Short stars Aussie hits 83 as county maintain winning run

‘ARCY Short's thrilling half century saw resurgent Gloucestershire beat Middlesex by nine runs at Bristol's Seat Unique Stadium to extend their winning run in the Vitality Blast to four games and keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages.

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The Australian left-hander clubbed a breathtaking 83 from 48 balls, and staged stands of 100 and 52 with Miles Hammond and Cameron Bancroft to propel Gloucestershire to 204-5 after they had lost the toss.

Hammond weighed in with a hard-hitting 48 from 33 balls, Bancroft contributed 30 not out from 19 deliveries and Ben Charlesworth smashed a nine-ball 22, while ex-Gloucestershire spinner Zafar Gohar claimed 3-54.

Stephen Eskinazi made a game of it, scoring a superb 75 from 41 balls in an opening stand of 87 in 7.5 overs with Kane Williamson, who made 34.

But Gloucestershire’s bowlers held their nerve, Josh Shaw claiming 3-48, including the wicket of Eskinazi, and David Payne and Graeme van Buuren returning figures of 1-22 and 1-28 respectively as the visitors came up short on 195-7.

Short said: “When you put on a score like that, it’s always nice to come out of the game with a win. When you're chasing a big score, you have to go for it from the start and Kane Williamson and Stephen Eskinazi made that happen.