy flayed the ball to all parts of the ground. Payne’s first ball was flicked over long-leg for the first of Jacks’ three sixes, and both openers took sixes off van Meekeren in the third over.

The first-wicket stand reached 60 early in the fifth over before Smith began the home side’s slide by bowling Roy for 28. Curran hit Smith’s next ball for six but, trying to repeat it, skied to Hammond.

Smith struck again in his second over, Laurie Evans hitting straight to extra cover for one, and Jamie Overton was then bowled off stump by Howell for one. Narine managed one boundary before falling for six, leaving Surrey 84 for five in the ninth. Jacks’ knock ended – after another six flicked over fine leg off Payne – when Shah bowled him.

Pollard pulled van Meekeren for four but then on 14 miscued from a full toss from the Dutch seamer.

Surrey’s lower-order collapse accelerated as Jordan hit van Meekeren to deep midwicket, Jamie Smith skied to keeper Bracey and last man Topley lofted to deep extra cover.

Afterwards, Gloucestershire captain Jack Taylor said: “The powerplays in both innings cost us and we were outplayed by Surrey.”