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Hampshire Cricket Historian Dave Allen continues the 'From The Archive' series with a reflection on previous limited-overs matches against Gloucestershire
When Hampshire fans of a certain vintage think of knock-out cup matches against Gloucestershire, it is highly likely that a B&H semi-final between the two sides at Northlands Road comes to mind – although sadly not for the best of reasons.
This was Hampshire’s fourth semi-final in those first 14 cup seasons in addition to 12 quarter-finals, but you will probably know that it would be another eleven years until Hampshire finally got to Lord’s, and embarked on a sequence of winning performances. In 1977, their dreams of that first Final were very real as they reduced Gloucestershire from a first wicket partnership of 106 to 180 all out, with four balls remaining. Tom Mottram 3-21 and Mike Taylor 3-37 were the leading bowlers with Andy Roberts’ economy rate below two runs per over, while for Gloucestershire Sadiq Mohammad scored 76.
A target of 181 in 55 overs was encouraging until Barry Richards’ pal Mike Procter bowled a phenomenal spell of right-arm fast, round the wicket, dismissing Greenidge on 13 and then with just five runs added he had Richards, Jesty and Rice in a hat-trick. Hampshire were shattered, but David Turner and Nigel Cowley managed a fine recovery, adding 109. Wickets fell regularly but Hampshire got very close losing by just seven runs. Hampshire’s captain Richard Gilliat was not fit to play. Had he done so, he like Turner was left-handed and would have faced one of the hat-trick balls. Might things have been different? We shall never know.
We first played Gloucestershire in a cup match in 1972, when they were our first opponents in the new B&H Cup. The fixture was scheduled for Saturday 6 May but while Leeds United were beating Arsenal 1-0 in the Centenary Cup Final, there was no play at Moreton –in-the-Marsh. We then travelled to Birmingham to win a rain-affected 10-over Sunday League game before returning to Gloucestershire to try again on the Monday – but again, no luck. The match eventually began on day three, Tuesday (‘one-day’ cricket?) when Hampshire posted 169 all out, thanks mainly to Barry Richards with 43 (Roger Knight 3-40). Bob Herman then took three quick wickets, added a fourth (4-20) and Peter Sainsbury also took four cheaply, as Gloucestershire were dismissed for just 70
Hampshire won further meetings between the two sides in 1974 as Barry Richards’ 129 was our highest cup score v Gloucestershire, in 1975 when Bob Herman (5-24) struck again, and early in 1977 (Greenidge 103), but then came that semi-final and Gloucestershire’s first win against us. Our best bowling in a cup match between the two sides is Trevor Jesty’s 6-46 in the first round of the Gillette Cup in 1979.
It’s interesting to reflect on that first damp meeting where the two sides compiled fewer than 250 runs between them. A more recent Royal London Cup match in 2016 indicates the difference in scores and scoring rates in the modern limited-overs game. On this occasion at Bristol, Klinger (166) and Dent (142) posted 242 for the first wicket and they closed on 352-3. Hampshire, with half centuries from Alsop, Ervine & Dawson did their best and Gareth Andrew hit 70* from 41 balls but Hampshire finished just 11 runs short of victory – 694 runs in one day, which was simply unimaginable when the authorities first dreamed-up knock-out cricket all those years ago.
