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Puttick, Troughton and Lee also added in support staff reshuffle ahead of the ILT20 auction on September 30

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Aug-2025Gulf Giants, the ILT20 franchise, have appointed Jonathan Trott as head coach and Shane Bond as bowling coach for the upcoming season. They replace Andy Flower and Ottis Gibson, respectively.Apart from being Afghanistan’s head coach, Trott was also the head coach of Pretoria Capitals in SA20 and was replaced by Sourav Ganguly there. Bond’s recent stints have been with Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals in the IPL and with Paarl Royals in SA20.”The Gulf Giants have quickly become one of the ILT20’s most successful teams,” Trott said in a statement. “My goal is to empower players to excel and help shape a championship-winning squad through the first-ever ILT20 auction.”Related

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The ILT20 auction will be held on September 30 in Dubai for the fourth season which is set to run from December 2, 2025 to January 4, 2026.”The team’s ambition is clear,” Bond said. “I’m excited to sharpen our bowling attack and make a decisive impact this season.”Giants have also added Andrew Puttick as batting coach, Jim Troughton as fielding coach and Nick Lee as fitness coach.Their squad currently includes James Vince, Aayan Khan, Mark Adair, Blessing Muzarabani and Gerhard Erasmus as their retained players. Their new signings are Moeen Ali, Azmatullah Omarzai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Giants had won the inaugural edition of ILT20 in 2023, were eliminated in Qualifier 2 in 2024, and finished second from bottom earlier this year.

South Africa enforced the follow-on on Zimbabwe who collapsed in 43 overs

Shashank Kishore07-Jul-2025

Wiaan Mulder brought up the second fastest triple century in Test cricket•Zimbabwe Cricket

July 7, 2025 may not invoke the same grand feeling of that unforgettable summer afternoon at Lord’s last month, but it’ll still have a reverence of its own for Wiaan Mulder, who, only weeks earlier, stood on the winner’s podium as a newly crowned World Test Champion.One of cricket’s most iconic and celebrated records – Brian Lara’s majestic 400 not out, which he held like a crown jewel after reclaiming it from Matthew Hayden – was in real danger of being knocked off its perch after 21 long years. When Mulder, South Africa’s stand-in captain, went into the lunch interval unbeaten on 367, it seemed a matter of time before history books would be rewritten. Then came a quiet message from the change room, like a bolt from the blue. South Africa had declared. Mulder had declared.”Why did he do that?” is a question that lingered on for much of the day as Zimbabwe collapsed in just 43 overs, and were asked to follow-on. With so much time left in the match, the decision will be rightly debated for a while. Sure, barring Blessing Muzarabani, the quality of Zimbabwe’s attack was hardly Test class, but the opportunity to etch yourself into Test history doesn’t come knocking everyday.Related

• Mulder makes 367*, the fifth-highest individual Test score of all time

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South Africa declared on 626 for 5. Mulder’s feat became all the more special as it came in front of his father, who had made the trip to soak in the occasion after he had been informed of Mulder’s promotion to captaincy in the lead-up to the game after Keshav Maharaj had been ruled out due to an injury. Along the way, Mulder may have cemented himself as South Africa’s new No. 3, a spot once occupied by legends he may have grown up watching, Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla among them.In the morning session, every run or over carried the weight of a milestone either impending or ticked off. Records came; records went. Mulder went past some heavyweights in South Africa: Gary Kirsten, Daryl Cullinan, Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers. And soon after his triple-ton, he went past 311 to eclipse Amla, and achieve the highest Test score by a South African.Mulder could’ve chosen a calmer, more serene path if he had wished. South Africa’s run-scoring on the opening day, where they surged to 465 for 4, meant time was never going to be a consideration. Mulder, though, had other ideas. Except for his first boundary very early in the day off Muzarabani, off a streaky edge that flew through vacant third slip, there was control and authority in every stoke he played and every run he ran.Mulder’s authority stemmed from his own confidence, and Zimbabwe’s hit-me lengths. Without any swing on offer, even with the second new ball that they took late on the opening day, the pacers erred on the shorter side and kept getting punished square of the wicket on both sides. When spin came on, Mulder channeled the golfer in him to club them downtown. He hit 49 fours and four sixes in all – one of them landed out of the ground – forcing them to bring out a different ball.Wiaan Mulder and Dewald Brevis added 88 off just 94 balls for the fifth wicket•Zimbabwe Cricket

