da betway： Gloucestershire are looking forward to a fourth consecutive Lord’s Finalafter yesterday’s straightforward victory over Lancashire by 98 runs intheir NatWest Trophy semi-final at Bristol
Staff and agencies14-Aug-2000
Jack Russell made 55 at Bristol as Gloucestershire went through to the NatWest Final
Photo © CricInfo [Enlarge]
Gloucestershire are looking forward to a fourth consecutive Lord’s Finalafter yesterday’s straightforward victory over Lancashire by 98 runs intheir NatWest Trophy semi-final at Bristol. The home side posted a daunting248 for seven in their 50 overs after being put in to bat and Lancashire,after a poor start to their innings, never looked to have a realistic chanceof passing that total.
Kim Barnett was the mainstay of the Gloucestershire innings, scoring 80 andsetting up the perfect base for a late acceleration. Gloucestershire added67 off the last 10 overs. Barnett was at the centre of a bizarre incidentearly on, when he appeared to edge a ball from Glen Chapple to wicketkeeperWarren Hegg. The umpire Alan Whitehead signalled a wide.Barnett put on a 55-run opening partnership with Tim Hancock and followed upwith a 125-run second-wicket stand with wicketkeeper Jack Russell. CaptainMark Alleyne provided the vital impetus late in the innings, with a quickfire 36 from 27 balls.Lancashire’s innings was in the doldrums from the outset. Their two openers,Michael Atherton and Saurav Ganguly, failed to reach double figures andAndrew Flintoff threatened briefly before departing for 22. Captain JohnCrawley and the left-handed Neil Fairbrother then revived Lancashire’sflickering hopes with a partnership of 47.But after Crawley was run out for 41 the innings rapidly folded, with aprocession of wickets falling for just 107 runs in 32 overs. SoGloucestershire, whose skipper Mark Alleyne was made man of the match, willbecome the first side ever to compete in four consecutive Lord’s finals.