Cricket: Walsh strikes critical blow
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Your support makes all the difference.Gloucs 329 and 328-8 dec Yorkshire 143 and 136-5
WITH 12 overs remaining yesterday, and the sky over the King's School Ground darkening dangerously, Gloucestershire skipper Mark Alleyne risked giving the ball to Courtney Walsh. The West Indian limbered up with a bouncer, just to see if he could make something happen to a game that had begun to sleep walk. Craig White hooked, his first shot in anger for some time, and the ball ballooned to Matthew Church on the square- leg boundary.
Yorkshire had now lost five wickets for 132, and needed another 383 to win. The consequence was inevitable - the batsmen were offered the light with the over uncompleted, play had ended and Yorkshire could only pray for overnight rain.
The chief architect of Gloucestershire's strong position has been Matt Windows, a batsman who must compete for the non-allotted places in the batting line-up with Church and Dawson, whom he replaced after two rounds of the Championship.
Windows spent his winter bookmaking for spread-betting firm Sporting Index, and has looked in good enough nick during this game for a modest punt on his immediate future with the first team.
At 2.15 yesterday afternoon he reached his three figure landmark in 155 balls with 15 boundaries, and Alleyne immediately made a preordained declaration. The rain then arrived, and returned briefly in mid-afternoon, but it is unlikely seriously to affect the remainder of this match. Gloucestershire had left the visitors with a mountain of 515 runs to climb for victory, or a day and a half at the crease for a draw.
In the earlier stages of the match a career best 8 for 55 by Craig White could not prevent Gloucestershire from compiling 329, including a late flourish by Mike Smith. The visitors were then cut down to 143, three mean wickets going to Walsh, and on Friday evening Alleyne and Tony Wright consolidated the home side's dominance.
Yesterday morning Windows was accompanied by the fretful but effective dabs and clunks that are Jack Russell's speciality, and another cameo by Smith - including some rough treatment for first-innings star White - and when Yorkshire batted again it was Smith who made the early breakthrough. Chunky defiance by Darren Lehmann then delayed Gloucestershire's progress to their second Championship win of the season.
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