Amid Mulder’s run-fest, that South Africa lost Dewald Brewis was lost on everyone. He survived on 24 when Craig Ervine put down a regulation chance in the fifth over off Muzarabani at slip, but couldn’t capitalise. On 35, Brevis attempted to flay a cut, only to get a thick outside edge to the wicketkeeper. Kyle Verreynne then came and enjoyed a good hit out to remain unbeaten on 42.The day’s big moment – Mulder’s triple – arrived in the 101st over when he clipped a low full toss off Tanaka Chivanga to fine leg to wild applause and cheer from his team-mates on the balcony. It had come off 297 balls, the second-fastest in Test history, behind Virender Sehwag’s that had come off 278 balls against South Africa in Chennai 17 years ago.After Mulder got past the 300, there was carnage aplenty as Muzarabani was dispatched for three boundaries in an over, the third of those helping him surpass Amla. There was more punishment in the next as Mulder cleared his front leg to wallop him out of the ground to enter the 360s. This is when everyone seemed to be readying for the moment, when the declaration came.Mulder wasn’t done yet. With the ball, he took out Wesley Madhevere and Ervine in quick succession. Madhevere was out to a nip-backer that flattened the stumps; Ervine was felled by an effort ball that lifted off the deck to have him fend one into the hand of backward point. Mulder’s fiery spell wasn’t the highlight, though. Debutant Prenelan Subrayen and Senuran Muthusamy’s flight and loop were equally noteworthy. Subrayen ended with 4 for 42.Sean Williams, who spent much of the first evening and the opening session on the sidelines due to an illness, came out swinging and raised his half-century off just 32 balls, the fastest by a Zimbabwean. But he ran out of partners, and remained stuck on 83 as last man Chivanga’s wicket meant Zimbabwe were bundled out for 170.Made to follow-on, Zimbabwe lost Dion Myers early, but Takudzwanashe Kaitano and Nick Welch batted a tricky last 30 minutes to take them to stumps on 51 for 1, with Zimbabwe still needing 146 to surpass Mulder.

