The in-form stroke maker made a fabulous unbeaten 131 yesterday in the comfortable win over South Coast rivals Sussex at the Ageas Bowl to help the side secure their first points of the One Day Cup campaign.
That takes him to nearly 200 runs in just two white ball innings for the Rose and Crown who are, like many sides without several first team names due to the Hundred launching this summer.
He didn’t stop there, also taking 4-38 with the ball, including the vital wicket of Travis Head for 52.
Hants are without the likes of captain James Vince and spinners Mason Crane and Liam Dawson for the duration of the competition which has helped the likes of Tom Prest and Scott Currie to earn regular opportunities in the first team.
Gubbins has been key to keeping his side competitive in this tournament and is very much a senior player in the squad and is making quite the impact.
His career had reached a bit of a stumbling block at Lord’s with Middlesex but he has found a new lease of life on the South Coast and has come in and hit the ground running and is now a vital part of the Hants’ squad.
The form which he is showing will also give a nudge to the selectors ahead of the T20 Blast 1/4 final to come later this month at Trent Bridge against Nottinghamshire with plenty of the big names set to return for that game.
He also starred on his first class debut for the club against Gloucestershire earlier in the month to help propel the side into the top division for the final part of the County Championship, scoring 137* and 13* to secure a seven wicket victory for his team.
The 27-year-old will officially join the team on a full time basis next season and is already looking to be a great replacement for Sam Northeast who left by mutual consent before joining up with Yorkshire.
Gubbins still has plenty of time on his hands is looking like being a very handy addition for Hampshire with so much still left to play before between now and the end of the season.
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]]>The game was due to commence at 3pm but it was called off just 15 minutes after the scheduled start time with the prospects of play extremely minimal.
This all means that the Originals have earnt their first point of the competition, while the Superchargers move onto five points and stand outright at the top of the table.
There is due to be a men’s match this evening between the same sides but the forecast isn’t the best and even a chance of that one getting underway seems remote at this stage.
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This all came before Hampshire fought back superbly with the bat thanks to some dogged batting from Joe Weatherley (31*) and Ian Holland (19) before Tom Alsop (32) came in and played some eye-catching shots towards the end of the day, although Vince’s side still trail by 165 runs with eight wickets remaining going into the third day.
The away side resumed this morning on 142-5 with captain Tom Abell and nightwatchman Leach at the crease with Abell’s men in a promising position going into the second morning.
The intent was clear from Somerset instantly with Leach in particular taking a fancy to the Hampshire’ attack, one shot in particular stood out, a cover drive for four off Kyle Abbott in the opening couple of overs and this set the tone for what was to follow.
Abell didn’t stay too long at the crease, adding just a further 12 runs to his overnight total before he was the first victim of the day, clean bowled by Abbott to leave the score on 189-6.
The partnership with Leach had put his side firmly in control of the contest, by this point they already had a lead of over 100 on Hampshire.
This all allowed the likes of Steve Davies (33), Overton (74) and Gregory (33*) to bat with plenty of freedom, knowing that they had already achieved a substantial lead.
The innings continued an hour into the afternoon session before Keith Barker picked up the final wicket on his return to the side, seeing Josh Davey caught in the slips for seven, to claim impressive figures of 4-67 from 24 overs in his first outing of the season.
Barker’s form with the ball will encourage Vince moving forward with the side having been so reliant on Mohammad Abbas and Abbott in the opening games of the season, it gives them a different option moving forward.
All this meant that Hampshire had it all to do in their second innings, still 257 runs behind Somerset and the best part of two and half days of the game still remaining.
Holland and Weatherly once more opened up the innings for the home side, sharing 31 runs for the first wicket with Holland falling for 19 to get the side off to a solid start with the stand lasting for 24.1 overs, it was exactly what the team needed with so many overs still remaining in not only the day but the game as well.
Weatherley remained in until the close but Alsop fell just before the end for 32 as the side put some respectability on the board, after a horrid showing first time round.
With some bad weather around tomorrow, the home side have given themselves a fighting chance of getting something out of this game despite there still being two full days of play remaining.
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]]>The Pakistan fast bowler made his debut in the team’s innings victory over Leicestershire last week but he struggled to make as much of an impact with the ball, picking up three wickets in the win over the Foxes.
However, after a few days off to prepare for the visit of Middlesex, the 31-year-old was able to have his feet up for the entirety of the first day with his side batting throughout all three sessions on the opening day of the game.
