Miles Hammond goes big to keep Gloucestershire’s quarter-final hopes alive

RESULT

Gloucs won by 7 wickets (with 20 balls remaining)

Gloucestershire 333 for 3 (Hammond 157, Price 61, Bancroft 52) beat Nottinghamshire 332 (Hameed 105, James 61) by seven wickets

Miles Hammond‘s brilliant 157 was the highlight as Gloucestershire chased down a 333-run target to beat Notts Outlaws by seven wickets at Trent Bridge to keep themselves in contention for a quarter-final place in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup.

Outlaws skipper Haseeb Hameed hit his second century of this year’s competition, sharing partnerships of 129 with Lyndon James (61) and 80 with Tom Moores (40) as Nottinghamshire were bowled out for 332 in 49.3 overs, the wickets shared among all seven bowlers used by Gloucestershire, left-arm spinner Graeme van Buuren taking 3 for 40.

But Gloucestershire built on a 151-run opening partnership between Hammond – who hit 22 fours and five sixes – and Cameron Bancroft (52), supplemented by Ollie Price‘s unbeaten 61 as they eased home with 20 balls to spare.

With only one game left, Gloucestershire cannot catch Group B leaders Glamorgan and Warwickshire, but this win takes them ahead of holders Leicestershire into third place, and while Leicestershire have a game in hand at home to Glamorgan on Sunday, their final group game next Wednesday is against Gloucestershire at Bristol.

Gloucestershire, though, will be forced to make changes after England Lions call-ups for Price, Zaman Akhter and Ajeet Singh Dale for the match against Sri Lanka at Worcester ruled them out of both the final group round and the quarter-final, should they qualify.

The Outlaws themselves are mathematically not out of the running yet for that third knock-out spot, but they would need to win both their remaining matches even to have a chance of progressing.

Hammond had one moment of good fortune on 14, Hameed failing to take a chance offered by an uncontrolled shot into the on side off Brett Hutton, but responded with a six whipped over the short boundary on that side in Hutton’s next over and cleared it twice more in a single over off Rob Lord.

Freddie McCann, the 19-year-old off-spinning all-rounder, at last made a breakthrough as he turned one into Bancroft’s front pad from round the wicket for a leg-before.

Hammond reached 100 from 81 balls before picking up two more sixes – another off Lord and one off Luke Fletcher, again over the short boundary – in going to 153 from just 28 more deliveries.

His dismissal came in the same over as that milestone, lbw to leg spinner Calvin Harrison on the sweep, and with the pitch helping both Harrison and left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White, who bowled James Bracey for 18, Gloucestershire had a few twitchy moments but Price’s unbroken 57-run partnership with Ben Charlesworth saw them over the line comfortably in the end.

Asked to bat first, the home side made a flying start, racing to 56 without loss in the ninth over.

Slater, after his 164 at Guildford last Sunday, was caught behind for 38, swiping at a wide delivery from Singh Dale after hitting six and four in the same over. Opening partner McCann also fell tamely, caught at short fine leg off left-arm spinner Tom Smith. With Jack Haynes edging behind off Akhter in the next over, Notts were 73 for three.

James – one of two Nottinghamshire players also picked to face Sri Lanka next week. His second half-century of the competition underlined his value as he and Hameed rebuilt, giving themselves time to settle before accelerating in tandem. James reached his half-century from 51 balls just after pulling Singh Dale for consecutive sixes, Hameed’s coming moments later from 56.

Their 22 overs together ended with James well caught at backward point, after which Hameed and Tom Moores cut loose, adding 80 in just nine overs to bring 350-plus into prospect.

Yet after Hameed whipped Dom Goodman for six over midwicket in reaching his century from 92 balls, he was almost immediately out, beaten by Smith’s turn as he went down the pitch.

His dismissal sparked a chaotic end to the innings, in which the last six Notts wickets fell in the final seven overs, mostly caught in the deep, albeit with 50 runs added after Liam Patterson-White hit three sixes in his 10-ball 29, Van Buuren picking up his three wickets in 12 balls.

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