They were too easily subdued by disciplined bowling, and further undermined by majestically disciplined fielding.There was a further run-out, three slip catches for Martyn Ball, one of them especially smart, and a leg-side stumping for Jack Russell, which would have been sensational for anybody else but was routine for him. Singh edged an away-swinger shortly after, the potential match-winning centurion Graeme Hick quickly holed out low to cover for nought, and although four other players reached double figures, nobody threatened a big innings. Vikram Solanki and Anurag Singh went about their business with a brisk approach. Solanki is a fitful but glorious performer who was obviously warming to his task, and a century similar to that he made for England in a one-day international earlier in the summer was distinctly possible. But in the 16th over he made a cardinal error; the match may have turned on this single incident.He backed up ridiculously far as his partner squeezed one towards Jonty Rhodes in his customary position at backward point. As soon as the ball went on its way towards the legendary fielder it was possible to tell that Solanki was in trouble Big trouble He turned to make his ground but it was too late. Rhodes had pounced for the zillionth time in his career, and his aim was true.Worcestershire never recovered and never looked like doing so.
Indeed, the clear impression was that Vaughan, coach Duncan Fletcher and the England side could learn much from the way the Glosters deported themselves. Their coach, John Bracewell, is off to his native New Zealand to coach the national team at the end of this season: they will not be found wanting in the matter of saving and stopping runs.It is odd, on reflection, to consider that the start of Worcestershire's innings augured well They had been put in on a decent pitch under moody skies. If Worcestershire, the slight favourites, were overcome by the occasion - it was nine years since they had reached a Lord's final - then Gloucestershire were clearly comfortable to be renewing acquaintance with the old place.Gloucestershire's fielders were well prepared, well drilled and perpetually hungry. He took two wickets, threw himself about determinedly in the field and then threw the bat with similar robustness, supplying the most vibrant batting of the day in making 61 from 36 balls.It was Gloucestershire's third success in the competition in the past five years, and their sixth one-day triumph in all in that period. Vaughan might have had a word with John Elliott, the Worcestershire chairman, who bridled bitterly at the England captain's criticism.Ian Harvey, the Australian all-rounder who was one of three Gloucestershire players ineligible to play for England, was a clear man of the match. It meant that spectators, who paid £44 for a ticket, were deprived of almost 34 overs and a reasonable contest. Worcestershire, lucky to be there after scraping through in the semi-final, resisted all chances to make the most, or indeed anything, of their good fortune.They were dismissed in 46.3 overs for 149 and then fielded with the panache of a constipated bullock, losing by seven wickets to Gloucestershire, who knocked off the runs with 177 balls to spare.
England's domestic first-class game, he said, bred weak cricketers. He should have been at the showpiece match of the county season yesterday gathering more evidence.A low-scoring, one-sided, ultimately tedious C & G Trophy Final was the last thing county cricket needed after the most recent allegations of ineptitude. It can only be a matter of days before some old trundler from the shires is fingered for the London power-cut. Michael Vaughan, the England captain, was last week merely the latest in a long line stretching back 20 years to gouge the hand that once fed him. If in doubt, it is safe to blame county cricket for most things, from the disasters that befall the England team to the crash in the stock market. He hit a neat four off his legs but there was not enough time to show his wares as a batsman It had been a short day's work, but a good one..
He claps at the end of the over, before trotting in from point to pat the bowler on the back as he walks down to third man before turning to Mark Alleyne and putting his arm around the captain's shoulder while passing on advice as they walk back down the wicket.Rhodes was hardly called upon to play a part in the second act of yesterday's St John's Wood Massacre.He came in at the fall of the third wicket with only 18 runs required. He claps twice before striding in, cat-like, as each ball is delivered. He must earn about £70,000 a year for five months work, and it goes a lot further in Durban than it would in Bristol.Yet Rhodes is an unlikely main man. He remains an unreconstructed admirer of the late, bent Hansie Cronje. But his energy, spontaneity and commitment in the field are irresistible.He is the clapping man.