His batting was then called into action early this morning following the fall of fellow seamer, Kyle Abbott (58) but Abbas, who isn’t known for his play with the blade fell quickly for just four to see the side bowled out for 319 just before the end of the first hour of play.
This allowed Abbas and Abbott to share the new ball with the Pakistan star looking the more threatening and it didn’t take him long to cause havoc in the visitors’ line-up, taking a hat-trick with the wickets of Max Holden, Nick Gubbins and captain Stevie Eskinazi with his fifth, sixth and seventh deliveries of the match.
Abbas’ hat-trick reduced the London side to 8-3 in the fourth over with the Pakistan bowler causing mayhem, swinging the ball round corners to put his side firmly in the driving seat.
It didn’t take long for him to get back in on the act, collecting the scalps of Robbie White and Martin Andersson – both for ducks to leave the away side reeling at 14-5 in the sixth over.
At this point, the seamer had figures of 5-3 in just three overs and it felt as though he would take a wicket with every ball that he bowled, he beat the inside edge of both Sam Robson and Middlesex wicket keeper John Simpson on several occasions but the pair survived through to lunch with their side still in trouble at 23-5, trailing by 296 runs.
The 31-year-old didn’t waste much time after lunch to pick up another scalp, this time he dismissed opener Robson for 18, caught at third slip by Weatherley, as the away side slipped to 31-6.
After bowling an eleven over spell either side of lunch, he was afforded a break with leg spinner Mason Crane replacing the Pakistan star with the ball.
Abbas has made 23 Test Match appearances for Pakistan since making his debut in 27 – taking 84 wickets in the process at an average of 22.80, so brings real quality to an already impressive Hampshire bowling attack.
Brad Wheal then cleaned up the final three wickets of the innings to save Abbas from needing to bowl again and with Hampshire electing to not enforce the follow on, it gave the 31-year-old seamer the chance to rest up and allow the batters to pile on the runs in the afternoon and into the evening.
This all meant that Abbas finished with figures of 6-11 from his 11 overs which included six maidens in a breathtaking spell of seam bowling.
Many were surprised that Vince elected not to enforce the follow on with a lead of 240 in the first innings but it gave the bowlers an opportunity to rest themselves further ahead of the final two days of the match.
The Hampshire overseas star is available for the first two months of the County Championship season which gives him a further five matches to play in on top of this game and the win against Leicestershire last week.
The home side ended the day in complete control on 204-2 with Ian Holland (90*) and Sam Northeast (99*) and will go into the penultimate day of the game with a commanding lead of 444 runs over Middlesex with eight second innings wickets remaining.
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]]>The Welshman laid on the first goal of the game for star man Arnaut Danjuma before the Dutchman later also picked out Brooks who applied a calm finish to net his first goal since December.
In the past few seasons, Brooks has found life tough, struggling with several injuries. He only made nine appearances in all competitions last term and that was only because it was extended due to the lockdown which was put in place due to Covid-19.
His season the year before was cut short, sustaining an injury in the 3-3 draw against Southampton at St Mary’s in April 2019 which meant he missed over a year of football for the Cherries.
However, following the club’s relegation to the Championship, he was surprisingly kept on with many people thinking that he would earn a move back to the Premier League but he knuckled down in pre-season and began the season under Jason Tindall, coming off the bench on the opening day win against Blackburn Rovers.
He has gone onto make 31 appearances for the club in all competitions this term, netting six goals in the process but had missed the past month and a half through injury, only returning against Blackburn Rovers on Easter Monday.
With six games remaining in the season, the Welshman will play a key role in ensuring the side secure a play-off place which they are well on track to do, currently placed in sixth, two points clear of Reading and holding a game in hand on the Berkshire club.
With Junior Stanislas struggling with an illness, Brooks’ return from injury was very timely and he linked up very well with Jack Wilshere and Danjuma in particular against the Sky Blues with the trio showing their quality throughout the game.
It’s a big few weeks for Brooks as he will be looking to be involved in the Wales squad for the upcoming Euro’s this summer having played in some of their qualification so will be keen to be in form going into the summer.
Everyone has always known just how strong a player Brooks is and can be in the future, he just needs to try and stay injury free to make sure that he fulfils his full potential which everyone knows is there.
He joined the Cherries from Sheffield United in July 2018 for a fee of £11.5 million and at the time everyone thought the club had got themselves a really good deal and they have but there is still much more there for him to show what he has got and a strong end to the season can increase his value further.
