Taylor targets home semi-final for Gloucestershire

GLOUCESTERSHIRE will be looking to assure themselves of a home semifinal in the Metro Bank One Day Cup when they take on Hampshire at the Seat Unique Stadium today.

- By MARTIN SMITH

Jack Taylor's side stayed top of Group A, despite going down to their first defeat on Sunday when Essex beat them by 130 runs at Chelmsford.

Essex’s Tom Westley continued his late-summer purple patch of run accumulation with a wellcrafted 92. Essex had looked set for a bigger total score while Westley was at the crease. But from 182-2 they lost eight wickets in 15 overs, subsiding to 289 all out, to a Gloucestershire spin attack that found turn and grip on a worn Chelmsford wicket. Jack Taylor led the way with his leg breaks for career-best List A figures of 5-61.