Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Abbott takes hat-trick as sorry Glo’sters crumble
KYLE Abbott took a hat-trick to help propel title-chasing Hampshire to a six-wicket win over Gloucestershire in Division One of the County Championship.
The bottom-of-the-table Glo’sters were 216 for five in their second innings and making a decent fist of frustrating Hampshire’s ambition when the veteran South African paceman made his decisive intervention either side of lunch.
Rewarded for bowling straight, he ended Miles Hammond’s marathon stint, dismissing the left-hander for a career-best 169, and then returned after the interval to account for Zafar Gohar and Tom Price with consecutive deliveries.
Indeed, Abbott claimed the last five wickets in 12 balls to finish with figures of six for 76, while Keith Barker weighed in with four for 65 as Gloucestershire were bowled out for 337 in their second innings.
Pursuing a modest 82 to win, but aware of the possibility of rain, Hampshire reached their target in 9.3 overs for the loss of four wickets.
Skipper James Vince scored a quickfire 24 from 16 balls, and Liam Dawson hit the winning runs, while Ryan Higgins took three for 41 by way of consolation.
Abbott said: “The third day was really hard on my body and I didn’t feel at all good this morning, but my body warmed and loosened up, something clicked just before lunch and I felt as though I was going to get a wicket with every ball.
“It’s a reward for the investment you put in elsewhere – there have been days when I have bowled all day without taking one and others when wickets have come in clusters, like they did today.
“It was frustrating in the morning session with the dropped catches, but when we got that wicket (of Hammond) just before lunch, I felt we would go through them quickly, like we did in the first innings.
“I’m just pleased to have taken those wickets and helped put us in a position where we could win the game. This was a difficult pitch to bat and bowl on and we’ve shown that we are capable of doing whatever it takes to win games no matter what the conditions.”
Gloucestershire head coach Dale Benkenstein said: “The game was probably won and lost in the first innings. It’s an area that has been a problem for us all season.
“We have good individual batting performances, but seldom have two players scored hundreds in the same innings. We need that to build a platform and it’s something we will have to keep working on. It could be lack of confidence and inexperience, but it is something we need to address going forward.
“I also felt we lacked penetration in our bowling. We’re not too bad on a pitch offering assistance, but we lack the ability to bowl teams out twice on flat pitches. It is something we need to look at in the future.”
■ Somerset have signed 26-year-old opening batsman Andrew Umeed with immediate effect.
The former Warwickshire player, who was born in Glasgow and has represented Scotland, joins on a deal until at the end of the 2023 season.
Umeed has worked hard to get back into the professional game, and the support of the South Asian Cricket Academy has been pivotal to his reintegration back into the elite game, including playing a number of games for Somerset second XI, where he has a best score of 125.
Somerset’s director of cricket Andy Hurry said: “We’ve been impressed with what we have seen from Andy during his time with us this summer.
“We are delighted he has agreed to join the club and we look forward to seeing him continue to evolve.”
Umeed himself added: “I’m really grateful for this opportunity and it means everything to me. Being a cricketer is all I’ve ever wanted to do.
“Being out of the game has given me perspective and made me realise just how lucky I am to be able to keep pursuing my dream. There have been ups and downs in my career so far, but this goes to show that if you work hard then the rewards will come.
“The South Asian Cricket Academy have helped me a lot. They’ve helped me to bridge that gap between club cricket and the professional game.”
Somerset’s Championship game with Yorkshire ended in a draw after the fourth day was washed out.