The 23-year-old has made 73 appearances in all competitons since his move to the South Coast from the Blades and has played well on the whole but there is still a new level which he can reach but needs to stay injury free for a sustained length of time to be able to reach this.
With six games remaining this season, Brooks will play a pivotal role to ensure that the Cherries get back to the Premier League at the first time of asking via the play-offs in May.
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]]>Relegation-threatened Coventry City are the visitors to Dorset this weekend and while they are still seven points clear of safety, they will be keen to pick up some more results to put further daylight between themselves and Rotherham in 22nd, although the Millers do have three games in hand on the Midlands club.
The Sky Blues have still got to play the South Yorkshire side in a week’s time so they will take anything from the visit to Bournemouth as a bonus.
They are now just a point away from the play-off places and have a game in hand on Reading who occupy that final berth in the top six. Brentford and Swansea have both also faltered in recent weeks which gives Jonathan Woodgate’s men real confidence going into the final seven games of the season.
They are now just four points behind the Swans and five behind the Bees having played the same number of games which gives them a massive chance of comfortably being in the play-offs come the final day of the season.
The south coast club have still got to face Thomas Frank’s Brentford in two weeks time which could be a pivotal clash if the Cherries are to end up ahead of the West London side in the final standings.
Swansea, however are the more likely team which Woodgate’s men could overtake away from Barnsley and Reading having lost four consecutive league clashes, including the 3-0 defeat at the Vitality Stadium in March.
There is now no real prospect of anyone else other than the top seven breaking through to the play-offs with Bournemouth seven points clear of Cardiff in eighth and have a game in hand to take advantage of.
Several players have stepped up in recent weeks but the form of Arnaut Danjuma has been exceptional, laying on six goals this term whilst also finding the back of the net on 11 occasions in just 29 appearances and has been one of the standout players all campaign.
Whilst Bournemouth are much more than a one man team, the Dutchman has been electric since returning from injury in the New Year and without his levels of consistency and output in front of goal, the Cherries would be a long way off where they want to be come the end of the season.
Getting a win this weekend if vital with the two sides directly above them, Reading and Barnsley facing tough tests themselves, against Watford and Middlesbrough respectively, so the Cherries could be on hand to take advantage of any slip-up which either side may make but the first job is to ensure they get the three points first.
This has been a brutal season due to the amount of games which have been squeezed into a short period of time but Bournemouth are just starting to hit the right note as the season approaches it’s conclusion with just seven games left for the Cherries.
Their game in hand against Huddersfield follows the game against the Sky Blues so it is crucial that they continue their form in what will be a vital week before a trip to Champions-elect Norwich City the following Saturday afternoon.
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The tourists were set 342 to win after the Proteas made an above par score which was set up by Quinton De Kock (80), Temba Bavumu (92), Rassie Van Der Dussen (60) and David Miller (50*).
However, it was poor start from Pakistan as they fell to 120-5 in the 25th over, although Zaman held strong and continued to give his side a fighting chance.
Wickets did continue to fall but all while the opener was there, there was always a chance, he just needed to find a partner who could support him but no other player made it past 31.
Zaman was then controversially run out by De Kock with the score on on 312-9 in the final over with the game all but gone.
It was some effort which just saw his side come up short by just 17 runs in what was a great display of batting.
The decider between the two sides takes place on Wednesday morning at 9am GMT.
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]]>The Columbian has featured 39 times in all competitions this term and netted his third goal of the season in the 3-1 win over Middlesbrough on Good Friday.
His job in the side doesn’t require him to score goals but he got the all important second which put his side back in front against Boro.
Lerma joined the Cherries back in 2018 for £25 million from Levante – a fee which raised many eyebrows but he is continuing to show just how good value for money he was when the club signed him.
Before this season, he was renowned for getting a lot of cautions but has now gone 10 matches since his last booking, that came in the 2-0 FA Cup win against Burnley at Turf Moor in February.
He had, however, received nine yellow cards and one red card before the end of January but under Jonathan Woodgate he seems to have been much more disciplined because there was a real danger that could reach close to 20 cautions come the end of the season but that is out of the question now.
Lerma has made 103 appearances for the club in all competitions since the move from La Liga three seasons ago and is showing real levels of consistency this season under the stewardship of Woodgate, who has been in charge since the win against Birmingham City in early February.
