I know I keep on saying it, but we really need to do everything as a club to get McLaren to agree to comeback as a kolpak next year. What a signing that would be, with bat and ball, across all three formats.
Seriously, why did we bother with Darren Sammy in the t20s when we had our second overseas all along?!
And in a similar vain, why did we bother with Ervine as captain? Dawson is just set up as captain material in my view, at least in limited overs cricket but maybe even all three formats.
This is just fantastic. Aside from away to Kent in the t20, it's been ages since we finished a limited overs game like this.
First and foremost, it's about getting the two points and taking the fight to the last round of matches. Of course it is. But if the wicket is as slow as they say, and there is some turn and some movement with the new ball, then with this score on the board the opportunity of really improving our NRR should not be ignored. There is still every chance that qualification will come down to NRR, and right now we're right at the back of the queue.
Perfectly paced innings by Hants, Smith almost sacrificed his wicket for the good of the team after setting the platform and McLaren and Dawson's innings was just classic one day finishing.
In the end it's worked out brilliantly for us deciding to pick Crane. We now have that extra frontline option, if someone like Berg or Andrew gets hit badly. That said, even though we didn't need the extra batsman today, or McManus for that matter, I hope it doesn't lull us into thinking that this is a strategy to take forward. It was only last week against Kent that it worked badly for us.
If Gloucs could please just take a few wickets to slow Kent up (I think it's too much to hope that Gloucs might take all ten to beat Kent), that would make the day even better. Even a huge win for us here could still see us below Kent's NRR, if they win with miles to spare (but we should easily overtake Glamorgan's and Middlesex's).