Spinner admits to “overthinking” and says best is yet to come

Andrew Miller27-Jun-2020Given his health ordeals in New Zealand and South Africa this winter, the inclusion of Jack Leach in England’s plans for their return to Test cricket against West Indies next month might initially have come across as something of a risk.This is, after all, a player who admitted fearing for his life when he contracted sepsis in Hamilton in November, and then fell so ill during England’s early weeks in South Africa that he still wonders whether he and his team-mates were early victims of the Covid-19 pandemic, before the global severity was known.”I guess we’ll never know,” Leach told reporters via videolink from England’s camp at the Ageas Bowl. “If you had those symptoms I had in South Africa now, you’d say this is definitely coronavirus. But I feel healthy and fit, and I want to stay that way as much as possible.”But in the current circumstances, with the UK bracing for a second wave of Covid-19 cases following the government’s lifting of lockdown restrictions, the logic of Leach’s inclusion suddenly makes more sense.After all, there can be few places in the country safer than England’s bio-secure training camp at the Ageas Bowl, especially for a man who has suffered since the age of 14 from Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel condition that can require immunosuppressant medication to keep it under control.”It’s definitely more strict here than Bournemouth beach,” said Leach, after a week of soaring temperatures resulted in more than half a million sun-seekers descending on the Dorset coast. “It’s exactly that, a bubble, with social distancing and masks. We’ve been spending lots of time in our rooms but we started training [on Thursday] which was great, getting back out there and keeping our distance.”There’s nothing I can do about what happened in the winter,” he added. “It’s just the way it is, but I’m quite lucky my Crohn’s is under control. There are people who suffer a lot worse than me. I don’t feel sorry for myself, I want to play as much cricket as possible and stay fit and healthy.”The government’s initial advice had been for “extremely clinically vulnerable” people to shield at least until the end of June, a categorisation that had raised some doubts about Leach’s involvement in the series. However, rather than dwell on the nature of his illnesses in New Zealand and South Africa, Leach said that he and his consultants actually took comfort in the full extent of his recovery.”The medication that I’m on puts me a little bit of a higher risk, but actually what I came through in the winter suggests that I can fight things off quite well,” Leach said. “The fact that I am fit, and reasonably healthy apart from that, gives me a good chance as well.ALSO READ: Amar Virdi hoping to jump to front of England spin queue“I’ve been doing everything I need to do to stick by the rules, as has everyone else around me, but I’m not too nervous. I feel safe here in a bio-secure environment.”The ECB last week announced a clean bill of health for both England’s camp at the Ageas Bowl and West Indies’ at Emirates Old Trafford, with a total of 703 Covid tests among players, management, hotel staff and other key workers coming back as negative. And though the squad will continue to train in two groups of 15 for the time being, with little interaction even at mealtimes, those results mark another crucial step towards the return to competitive action.And for Leach, the first step will be to reclaim his role as England’s first-choice spinner. Dom Bess stepped up impressively in South Africa, while the return of Moeen Ali for the first time since last summer’s first Ashes Test at Edgbaston provides another big rival for what tends in England to be a solitary position.”We’ve got five really good spinners,” Leach said, with Matt Parkinson and Amar Virdi also involved in the 30-man squad. “It feels like there’s everything to play for. There’s lots of competition throughout the squad and spin is no different. It’s about us all working together to be at our best. It’s up to the selectors and not up to us who takes that spot, but I’m so glad to see Mo back as well. When he’s at his best, he’s an unbelievable player.”Jack Leach is one of five spinners in England’s 30-man training group•Getty Images

With 34 wickets at 29.02 in his ten Tests to date, Leach has proven to be a steady performer with the ball for England. However, he knows full well which of his feats have truly captured the public’s imagination to date – his twin innings of 92 against Ireland, scored as a nightwatchman opener after England had crumbled to 85 all out in their first innings at Lord’s last year, and of course, his crucial 1 not out in partnership with Ben Stokes in the Headingley thriller last summer.”I’m going to tell people in the pub when I’m older that I opened the batting for England, so I don’t care how I’m remembered,” he said. “I pride myself on my bowling, because that’s why I’ve been picked in the team – I want to be bowling teams out on the last day, and remembered for that – but obviously everyone wants to talk about Headingley, and it’ll be hard for people not to remember that.”I probably overthink at times, and that’s a mental thing that I’ve been working hard on. In my best moments, there hasn’t been a lot going through my mind. I think back to when I was out there with Stokes, and how focused I felt. It was a simple focus on what I was trying to do, and I want to apply that to my bowling as well – find that headspace where I can give my absolute best.””It is a little bit strange, but I guess those moments make you want to stay in the team,” he added. “I’ll be in the team longer if I bowl well, but if I keep getting remembered for batting innings, I’ll take that because I’ll be doing something right if I’m playing a lot.”