The 26-year-old has missed just three league games this season, two of which he was injured for (Bristol City and Derby County), the other of which he was out suspended for (Barnsley), so it just goes to show how important he is to the side, when available for selection, he plays.
Due to the reputation which the hard hitting midfielder has, it did come as a little bit of a surprise that he wasn’t picked up by a Premier League club when Bournemouth were relegated from the Premier League last term but you get the feeling that one way or another, he will be playing in the top tier somewhere in Europe next season.
Woodgate lauded Lerma’s play following the win over Boro in his post-match press conference.
“I don’t judge Jeff on goals but he deserved it but today I thought he was a man mountain in that midfield, I’m his biggest fan.
“If I was to describe a six to anyone, then he’s my favourite. He does everything every single game, he heads it, he runs, he tackles, he’s a special player for me.
“He hasn’t been booked for a while now and you do look at that (Yellow card problem) but you don’t want to take the fire out of his game, you’re harder to beat when you stay on your feet and try and close someone down.”
Lerma’s physicality in the midfield is always there, he loves putting in tackles and his desire to do well for the team is clear and he’s a vital cog in the Bournemouth machine.
He works incredibly hard every game and it was noticeable how big a loss he was before the international break against Southampton in the FA Cup when he was absent due to a suspension – you suspect it would have been a much closer outcome had Lerma been available for selection.
The Bournemouth midfielder plays as a number six, which allows the likes of Jack Wilshere and Phillip Billing a licence to get forward and go forward in attack with Lerma doing more the dirty work, break up and disrupting play, incredibly effectively every week.
When fit, the Columbian is one of the first names on the teamsheet and is a vital player for the side with his energy levels and ability in central midfield.
With the season building towards its finale, Cherries fans will now hope his performances can amount to helping his side claim a play-off place between now and the end of the campaign.
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]]>The West Indies captain is currently leading his country in a two-match series against Sri Lanka which is currently into the second game after the first one was drawn.
The 28-year-old has had spells away previously at the likes of Yorkshire, Glamorgan and Nottinghamshire between 2017-2019.
Gloucestershire’s season begins next Thursday with a visit from Surrey to the Bristol County Ground.
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]]>This is all because Jonathan Woodgate’s side are in action at 3pm on Good Friday, before the Tykes and the Royals meet in the early evening kick-off with huge implications for a number of clubs in the division.
Whilst Bournemouth can’t control what other clubs do, they know that they can put some real heat on the team currently occupying the final two places in the top six with victory over Boro.
If they can do so, they will move ahead of Reading on goal difference and just two points adrift of Barnsley having played the same number of games so you could argue that the perfect result at Oakwell for Bournemouth would be a draw but it’s vital they do their business on the pitch first.
However, standing in their way is Neil Warnock’s Middlesbrough who are just three points adrift of the Cherries but have played a game more due to Woodgate’s side’s involvement in the FA Cup before the international break.
Over the years, Warnock’s sides have always been tough to play against and this Middlesbrough side is no different, conceding just 39 goals so far this term which is the joint-seventh best record in the division with Millwall the only side below them who have conceded fewer.
They have largely been inconsistent though, this is indicated in their last five outings. Three wins have been secured but they have also been beaten twice in this run which implies that it’s very hard to know which type of Boro side you are going to get, especially given there has been a two-week break.
The Cherries have a very similar record themselves over the past five games, collecting a point more than Boro in that spell which has halted an alarming run of form which preceded it.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel in terms of the injuries with several first-team stars set to return to the fold on Good Friday after missing the Southampton FA Cup game.
Adam Smith, David Brooks and Junior Stanislas are all expected to be back involved with the side after time away. Jefferson Lerma will return from suspension and Lloyd Kelly will be back involved after missing the Swansea and Southampton games as he has been away with England Under 21’s at the European Championships during the break.
One player who has stood out for several weeks is winger Arnaut Danjuma and Woodgate has praised the talent of the Dutchman to the Bournemouth Echo.
“I’ve been chatting to Arnie quite regularly about doing this and how can he get on to the next stage. I think he’s been very good since I’ve come in.
“He seems in a good place. He’s confident. He’s working really, really hard for the team now, which I think is important.
“If you add that to your game, you can only get better. He’s got a lot of ability.
With just nine games remaining in Bournemouth’s season, it’s vital they hit the ground running with two games in just four days as they also make the trip to Lancashire on Easter Monday to face Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.
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