Changing roles 'mentally frustrating' - Hughes

Phillip Hughes doesn't bowl but he's rapidly becoming a different type of allrounder in this Australia line-up. After all, how many players can say they have batted in every position from opener to No. 6 in the space of five games? More than that, how many players could say they have done it with the success of Hughes, who has scored half-centuries everywhere except No. 4 on this Ashes tour?

It was not surprising that after his 84 as a reinstated opener on the first day against Sussex, Hughes used the word "frustrating" to describe his constant shimmying up and down the order. But if the tour seems like one long game of snakes and ladders to Hughes, he also knows that he has in his power the ability to make one of these positions his own. Instead, two scores of 1 batting at second drop at Lord's have potentially made him vulnerable ahead of the Old Trafford Test.

David Warner's 193 for Australia A in South Africa and Steven Smith's potential century at Hove could have the selectors considering Hughes' place in the lead-up to the third Test. That would be a strange scenario for the man who has scored more runs in the first-class matches on this tour than any other Australian, and the man who made a mature, patient unbeaten 81 at Trent Bridge, while his partner Ashton Agar was stealing the attention.

"I feel like I'm very comfortable at the crease at the moment," Hughes said. "The last Test match obviously didn't go to plan personally but it's only one game. I felt like the first Test match, the 80 I scored was probably one of the better innings I've scored in the international arena. Overall I feel confident and hopefully I'll be in that third Test side when it's selected. But you never know ... we'll have to just wait and see.

"It's quite bizarre [moving up and down the order] ... At times it can be tough to get your head around the different positions but you've just got to get on with it and that's the bottom line ... I don't mind where I bat but when you do bat one to six, mentally it can be frustrating. It is about opportunity as well. If you do get one position you do want to nail it down. I haven't nailed it down and that is why they have mixed it up and given people an opportunity."

Hughes started the tour with an unbeaten 76 batting at No. 5 against Somerset and was promoted to No.3 in the second innings of that match, when he made 50. In the second warm-up match against Worcestershire he made 19 not out at No. 6 and 86 at first drop. But since his 81 not out at No.6 in the first innings at Trent Bridge, he has followed up with 0, 1 and 1, and he knows that Test runs will count for vastly more than those against county attacks.

"When you lose Test matches there are obviously changes," he said. "When you lose it is not a good thing. It is about finding the right balance. You dont know what they are going to do. It is about improving day in and day out and doing the best you can in these games.

"I think there's always competition and that's a good thing. It's great to see Davey score a big 190 for Australia A and I thought we all batted quite well today. Ed Cowan up front, then Steve Smith and myself. It's always been competition from the word go. That's a good thing."

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'I was fortunate they dropped my catches' - Dhawan

After his startling reincarnation as an international opener, it's easy to forget that Shikhar Dhawan was once written off by many observers as being unfit for national service. Since his return to ODIs at the Champions Trophy, he has scored 631 runs at 57.36, relying mainly on his silken touch through the off side. In the course of his third ODI century, however, he relied as much on luck as anything else.

"The wicket wasn't easy to bat on," he said after his Man-of-the-Match performance against Zimbabwe. "The ball was swinging and cutting, and they bowled really well in the first 25 overs. I was just fortunate enough that they dropped my catches today."

Despite their lapses in the field, Zimbabwe had reduced India to 65 for 4 before Dhawan found an able partner in Dinesh Karthik - incidentally, another cricketer who has, more than once, been discarded by the national side. "The team really needed a big partnership when we were four or five down, and myself and Dinesk Karthik played really well and made a big score for our team," Dhawan said.

"We're really happy. It was a very important partnership which brought us back into the game. We knew that we had to score big runs on this wicket because it gets much better in the second innings. Then things went our way."

Cricket was a slightly different game when Dhawan was first picked for India, and as an opener one of the rule-changes that he has had to pay particular attention to is that which stipulates that a new ball will be used from each end in ODIs. The rule means that batsmen have to deal with a hard, moving ball for longer than they used to.

"It's more difficult nowadays because you've got new balls from both ends," Dhawan explained. "When the ball is swinging you really need to play close to your body. You'll see that in the first 10 overs, openers are not scoring that many nowadays because the ball is new and it swings a lot and you have to be more careful. Shot selection is very important, because you don't want to lose wickets at the start and put pressure on the rest of the side."

