Warwicks Beat Gloucestershire

Last updated : 04 June 2009 By Covsupport News Service
Warwickshire snatched a victory to beat Gloucestershire by four wickets at Edgbaston in a Twenty/20 match this evening. 

Warwickshire fielded the same side which had lost to Northamptonshire on Monday and won the toss and decided to field.

In a Twenty/20 match described by Warwicks Coach Ashley Giles as a "Must Win game, Gloucestershire hit eleven runs off the first over but in the last ball of the second over, Hamish Marshall put the ball and Chris Woakes kicked the ball onto the stumps to claim the first wicket.

It was 33-1 after five overs and in the seventh over, Tim Ambrose dropped Alex Gidman who was later caught and bowled by Keith Barker, despite colliding with Ian Westwood.

It was enough to Barker to move into the Warwicks top ten of all time Twenty/20 wicket takers. Grant Hodnett was Barker's next victim in the same over when he was caught by Ambrose for 39 and the score on 59-3.

Kadeer Ali who had put on a partnership of forty with Spearman, was caught by Jim Troughton in the fifteenth over for the fourth wicket.

Troughton made his second catch to catch Spearman for 27 before Jeetan Patel had Dawson LBW for 4.

Another good catch saw Stefan Piolet take out Lewis for the seventh wicket as Gloucestershire closed on 135-7.

Warwicks started off quickly but Neil Carter, who had hit 16 off ten balls with two fours and a six, was caught going for a big shot with the score on 38-1 in the 4th over. Then in the next over, Jon Trott was bowled for 29 from 19 balls after hitting six fours.

Two wickets became three when Jim Troughton was caught by Spearman in the first ball he faced. Ian Bell faired no better and a dreadful shot saw him caught for 12 as the game swung back into the Gladiators favour.

The first maiden over in a Warwicks Twenty/20 game this season left Warwicks on 86-4 in the 13th over.

The slide continued when Tim Ambrose was out for 18 from a poor ball.

Westwood and Botha hit some runs before the latter went with Warwicks needing eighteen runs to win with twenty balls left.

Westwood had been superb for his unbeaten 44 and hit the winning runs as Warwicks made 139-6 and won by four wickets.

With Twenty/20 county cricket over for a couple of weeks whilst the World Cup is on, Warwicks return to County Championship action with a Division One home fixture against Nottinghamshire at Edgbaston.

Play is due to start at 11am every day of the four days and you can hear live commentary on the game via BBC Coventry & Warwickshire's website.