Gloucestershire Clinch Victory with 7 Wickets in Hand With Miles Hammond’s Heroic 157
Gloucestershire’s hopes of qualifying for the Metro Bank One-Day Cup quarterfinals are still alive because of a brilliant display by Miles Hammond.
With his outstanding 157, Gloucestershire defeated Nottinghamshire by seven wickets, successfully pursuing a formidable 333-run target.
Key Performances and Match Results
Nottinghamshire 332 (Hameed 105, James 61) lost to Gloucestershire 333 for 3 (Hammond 157, Price 61, Bancroft 52) by seven wickets.
Match Highlights
Gloucestershire defeated Notts Outlaws by seven wickets at Trent Bridge, thanks in large part to Miles Hammond’s outstanding 157. This victory kept Gloucestershire in the running for a spot in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup quarterfinals.
Nottinghamshire was bowled out for 332 in 49 overs thanks to the second century of the competition made by Outlaws captain Haseeb Hameed, who shared partnerships of 129 with Lyndon James (61) and 80 with Tom Moores (40).Gloucestershire deployed seven bowlers in three overs, sharing the wickets; left-arm spinner Graeme van Buuren took three for forty.
However, Gloucestershire cruised home with 20 balls remaining thanks to an opening combination of 151 runs between Hammond (who smashed 22 fours and five sixes) and Cameron Bancroft (52), who were further supported by Ollie Price’s undefeated 61.
Gloucestershire’s victory moves them up to third place, ahead of holders Leicestershire, who play Glamorgan at home on Sunday. Gloucestershire’s final group match is against Glamorgan at Bristol on Wednesday. With just one game remaining, Gloucestershire is unable to catch Group B leaders Glamorgan and Warwickshire.
However, Gloucestershire will have to make changes since, should they qualify, the England Lions’ calls-ups of Price, Zaman Akhter, and Ajeet Singh Dale for the Worcester match against Sri Lanka will prevent them from playing in either the final group round or the quarterfinal.
Though they would need to win both of their remaining games to have a chance of moving on, the Outlaws are technically still in the running for the third knock-out position.
On 14, Hameed gave Hammond a moment of luck when he misplayed a shot into the on side off Brett Hutton. However, in Hutton’s next over, he answered with a six that whipped over the short boundary on that side, and in Rob Lord’s one over, he cleared it twice more.
Finally, an innings of play yielded a breakthrough when 19-year-old off-spinning all-rounder Freddie McCann turned a ball into Bancroft’s front pad for a leg-before.
After Hammond reached 100 from 81 balls, he needed just 28 more deliveries to reach 153 after hitting two more sixes, one off Luke Fletcher and another off Lord, both over the short boundary.
While the pitch favored leg spinner Calvin Harrison and left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White, who dismissed James Bracey for eighteen, Gloucestershire had a few nervous moments, but Price’s unbroken 57-run partnership with Ben Charlesworth saw them over the finish line with ease. Price was dismissed in the same over as that milestone, being caught lbw on the sweep by Harrison.
The host team was asked to bat first, and they got off to a quick start, reaching 56 runs without losing in the ninth over.
Following his 164 at Guildford on Sunday, Slater was caught behind for 38 after swiping at a wide delivery from Singh Dale. Earlier in the over, he had struck six and four. Opening partner McCann was also taken at short fine leg by left-arm spinner Tom Smith, but he fell somewhat gently. Notts were 73 for three as Jack Haynes edged ahead of Akhter in the following over.
James is one of two Nottinghamshire players selected to play next week against Sri Lanka. His value was highlighted by his second half-century in the competition, when he and Hameed rebuilt together, taking their time to settle before accelerating together. Shortly after hitting two consecutive sixes off Singh Dale, James achieved his half-century off 51 balls, and Hameed followed shortly after at 56.
After James was brilliantly caught at backward point to finish their 22 overs together, Hameed and Tom Moores went on the rampage, scoring 80 runs in only nine overs to put 350+ in play.
But, Smith’s turn as he ran down the pitch nearly instantly removed Hameed, who had just reached his century from 92 balls after he had blasted Dom Goodman for six over midwicket.
The last six Notts wickets fell in the last seven overs, mostly caught in the deep, but 50 runs were still added when Liam Patterson-White smashed three sixes in his 10-ball 29 and Van Buuren claimed his three wickets in 12 balls following his dismissal.