With Australia set to tour Pakistan in February-March next year, PSL looking at a likely window in April and May

Umar Farooq12-Jul-2021The PSL is facing a scheduling challenge for the 2022 season, as Pakistan hope to welcome a landmark home series against Australia in the window usually occupied by the T20 competition. The PSL has been conducted between February and March since its inception in 2016, but with Australia’s visit in mind, April-May is being considered as a window. That means it could be played at the same time as the IPL.The current FTP was negotiated for Pakistan by the previous board administration and during the time it was being worked on, concerns had started to emerge about the league and its scheduling impact on Pakistan’s international season. But the board was balancing a return to Pakistan for all its international cricket with the needs of a young league at the time. Australia’s visit is an especially significant one in the board’s efforts to play all its home cricket in Pakistan, because they have not toured since 1998-99.Related

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The board needs around 47 days to stage the entire season and there is, potentially, another window available from December 25 to February 15. But that could hurt foreign player participation since those from the top-five countries will be busy with national duty.Another reason the PCB is not keen on this option is a limited availability of venues. Karachi will be the only city suitable to play cricket during those months while Punjab and three other venues in Lahore, Multan, and Rawalpindi will experience extreme fog, which has left the board looking for a window past the month of March.At the same time, the board and the six PSL franchises remain locked in trying to agree on a tournament financial model that both sides are happy with. They have already been at loggerheads over it with the franchises taking the board to court, claiming that it is getting richer while they keep losing money.The Lahore High Court had made both parties sit together and directed PCB to “formally redress the grievances of all franchises” and “revise the model of PSL in accordance with its statutory mandate and make it financially viable”. Currently, all six teams, even though their annual rights fees range from USD 1.1 million to USD 6.35 million, get an equal share of the revenue every season.ESPNcricinfo understands that the PCB has formed a panel with an independent consultant and a retired judge in Tassaduq Hussain Jillani – who is also a former Chief Justice of Pakistan – to resolve this issue. The judge has already got the work started by sending all six franchises a lengthy questionnaire assessing their finances, with a deadline of Friday. Jillani will then submit a report with his recommendations to the PCB.The PSL is also set to reassess the value of its assets this year before selling its commercial and broadcasting rights. The last three-year cycle for the TV and digital streaming rights, worth approximately USD 36 million, has come to an end this year.The PCB is set to hire an independent consultant to evaluate the value of the brand and to sell the rights. In the previous cycle, PCB had managed to secure a 358% rise in their new broadcast deal.

Wicketkeeper claims six catches for Tasmania 2nd XI facing South Australia in Hobart

Andrew McGlashan21-Nov-2021Three days after resigning as Australia’s Test captain, Tim Paine made his return to playing as he bids to be part of the upcoming Ashes series with a tidy display behind the stumps.The Tasmania 2nd XI match against South Australia, at Lindisfarne Memorial Park in Hobart, attracted significantly more interest than would normally be the case. This fixture had been part of Paine’s comeback plan from neck surgery before the drama of last week – his initial return in a club game at the weekend was washed out – and will be his first game since early April.He had the keeping gloves on initially with Tasmania bowling first and bagged six catches, some particularly agile, and now it’s a case of how he reacts to the workload. Away from the fallout of the text message scandal, there is a form and fitness debate for Paine to answer – especially now he is back in the ranks as a player. His turn with the bat, where he is listed at No. 5, will come on Tuesday.Paine spoke briefly with local TV as he arrived at the ground. “It’s been a long while, I haven’t played since last year, so I’m looking forward to it,” he told before adding about his injury, “Yeah fine, no complaints, so good to go.”Cricket Tasmania high performance manager Simon Insley said: “Whenever you go through challenging times you want to be around your mates and do what you do best. He’s an exceptional cricketer and he wants to play cricket and get ready for the Ashes. He wants to show signs of good form and show that he’s ready for selection. We all know Tim Paine, he is a very determined individual.”The Cricket Australia board said they were satisfied for Paine to remain available for selection and he has insisted he wants to be part of the England series. The Ashes had been viewed as a potential end-point for Paine’s Test career before the latest developments.Related

