Cricket We must lift ourselves for 50-over competition, says Harvey
IAN Harvey is looking to rally his Gloucestershire players after the disappointment of missing out on a place in the Vitality Blast quarter-finals.
Gloucestershire appeared on course for a place in the last eight until four defeats in the final five group games saw them edged out.
The knockout blow was delivered at Taunton on Sunday night when Gloucestershire fell 23 runs short of Somerset’s 183-7, with the hosts indebted to a remarkable innings of 90 off 36 balls from Tom Lammonby, which boosted them to a much higher total than appeared likely.
Harvey, Gloucestershire’s head coach, said: “Take nothing away from Tom Lammonby, who batted brilliantly, but the last six overs of their innings were poor from our perspective.
“We didn’t execute our plans and allowed them to gather momentum. At the halfway stage, we still fancied ourselves to chase down the target, but their bowlers put us under pressure and we were not up to the task.”
“It has been a very disappointing week for us, but we have had a good talk in the dressing room and now have to lift ourselves for the 50-over competition.”
All the first-class counties will field weakened teams in the Royal London One-Day Cup, with many players on duty elsewhere in The Hundred.
Gloucestershire’s 50-over campaign starts with a home game againsnt Lancashire on Sunday, and a warm-up game against Wiltshire takes place at the Bristol County Ground today (11am).
Somerset also have a warm-up game today, against Cornwall at
Taunton, having secured a home Vitality Blast quarter-final against Lancashire on the back of Sunday’s success against Gloucestershire.
Victory was achieved without the considerable talents of Tom Banton, Tom Abell and Lewis Gregory, further raising hopes that Somerset will be a powerful force in the knockout stages of the competition.
As for 21-year-old Devonian
Lammonby, he showcased his exciting potential with a stunning innings in front of the Sky Sports cameras.
Lammonby said: “It was the best I have batted in this format. The pitch was a bit tricky before you got yourself in, but then the ball sat up nicely to be hit.
“It was especially satisfying to play so well against our local rivals and a team with such a good bowl
ing attack in T20. But putting that aside, it was also great to have our supporters back and hearing Sweet Caroline echo around the ground.
“We have had a great week, reaching Division One in the Championship as well as the Blast quarter-finals.
“We pride ourselves on being multi-skilled across all formats and will be doing all we can to win both competitions.”