A solid all-round performance from Will Gidman steered Gloucestershire to a three-wicket victory over Yorkshire Vikings in the Royal London One-Day Cup Group A clash at Headingley.
After claiming two wickets in a tight opening spell, Gidman then kept his nerve with an unbeaten 71 off 89 balls with 10 fours as Gloucestershire chased down a modest 193 target.
Yorkshire were left kicking themselves for an undisciplined batting display which saw them lose three wickets with the score on 45 before their last five crashed for 18 runs in 22 deliveries.
And their total would have been much smaller but for a record-breaking sixth-wicket stand of 129 between Adil Rashid and Jack Leaning, who contributed 71 and 56 respectively.
Their early demise in 41.4 overs left Gloucestershire with nine overs to bat before the interval and a double strike by Tim Bresnan left them uneasily placed on 27 for two, Hamish Marshall slashing hard to second slip where Adam Lyth held on and Chris Dent being strangled down the leg side.
Gidman came in at 69 for three after Michael Klinger had fallen to Richard Pyrah for 37 and he had plenty of re-building work to do as his side succumbed to fine bowling from Rashid and Pyrah to slump to 83 for six.
He then received excellent support from off-spinner Jack Taylor who attacked strongly in only his eighth List-A match to make a career-best 38 off 39 balls with three fours and a six.
The pair had put on 69 in 13 overs when Taylor was caught at slip driving at Rashid’s last ball, the leg-spinner finishing with 3-43 from 10.
Taylor gone! He’s been caught at slip off Rashid, 38. It’s 152-7 and Rashid has finished with 3-43 from 10.
— Yorkshire CCC (@Yorkshireccc) July 29, 2014
Gidman remained in control, his half-century coming from 74 balls with six fours, and 28 deliveries remained when the winning run came from a Bresnan wide.
Yorkshire threw caution to the wind after winning the toss and carelessness cost them both openers in the first three overs to leave them on 16 for two. Alex Lees cut Gidman straight into the hands of Ian Cockbain at point and Lyth, aiming to leg, fell lbw to the left-arm pace of David Payne.
Kane Williamson and skipper Andrew Gale looked to be mastering the bowling until both got out as three wickets fell with the score on 45.
Gale was caught behind by wicketkeeper Adam Rouse while attempting to steer Payne to third man, Williamson nicked a good ball from Gidman which left him and Jonny Bairstow was taken low down at first slip by Klinger off Payne.
The catch looked a perfectly clean one but Bairstow waited until the umpires had conferred before walking off.
The first half of Yorkshire’s batting order had been swept away in 13 overs on a slow but firm pitch but when Gidman was rested with figures of 7-2-16-2 and Payne 8-2-31-3, things became a little easier for the sixth-wicket pair of Leaning and Rashid.
Both batsmen began to blossom as their confidence grew and Leaning drove Taylor to the extra-cover boundary to raise three figures, Rashid lofting a straight drive for four in the same over.
Rashid was the more dominant of the two and he completed his maiden half-century in his 59th List-A innings from 71 balls with five fours.
Gloucestershire beat @Yorkshireccc by 3 wickets!! Great result!! Join us Thursday at the Bristol County Ground as we take on Hampshire.
— Gloucestershire CCC (@Gloscricket) July 29, 2014
Gidman returned at 140 for five and Leaning welcomed him back with a glorious front-foot straight drive for six, but he had a life on 47 when he uppercut Craig Miles to third man where Tom Smith put down a straightforward catch.
The next ball was driven for six over extra-cover by Rashid and when the stand had reached 129 it became Yorkshire’s highest for the sixth wicket in one-day cricket, beating the unbroken 128 between Anthony McGrath and Gary Fellows in the Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy quarter-final match against Essex at Chelmsford in 2002.
But then, in a bizarre spell of almost suicidal play, Yorkshire crashed from 174 for five to 192 all out in just three full overs. First to go was Rashid who drove Benny Howell to long-on and was caught by Cockbain.
Leaning completed his fifty off 73 deliveries with three fours and a six before both Bresnan and Pyrah were run out cheaply in consecutive overs by direct-hits and Leaning dashed out of his crease to a leg-side wide from Taylor and was stumped, the spinner’s next ball trapping Jack Brooks lbw.
Gloucestershire director of cricket John Bracewell was pleased his side managed to get the win, and said: “The wicket was quite slow and holding a bit and the match turned into a bit of a scrap.
“Gidman and Payne hit the right areas and found the correct length and took wickets up front.
“Leaning and Rashid put on a good partnership which was bound to happen and we faced a respectable but achievable total.
“We always said this could be a competition for Will Gidman because 50-over cricket suits his bowling and he showed that it does.
“It was good to beat a class side like Yorkshire who have some excellent, outstanding cricketers. To tip them over on their home turf is a good effort.”
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