Lancs Vs. Gloucs CB40

Brown sends Gladiators down as Lancashire go top.

Karl Brown's superb effort of 60, in conjunction with Paul Horton who scored 46, was just about enough to give Lancashire their sixth CB40 win, as Lancashire advance to the top of Group A. This televised fixture encompassed a mixture of brilliance in all three areas of the game for the home side and the Lightning are now top with two games in hand over second place (Middlesex).

Gloucestershire actually started the day in better style, winning the toss and hitting a four off the first ball of the innings. But this was only one of ten boundaries in an otherwise dire effort by Gloucester. Lancashire struck an early blow, when Rob Nicol chipped to Glen Chapple at mid-off for 6, with the score at 12-1. Chapple contributed once more as Benny Howell edged behind to Gareth Cross for 2, attempting a slog over mid-wicket at 25-2. Hamish Marshall (23) departed in a comical fashion when Oliver Newby trapped him LBW, subsequently causing him to fall over. After winning the toss, the visitors had stumbled to 35-3 and were forced to play boring and uneventful cricket to post a respectable total.

A partnership worth 47 between Dan Housego and Alex Gidman did go a long way towards the necessary recuperation, but the Gladiators were slow and Lancashire bowled very well. Gidman was bowled by Newby for 18 and Gary Keedy bowled Housego for 43, to undo a useful partnership. At 111-5, the situation was once more very dire for the Gladiators, but a partnership worth 42 between Ian Cockbain (58) and Chris Dent (27) brought hope in desperate circumstances. Dent's attempted slog was caught by Stephen Moore to give Shahzad his second wicket with Gloucester on 153-6 with only a few more overs to go.

Without the heroics of Ian Cockbain's 49-ball score of 58, who struck three consecutive sixes from the last over, Gloucestershire would have been in trouble but they were able to finish on a respectable total of 184-7. Cokbain attempted to hit the final delivery for yet another six but Parry was rewarded with his wicket as Cross stumped the unsuccessful slog. Wickets were evenly shared amongst Lancashire's bowlers, with the star performer being Newby who finished with 2-24.

The Lightning got off to a comfortable start with Stephen Moore (37) and Ashwell Prince (16) unfazed by opening bowlers Rob Nicol and James Fuller. They were able to finish the batting power play on 43 without losing a wicket but Prince shortly departed caught by Nicol off David Payne. Moore continued to bat confidently but the in-form Steven Croft top-edged an attempted sweep to Payne at backward square leg off Ed Young for just 3, as Lancashire stumbled to 52-2. Moore and new batsmen, Karl Brown, formed a useful partnership of 29, but their efforts were cut short by a fantastic catch from Cockbain when Moore flashed at Fuller's delivery.

Lancashire were in need of a stable partnership and they found it in Karl Brown (60) and Paul Horton (46) who made 82 for the fourth-wicket. Brown made his 50 from 62 balls and the home side soon needed less than 50 runs to win. Brown started to open up his boulders but as a result found himself caught at long on by Howell off Payne, with Lancashire still needing 22 runs for victory. Horton shortly followed his batting partner when he was trapped LBW to Fuller with pressure building as runs dried up.

Lancashire introduced Ajmal Shahzad with tensions rising, but he quelled any fears scoring 10 off 5 balls before he was bowled by Payne with Lancashire needing just 4 more runs to win. Keeper Gareth Cross (7*) and skipper Glen Chapple (2*) were able see Lancashire home to give them their sixth CB40 win of the campaign.

This victory sees Lancashire go top of Group A with games in hand over all of the teams that are close to them in the table. Brown was awarded the man of the match for his effort of 60 but a special mention must go to Horton who scored 46 under equally tough circumstances.