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“I see that as the ultimate high, to be able to finish your Test career after winning an Ashes series in Australia,” Paine said in an interview with the . “That’s the dream. That’s what I want to do.”Todd Greenberg, the chief executive of the Australian Cricketers’ Association, said that Paine’s availability for the Ashes was a key part of the negotiations that took place ahead of him standing down. In a statement on Friday, the ACA had expressed their disappointment that Paine had felt the need to stand down as captain.Tim Paine makes his playing comeback on Monday (file photo)•Getty Images

“We think he must be available for selection, then ultimately that’s an issue for the selectors,” Greenberg told SEN radio. “That was made clear to him and to us by Cricket Australia last week. I hope he is picked, and he plays an incredibly strong Ashes series.”If Paine was unable to get through the fitness side of his comeback following the disc surgery he had in September, Alex Carey would be the likely replacement in the Test side. Carey is part of the Australia A squad which will also be in Brisbane alongside Josh Inglis.When the Ashes squad was named on Wednesday morning, Paine was the only keeper named in the main 15-player squad even though the timelimes that emerged around his resignation suggested the situation was likely well advanced at that stage.Following the 2nd XI match, Paine is due to link up with the Australia squad in Queensland ahead of the intrasquad match which starts on December 1 and will provide the final preparation for the first Test at the Gabba.

England captain encouraged by improvement in left knee as he looks to reprise fourth-seamer role this summer

Vithushan Ehantharajah11-Apr-2023Ben Stokes has requested “fast, flat” wickets for the Ashes this summer and revealed he has an XI in mind for the first Test at Edgbaston on June 16.Since taking over as Test captain at the start of last summer, Stokes’ team, under the guidance of head coach Brendon McCullum, has adopted a quicker scoring rate that has propelled England to 10 wins out of 12. In that period, their 4.76 runs per over is the highest of the 11 nations to have played Test cricket. The approach and success has created optimism of reclaiming the urn off Australia for the first time since 2015.Speaking to Sky Sports while out in the IPL, Stokes said he has spoken to curators at the five venues and asked for pitches conducive to England’s style of play, even though he accepts this may play into Australia’s hands, given they possess a quicker bowling attack.”We’ve been very clear, especially with the ground staff around England, about what type of wickets we want,” Stokes said. “And they’ve been very responsive to us which has been good.”We want fast, flat wickets. We want to go out there and score quickly. It brings their [Australia’s] guys in: if they’ve got fast wickets to bowl on then they’ll be happy with that as well.”Stokes also reiterated his desire to have up to eight bowlers to choose from ahead of every match, emphasising his 90mph-plus options in Mark Wood, Jofra Archer and Olly Stone.Wood is currently leading wicket-taker at the IPL with nine dismissals for Lucknow Super Giants, while Stone bowled 30 overs for Nottinghamshire in the opening round of the County Championship. Archer, however, seems to have suffered a setback in the last week.Ben Stokes was able to bowl “pain-free” for CSK as left knee improves•BCCI

The 28-year-old has missed two matches for Mumbai Indians after discomfort in his right elbow – the same elbow which kept him out for 18 months with a stress fracture. Mumbai are optimistic he will return for Sunday’s fixture against Kolkata Knight Riders.Stokes expects Archer to play some red-ball cricket before making a return to the squad after a two-year absence. That Wood and Stone are fit and firing does allow Archer breathing room, particularly given his lack of multi-day cricket since 2021. With James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson preparing for their opening round of County Championship cricket this week, England are well-stocked for the time being. The England captain has asked the ECB medical personnel to ensure that remains the case come June and across a schedule of five Ashes Tests in six weeks.”I think I know what the starting XI is going to be, there or thereabouts,” Stokes said. “I think having the option to have someone who can bowl above 90mph is what any captain wants. When it comes to that first Test match, I’ll be making sure that I pick the best team for that first game.”With our bowling group, I’ve asked the medical team to give us the best opportunity to have eight bowlers to select from for every game. I think this year’s Ashes in particular, the games are quite close together. Being able to have those resources available every game is something I’m really keen to have.”I could pick a 20-man squad (right now) because that’s how fortunate we are at the moment to be able to pick from this group of English players who are so good at the moment.”Related