Dhawan's international resurrection has occurred during a transitional phase for Indian cricket, and he has been given another chance thanks partly to the fading fortunes of long-time opening pair Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir. Such periods of upheaval present myriad challenges, but India have so far largely weathered them, recently winning the Champions Trophy and scrapping their way to success in the Caribbean tri-series.

Dhawan said he was pleased with what he saw from the team. "Our team is gelling really nicely. All the young boys are very fit and really good in the field. Fielding-wise, we have really improved a lot. I feel like everything is working our way."

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India dominate but Sri Lanka hold on for draw

India Under-19s 503 for 7 dec (Zol 173, Samson 89, Karunaratne 4-94) drew with Sri Lanka Under-19s 256 (Kulasekara 76, Yadav 4-95) and 264 for 9 (Samarawickrama 88, Sumanasiri 62)
Scorecard

Sri Lanka's final-wicket partnership withstood 55 balls to salvage a draw against India in Dambulla. Following on after they could only muster 256 in the first innings in reply to India's 503 - a total courtesy a magnificent 173 from captain Vijay Zol - Sri Lanka's No. 8 Ramesh Medis and No. 11 Lakshan Jayasinghe held firm till close of play.

India were asked to bat first and their top five all passed fifty. Shubham Khajuria dominated a 79-run opening partnership, striking 10 fours during an innings of 52 off 61 balls, while his partner Akhil Herwadkar collected his 71 runs at a more sedate pace. But India's innings revolved around Zol's century, which included 21 fours and two sixes. He and Sanju Samson, who made 89, put India on top with a third-wicket partnership of 200 runs. Samson was denied a century by Chamika Karunaratne, who also accounted for Zol and finished as Sri Lanka's best bowler with four wickets. Shreyas Iyer chipped in with 65 as India declared at 503 for 7.

Sri Lanka needed one of their batsmen to emulate Zol, but their top score was a patient 76 from Kavindu Kulasekara. Having begun gingerly, they lost Kusal Mendis in the eighth over, before opener Hashan Dumindu and Kulasekara steadied the innings. Kuldeep Yadav, who picked up four wickets in the innings, broke their 76-run stand for the second wicket. Minod Bhanuka was the only other batsman to cross fifty but after he became the fourth wicket to fall with the score at 197, India wrapped up remaining batsmen for an additional 59 runs and invited Sri Lanka to follow-on.

Mendis fell early again and was followed by Kulasekara in the 13th over. Iyer compounded Sri Lanka's problems by removing Dumindu and Bhanuka off successive balls before Sri Lanka recovered through Sadeera Samarawickrama, whose 88 off 141 balls included 15 fours and a six.

But the home side were staring at defeat when Samawickrama fell, soon after notching up Sri Lanka's only century partnership in the match with Thilaksha Sumanasiri. Sumanasiri's half-century continued the resistance, though, and he ate away enough time before he fell for 62 off 133 balls for the last-wicket pair to hold on till the end of day's play.

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Chopra, Maddy keep knockouts in view

Warwickshire 149 for 2 (Chopra 75*) beat Worcestershire 145 for 8 (Woakes 3-28) by eight wickets
Scorecard

Varun Chopra and Darren Maddy tormented Worcestershire again by leading Warwickshire to an eight-wicket win in the Friends Life t20 West Midlands derby at Edgbaston.

The pair followed up their Warwickshire record partnership for any wicket in the competition - 119 at New Road two weeks ago - with one of 107 for the second wicket to keep Warwickshire in the hunt for a quarter-final place.

Chopra, Warwickshire's acting captain, topped his previous competition-best of 65 made at New Road with an unbeaten 75 and Maddy followed his unbeaten 84 at Worcester with 44 from 35 balls. Warwickshire's win was their fifth in six games and set up a possible showdown for a quarter-final place with Somerset at Edgbaston on Tuesday.

Worcestershire failed to capitalise on their best start to an innings in this season's competition after the aggressive Moeen Ali and Thilan Samaraweera added 60 in seven overs.

They were expertly reined in by New Zealand offspinner Jeetan Patel and seamer Steffan Piolet and ultimately restricted to 145 for 8 on a good batting pitch.

Ali showed his attacking intentions from the start by pulling offspinner Ateeq Javid for two leg-side sixes in the first over of the match. Ali survived a difficult chance to William Porterfield at extra cover off Patel but failed to capitalise as he fell later in the same over by top-edging a pull, giving Porterfield the chance to atone for his earlier lapse.

Samaraweera also failed to turn his solid start into a more substantial score and he was bowled off-stump for 33 driving at a full-length ball from Piolet.

