Wiltshire Under 17 v Gloucestershire Under 17 Development (at Swindon CC)
Friendly
Wiltshire 198-8 (50 overs)
Gloucestershire 199-9 (49.3 overs)
Gloucestershire won by one wicket

Gloucestershire Under 17s Development clung on for a one wicket win over Wiltshire in a match that they very nearly threw away.

Chasing 199 to win with eight wickets in hand Gloucestershire looked on course for a comfortable victory at 131-2 before a middle order capitulation left them needing a last wicket stand to get the over the line.

Earlier Gloucestershire won the toss and got off to the perfect start when Jonny Gunn (Lechlade) removed both openers to make it 3-2. Bowling in tandem with Ollie O’Neill (Aston Ingham) – who bowled beautifully without any luck – the pair put the Wilts batters under real pressure early on.

A wicket for first change bowler Alfie Lewis (Stapleton) made it 18-3 before the hosts recovered with a couple of decent partnerships in the middle order. A number of batsman made starts but were unable to go on to a big score as Gloucestershire continued to chip away through spinners Cyrus Shafi (Bristol YMCA) (2-37) and Kiran Chakraborty (2-44).

In pursuit of their target Gloucestershire lost Chakraborty (7) early on but got back on track with a partnership of 68 between Frocester pair Will Naish and Harry Senior. Both batsmen looked in complete control before Naish tried to launch Ghauri over the leg side and was stumped for 29. Captain Senior continued to play in impressive fashion, forging a stand of 54 with Sujan Canagarajah (16) (Bristol) to move the score on to 131-2.

But when Senior (65 from 75 balls, 10 fours) was dismissed it sparked a collapse that saw seven wickets fall for 59 runs. In the end it was left to Lewis and Shafi to keep their composure and score the nine runs need to secure victory – completing with three balls to spare.

Gloucestershire Under 15 Boys v Berkshire Under 15 Boys (at Dean Close School)
ECB U15 Cup Group 4A
Berkshire 204-9 (50 overs)
Gloucestershire 205-4 (39.1 overs)
Gloucestershire won by 6 wickets

Will Naish (Frocester) struck 82 from 81 balls as Gloucestershire U15s picked up their first ECB Cup win of the season with a six wicket victory over Berkshire.

The opener struck 14 fours as his side chased down their 204 run target with more than 10 overs to spare.

Earlier Gloucestershire lost the toss on a dry flat track at Dean Close School and were asked to field first. Opening with spinner Max Shepherd (0-28) (Bourton Vale) and seamer Hamdi Saleem (Downend) the home side kept the Berkshire openers on their toes and picked up a wicket in the first over of the innings, when Hamza Butt was run out by Fuzael Ahmed (Bristol YMCA) without facing a ball.

0-1 soon became 14-2 when Saleem had William Bovill caught in the covers by skipper Freddie Merrett (Lechlade) for 9. The right arm quick then had his second victim, Dan Ormand (5), caught behind by Max Trotman (Winterbourne) before a run out by Michael Burger (Chepstow) made it 36-4 at drinks.

With their backs against the wall, Berkshire batsmen Otto Thompson (18) and Kieran Lall (5) tried to steady the ship before both fell with the score on 65. Lall was, caught by Burger off Kunal Barman (Old Bristolians Westbury) before Thompson became Swingwood’s (1-28) only victim of the game when he was caught by Saleem at mid-off.

Resistance finally came from Saihaj Kapoor and Adam Searle who set about rotating the strike, stealing runs in the circle and punishing the loose balls. Together they put on 123 for the seventh wicket.

Saleem, who had bowled with hostility throughout the innings, came back to clean bowl Searle for 66, before Naish (1-15) caught Kapoor (47) off his own bowling to make it 195-8. Saleem (4-41) then picked up his fourth wicket in the final over leaving the hosts needing 205 to win.

With a fraction over four an over required, Burger and Naish opened the innings with confidence. Naish took control, stroking the ball to the boundary and scoring freely while Burger played a supporting role.

It was Burger who fell first, caught in the covers for 10 with the score on 58. Barman joined Naish who eased past 50 and reached 82 from 81 balls, before he was expertly caught and bowled by Kapoor, from an ankle height ball. With 14 boundaries, Naish hadn’t look in any trouble on his return from injury.

At 117-2, Barman and Trotman took the reins with some positive batting. Trotman (21) took the game to the visitors, striking the ball over the top on a number of occasions before being adjudged LBW, playing a reverse sweep with 35 still needed

Barman brought up his side’s second half century before being bowled sweeping a ball for a well-made 52. Coming together at 187- 4, Merrett and Owen Lingard (Winterbourne) brought the hosts home without the loss of another wicket and with more than 10 overs to spare. Merrett finished on 15 not out and Lingard 5 not out, giving Gloucestershire a six wicket win and getting them off the mark in the ECB Cup. Their next match is away to Somerset on July 1.

Berkshire Under 14 Boys v Gloucestershire Under 14 Boys v (at The Oratory School)
ECB U14 Cup Group 3
Gloucestershire 169 all out (48.3 overs)
Berkshire 170-9 (48.2 overs)
Berkshire won by one wicket

Gloucestershire Under 14s’ unbeaten start to 2018 ended with a close-fought one wicket defeat to Berkshire.