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On his own fitness, Stokes believes there has been considerable improvement in his troublesome left knee, buoyed by a “pain-free” over for Chennai Super Kings against Lucknow Super Giants eight days ago. Though the over went for 18, and he missed Saturday’s victory over Mumbai Indians, albeit due to an issue with his foot, the allrounder is encouraged by the progress made so far. He has already come a long way since February’s tour of New Zealand when Stokes was only able to bowl nine overs across the two-match series.”I’ve worked so hard over the last month, five weeks, to get where I am now,” he said. “Being able to bowl pain-free – touch wood – has been good. Even (though that over), I went for 18 runs, but I was like ‘oh I managed to bowl an over without pain in my knee’. That’s down to a lot of hard work I’ve done – medically, in the gym and obviously had a bit of help with some cortisone injections (before travelling to India).”By no means a long-term remedy, Stokes has not ruled out further injections during the summer in a bid to fulfill his role as the fourth seamer.”The main priority for me is making sure that I can fulfil my role as fourth seamer in the Ashes.”I’ve had some good conversations with the people who are employed to look after us, body-wise. I said I’ll be doing everything I can whilst I’m in India to make sure that when we get to the Ashes, I’ll give myself the best opportunity to do my role.”I’ll do whatever I can to get myself through but, medical team, if there’s anything you guys can do to help to get me through that, then please do.”

Pujara batted for both sides, while Jadeja and Iyer batted twice in the same innings

Sidharth Monga25-Jun-2022Day three of the Indians’ practice match against Leicestershire turned into an open net with Cheteshwar Pujara batting for both sides, and Ravindra Jadeja and Shreyas Iyer getting two digs in the same innings. A lot of the bowling was done by India’s net bowlers Navdeep Saini, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and R Sai Kishore, but Jasprit Bumrah got in a spell each in each session and Virat Kohli, batting at No. 7, scored a breezy half-century. Scoring a fifty in his third innings of the match, Jadeja didn’t consider it important enough to merit his trademark sword-wielding celebration.There was still time perhaps for a grandstand finish or an outright result on day four as the Indians went to stumps leading by 366 runs. Like Jadeja and Iyer, Pujara might want a third innings himself; if Rishabh Pant decides to bat too – unlike Rohit Sharma, who decided one innings was enough for him – we might even get a low-key reprise of the final-day drama at Sydney and Brisbane early last year.Low-key is exactly what the third day was despite a biggish Saturday crowd at Grace Road. The first spells of bowling didn’t lack intensity, though. There was not a single loose delivery in the first half hour. Overnight batter Hanuma Vihari once again looked like he didn’t have a lot of scoring options before edging right-arm seamer Will Davis behind. Saini produced a testing spell in which he had KS Bharat on the hook before getting Jadeja out for the first time with an edge through to slip.Eventually, Kohli came out to bat, piquing the crowd interest both at the ground and on the livestream provided by Leicestershire. Bumrah vs Kohli sparkled, especially when Bumrah bowled short of a length outside off. Kohli doesn’t play the orthodox square cut, but he found a way with the flashy punch. One of them even went for a six over the short off-side boundary. Eventually, though, the shot proved to be his undoing with a catch at square gully.A rare event occurred when Cheteshwar Pujara was stumped off the bowling of Sai Kishore. Pujara has been out in this fashion in first-class cricket only three times. Sai Kishore managed the difficult task of beating Pujara in the air and then turning the ball past his edge.Jadeja and Iyer then saw through most of the rest of the day before a casual flick from Iyer gave Nagarkoti his second wicket, the first being that of the No. 6 Shardul Thakur.