Only Alexei Kervezee, whose workmanlike score of 27 came from 28 balls, threatened to break the shackles imposed by Patel and Piolet. But England international Chris Woakes snuffed out further resistance by taking a season's best 3 for 28 including Ben Cox, caught lbw sweeping, and Joe Leach, bowled middle stump heaving across the line, in an accurate final over.

Worcestershire made an early breakthrough when Andre Russell bowled Porterfield with a beauty but Chopra and Maddy took control in front of a 12,000 crowd before Maddy was caught behind driving at Russell.

Chopra, who struck six fours and three sixes from 57 balls, and Rikki Clarke both struck leg-side sixes off Gareth Andrew to accelerate Warwickshire to victory with 15 balls to spare.

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Glamorgan's Friday night party

Glamorgan have a terrific chance to progress to the quarter-finals of the Friends Life t20, but is on-field success or the days of the week the key factor for pulling in the crowds?

Cricket in Cardiff is most often a placid affair. The gentle flow of the River Taff matching a sedate nature inside the Swalec Stadium that, on the whole, reflects county cricket around the country. But over the last few weeks of Twenty20 there has been something a little different if you turn up on a Friday night.

The club are hopeful of a record attendance when they take on Northamptonshire. The previous mark for a domestic game in Cardiff is 9,200; a T20 against Gloucestershire in 2010 when Australian fast bowler Shaun Tait made his debut on a balmy Friday night. The ground was a little over half full.

Now all the stars have finally aligned and the club can welcome in the numbers one would hope for. They have a huge catchment area to draw from (and they're letting anyone over 16 named George in for free in honour of the Prince of Cambridge).

The Northamptonshire fixture is a top of the table meeting, the forecast is excellent (the ECB have struck lucky with the timing of the recent dry spell, although they were due a break on that front) and most crucially it's on a Friday night. For Friday night really is cricket night, Glamorgan have found. Perhaps, then, it's a good job the Friends Life t20 is changing to a season-long competition next year.

"When it comes to the debate over T20 whether to play it on certain nights of the week or in a block, from our perspective people have voted with their feet," Alan Hamer, Glamorgan chief executive, told ESPNcricinfo. "We had a big crowd for the Somerset game two weeks ago and we're expecting a similar attendance tomorrow.

"We've only have two Friday matches this year but for them both to be very well attended tells you something. On Tuesday we had good weather and got 3,200. Similarly against Warwickshire, midweek match, 2,500 turned up.

"People who come on a Friday treat it more as social event, they wouldn't come midweek. A few years ago we played Northants, both sides were out of the competition and we still ended up with the highest crowd of the season."

Glamorgan, no longer the Dragons, just plain old Glamorgan, are on the verge of a quarter-final. Should they beat Northamptonshire or Gloucestershire they will be very unlucky not to qualify from the group stage for only the third time. Both remaining matches are at home and the cricket they have produced suggests they should be confident.

But how much does all of that actually matter?. It seems spectators want an occasion, a fete, a party, rather than a sporting event and something that fits in with the working week. And they can all come on a Friday night. No bucking broncos, walk-on girls or darts players - cringeworthy gimmicks tried by various counties - are going to drag them out at any other time.

Glamorgan's players might be a little miffed at the suggestion that their efforts alone are not enough to woo the crowds because they've bucked their ideas up this season. It is five years since their last appearance in the knockout stage. And that was by default. Yorkshire were thrown out of the 2008 competition for fielding an illegible player. Glamorgan took their place but lost to Durham.

Nine years ago, therefore, was their only bona fide journey beyond the group stage, when Warwickshire were turned over in Cardiff in front of 6,000 packing out the old Sophia Gardens ground.

Could Glamorgan add another 11,000 to that figure for a home quarter-final this year? They would certainly like the opportunity and have a strong case to do so, having won five from five to begin the competition in style. They only lost to Northamptonshire at Wantage Road off the last ball but it proved more than an aberration as thumpings by Somerset and Gloucestershire followed.

The campaign was back on course after a well-paced chase against Worcestershire - a fourth successful chase in their five wins. Guiding them home on Tuesday were two experience heads, Jim Allenby and Murray Goodwin, both of whom the club are keen to secure for next season but both of whom are considering their futures. Allenby was vexed when he was dropped as T20 captain and 40-year-old Goodwin wants a season longer than the one-year deal Glamorgan have offered him.