Having posted a below-par total of 169 Gloucestershire took it to the wire but fell agonisingly short as Berkshire’ last wicket pair held their nerve to reach their target in the penultimate over.

Earlier Gloucestershire won the toss and chose to bat on a dry wicket that had been used the day before.

The Berkshire opening bowlers showed great control to limit the scoring opportunities early on but openers Nick Schubach (Dumbleton) and Praneel Choughule (Thornbury) remained patient and progressed the score to 36-0.

Choughule became the first man to fall when he played too early at a ball that slowed up in the wicket to present a simple return catch to first change bowler Charlie Dummett (3-15). Skipper Schubach (33) was looking increasingly assured and was just starting to up the scoring rate when he was bowled by Dummett to make it 57-2.

The introduction of spinner Oscar Pincus saw two more quick wickets fall before an avoidable run out left the visitors on 89-5. This soon became 96-6 when Charlie Brennan (Bristol) – who was looking good on 15 – was unable to get on top of a ball from spinner Sam Daniel and was caught at cover.

Finding themselves six down before passing the hundred mark for the second week in a row, Gloucestershire set about digging themselves out of trouble with a busy partnership between Joe Durie (Westbury Old Bristolians) and Stan Brown (Cheltenham).

The pair put pressure on the fielders with some smart running between the wickets. They added 45 for the seventh wicket before they were made to pay for a breakdown in communication as Durie was run out for 25. Brown fell for 27 soon after, trying to give the innings some late impetus and Gloucestershire were eventually bowled out for 169 in the 49th over.

In reply Gloucestershire got off to a great start when Brennan had Charlie Thomas (0) caught by Ryan Kilmister (Dumbleton) caught at mid off in the first over. But the visitors failed to build on this as Berkshire took advantage of some ill-disciplined bowling to race to 38-1 in the ninth over.

On a wearing wicket Gloucestershire turned to spin and were rewarded immediately as left arm spinner Kilmister made the breakthrough in his first over to remove the dangerous Sravan Konadira (26). Bowling in tandem with offspinner Choughule, the pair put the pressure back on Berkshire with a combination of good control and considerable turn. Kilmister took his second wicket when opener Joe Sheldon found Alex Oliver at mid off to make it 47-3.

Dunnett and Jayasingh rallied for the hosts, adding 32 before Choughule struck twice in quick succession. Extracting vicious turn on the dry surface he was the stand out bowler, finishing with 2-14 from his 10 overs. At the other end Kilmister (3-33) picked up his third wicket thanks to a smart legside stumping by Ollie Elliott (Bourton Vale) as Berkshire slipped to 85-7.

This run of three wickets falling for the addition of just six runs brought Negus (36) and Pincus (26) to the crease. And after riding their luck early on they put together the biggest partnership of the match – a gutsy seventh wicket stand of 77 – to take their side to the brink of victory.

Needing 18 more runs with more than six overs left it looked to be plain sailing for the home side until a run out by Durie and a wicket each for Will Gilderson (Dumbleton) (1-28) and Brennan (2-34) put the game back in the balance at 156-9.

With Gilderson bowled out, skipper Schubach shouldered the responsibility by bringing himself on to bowl. His over only went for two runs but Berkshire found the six runs they needed in the penultimate over to hang on for a deserved victory.

Gloucestershire Women v Buckinghamshire Women (at Dumbleton CC)
ECB Women’s County Championship, Division 3, Group C
Berkshire 110-4 (20 overs)
Gloucestershire 73 all out (18.4 overs)
Berkshire won by 37 runs

AND

Gloucestershire Women v Wales Women (at Dumbleton CC)
ECB Women’s County Championship, Division 3, Group C
Wales 176-5 (20 overs)
Gloucestershire 100-7 (20 overs)
Wales won by 76 runs

Gloucestershire Women suffered defeats in both matches of their T20 double header at Dumbleton CC.

In the first match Gloucestershire restricted Berkshire to 110-4 thanks in part to 16-year-old Helen Cutler (Claverham) taking her best senior T20 figures of 3-21 from her four overs.

In reply skipper Abby Evans (Bristol Phoenix) struck four fours in her 27 from 25 balls but with Nat Wraith (12) (Frenchay) the only other player to make double figures, the home side were bowled out for 73.

Against Wales, Gloucestershire came up against New Zealand international and Western Storm star Rachel Priest. The wicketkeeper smashed 106 off just 55 balls to help the visitors to a total of 176-5 from their 20 overs. On a difficult afternoon for the bowlers Sidra Khan (Bristol Phoenix (2-11 from 2 overs) and Naima Milhofer (Frenchay) (2-12 from 3 overs) were the pick of the Gloucestershire attack – the latter recording her best figures for Gloucestershire Women.

In reply a number of Gloucestershire players made starts including Evans (24), Milhofer (12) and Molly Thomas (Bristol Phoenix) (18) but with no one able to go on to make a substantial score as Gloucestershire finished 76 runs adrift on 100-7.