A blow-by-blow account of Pat Cummins’ record-breaking fifty against Mumbai Indians in the IPL

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Apr-2022ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Pat Cummins’ 14th over•Getty Images

Pat Cummins’ 15th over•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

New Zealand will have another week of training in Somerset before moving to Birmingham in time for their Commonwealth Games opener

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jul-2022Amelia Kerr, the New Zealand spin-bowling allrounder, has tested positive for Covid-19 while on tour to England. The squad is travelling to take part in the cricket event at the upcoming Birmingham Commonwealth Games, starting July 28.The positive result came out after a round of Rapid Antigen Tests conducted on the team members on Saturday. Following the positive test, 21-year-old Kerr is in isolation at the team hotel.Related

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A NZC media statement said that Kerr was the only player from the touring party to test positive, while “the rest of the group will continue to be monitored and tested, as required”.The entire New Zealand contingent had travelled for England from Lincoln on July 12. New Zealand are scheduled to play their first match of the competition against South Africa on July 30.But first, they will have another week of training at Millfield School in Somerset – including two practice matches against England A – before moving to Birmingham towards the end of July.Kerr has been an integral part of the New Zealand set-up, having picked up 41 wickets in 41 bowling innings in T20Is at an economy of 5.94. With the bat, she has scored a total of 234 runs in 24 innings.Women’s cricket will feature at the Commonwealth Games for the first time at the upcoming edition, and cricket as a whole for only the second time after a men’s ODI competition was held in Kuala Lumpur in 1998, won by South Africa.

Somerset’s victory in the West Country derby satisfied local tastes as Taunton favourite Peter Trego lay waste to the Gloucestershire attack

ECB Reporters Network06-Jul-2018
ScorecardSomerset began their Vitality Blast campaign in style with a rousing six-wicket win over arch-rivals Gloucestershire at Taunton.A 7,000 crowd saw the visitors post 188 for 6 after losing the toss, Ryan Higgins leading the way with 55 off 35 balls and Jack Taylor contributing 34. Roelof van der Merwe was the pick of the Somerset bowlers, conceding only 22 from his four overs.In reply, Steve Davies (60) and Peter Trego (72 not out) set about an injury-hit Gloucestershire attack with a blistering second-wicket stand of 90 in 7.1 overs to lay the foundation for a convincing victory with 19 balls to spareGloucestershire were never able to go into overdrive on a true pitch, losing wickets at vital times. Jamie Overton conceded 20 off the final over and was grateful to see Tom Abell take a brilliant diving catch at wide long-on to end Higgins’ entertaining knock.The late blast meant took Gloucestershire to a reasonable total, having been 158 for five at the end of the 18th over, bowled by wily left-arm spinner van der Merwe.

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Miles Hammond, Michael Klinger, Benny Howell and Ian Cockbain all got starts only to surrender their wickets for scores of less than 23 as Somerset rotated their bowlers constantly,.It took a fifth-wicket stand of 58 in less than six overs between Taylor and Higgins to guide Gloucestershire to respectability. But the entire innings featured only 3 sixes on a high-scoring ground with some short boundaries.The second over of Somerset’s reply saw Davies spilled at deep square by Higgins off Liam Norwell, the ball dropping over the boundary for six. Davies then took a four and another six off the next two deliveries.Higgins then held a catch in the deep to dismiss Johann Myburgh off David Payne, but Gloucestershire’s problems worsened when Norwell, his season already ravaged by injury, hobbled off after bowling only three balls of his second over.Davies and Trego piled on the pressure with some savage strokeplay, taking Somerset to 94 for one off seven overs by smiting 53 off 18 balls, sent down by Howell, Thisara Perera.and Tom Smith. The half-century stand occupied just 25 deliveries.Davies went to 50 off 21 balls with a six off Howell in the eighth over, also bringing up the hundred and Gloucestershire needed a miracle.
Higgins had Davies caught on the deep-square boundary, but there was no let-up as James Hildreth smashed Payne for six and collected another maximum off Tom Smith with a reverse sweep.Hildreth fell for 25 to another big swing, but Trego moved to fifty off 30 balls and Corey Anderson (24) helped see Somerset home.