da esport bet： Bad light denied Gloucestershire the chance of wrapping up their first win ofthe County Championship campaign over Middlesex at Lord’s where the hostsgo into the final day on 167 for 7
da esoccer bet： 29-Apr-2010
ScorecardAndrew Strauss fell early as Middlesex struggled in pursuit of 289•PA Photos
Bad light denied Gloucestershire the chance of wrapping up their first win ofthe County Championship campaign over Middlesex at Lord’s where the hostsgo into the final day on 167 for 7.When the sides trooped off under leaden skies at 5.40pm, the hosts were still122 short in their pursuit of an unlikely victory target of 298 andunderstandably it was the buoyant visitors who seemed most perturbed by thedecision of umpires Richard Kettleborough and John Steele to lead the playersoff.Given fair weather on Friday, Gloucestershire will start firm favourites tosecure their 23rd win in St John’s Wood since 1879 and their second insuccessive seasons, should they do so, it will be largely thanks to theperformance of their own ‘East Ender’, Gemaal Hussain.Born barely a dozen miles from the home of cricket at Whipps Cross Hospital,the same maternity unit that helped the likes of David Beckham and Graham Goochinto the world, Hussain was forced to move away from East London to make hismark in cricket, initially for Leeds Bradford University and Nottinghamshirebefore his switch to Gloucestershire last year.A muscular right-arm seamer, the 26-year-old revelled in the overcastconditions at Lord’s to claim 4 for 36 inside 12 overs that thoroughlytested the Middlesex top order.Batting 45 minutes before lunch after Gloucestershire had succumbed for 223 intheir second innings, Middlesex made a bright start when England Test captainAndrew Strauss rocked back to pull a short one from Jonathan Lewis for six intothe Tavern Stand.The Gloucestershire seamer had his revenge in his next over when Strauss (9)again moved back aiming to force off the back foot through the covers only todrag the ball onto his leg stump off a thick inside edge to make it 37 for 1at lunch.Alex Gidman accounted for Owais Shah (16) four overs after lunch, caughtthroat high at first slip after a leaden-footed lunge away from his body andthen Hussain came into his own to have left-hander Scott Newman (42) caught inthe cordon after a similar, airy drive.It took a much better delivery from Gidman, a lifting leg-cutter, to prize outSam Robson (4) to a sharp low catch at second slip and, three overs later, JohnSimpson had his middle stump plucked out by Steve Kirby after he too playedon.In amongst the Middlesex batting debacle, the elegant left-hander Dawid Malancontinued to go for his strokes and deservedly reached a 79-ball half-centurywith eight fours as he and Gareth Berg added 39 for the sixth wicket eitherside of tea.Berg (24) nicked a leg-glance to keeper keeper Jonathan Batty to give Hussainhis fourth victim of the day two overs after the resumption then, after the first break for poor light, Kirby ended Malan’s 142-minute stay for 60 throughanother catch by Batty.