But success on the field may simply be a happy sideshow for the Friday night soiree that appeals to the locals. Glamorgan are gradually building the largest garden party west of the Severn Bridge.

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Taylor calls for bolder batting

Zimbabwean top-order collapses have been as ubiquitous as the kombis (mini-vans) on the local roads in the last decade. During that time, on average, the score usually hasn't yet reached 30 by the time the first wicket falls. The loss of early wickets has clearly been identified as a problem area by the coaching department, and in that regard Sikandar Raza and Vusi Sibanda's effort in the first ODI was pretty impressive.

But Zimbabwe will never be able to set the sorts of totals that allow them to compete in one-day cricket with such a defensive mindset, and especially not against a batting side as strong as India. What is needed is a balance between attack and defence, and with limited opportunities to strike this balance in match situations, Zimbabwe have to learn on the job.

To that end, captain Brendan Taylor has suggested that his side's batsmen will be more proactive in the second one-day on Friday. The hosts' opening batsmen defied India's seamers for almost 22 overs in testing conditions in the first match, but struggled to score quickly and Zimbabwe's eventual score failed to challenge India's strong batting line-up.

"We need to have that positive approach with our batting because that can only lead to being competitive and winning against better sides," said Taylor. "Our main goal [on Wednesday] was to keep wickets in hand. Watching in the changing room we felt the ball was doing a great deal and the batters consolidated pretty nicely but it was just too risky to go after them. Tomorrow we might have to change that because batting first, 230 or 240 is not going to be enough."

Much has been made of the importance of the toss in this series, and Zimbabwe will be hoping that Virat Kohli calls incorrectly and they won't have to bat first thing in the morning when the ball is nipping around. "Unfortunately it could boil down to the toss, but that's not to take anything away from the way the Indians outplayed us. I think they showed why they are one of the top teams in the world. But they made it extremely difficult for us in the morning and the wicket did flatten out in the afternoon which made it tough for our bowlers."

Whether they bat first or second, Zimbabwe will still have to deal with legspinner Amit Mishra's wily variations. Mishra removed both Vusi Sibanda and Hamilton Masakadza with unpicked googlies, and also got rid of top-scorer Sikandar Raza to finish as the most successful bowler with 3 for 43. "All the guys are saying they've read [Mishra's googly], but it doesn't look like they have," added Taylor. "We've faced him before, and I think that first game was a bit of nerves."

Zimbabwe's own spinners couldn't match Mishra's efforts. Prosper Utseya was gifted the wickets of Kohli and Suresh Raina once the match was as good as won, and Tino Mutombodzi was dispatched for an exorbitant 65 runs in 7.5 wicketless overs. The Zimbabweans may consider bringing in a fourth seamer, with left-arm quick Brian Vitori having been left out of the first game. "There's a discussion about a fourth seamer but to be honest we haven't even announced the side yet," explained Taylor. "I think we'll know first thing in the morning, but maybe a fourth seamer instead of a spinner because they play their spin pretty well."

Zimbabwe will have learnt that Kohli plays both spin and seam very well, and without the firepower to blast him out Taylor admitted that his side's best chance of removing the Indian captain could be to maintain their own discipline and hope that he makes an error. "When the wicket's flat it seems nearly impossible [to get Kohli out]. He's a class player and he's done it against the best teams in the world, but we just need to keep it simple to him and hopefully try and frustrate him and let him make his own mistakes."

Zimbabwe trained for several hours on the eve of the second match, with Raza turning up early for some one-on-one practice with Grant Flower. It's clear that they want very badly to succeed, and it's hard to overstate just how crucial success in this series and the ones against Pakistan and Sri Lanka is.

"The importance of the next two or three months is huge and that's what we keep discussing," said Taylor. "It's up to us players to try to contribute to getting the public back in and getting sponsors back in so it's a big time for us and a couple of good results against the best side in the world can only do us some good."

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Stokes keeps Durham's quarter-final hopes flickering

Durham 120 for 5 (Stokes 41*, Taylor 4-11) beat Leicestershire 119 for 7 (Thakor 42, Rushworth 3-19) by five wickets
Scorecard

Ben Stokes and Gareth Breese propelled Durham to a third successive win in the Friends Life Twenty20 against Leicestershire at Chester-le-Street.

Coming together on 56 for 5 in the 13th over in pursuit of Leicestershire's modest total of 119 for 7, they shared an unbroken stand of 64 runs in 5.4 overs to see their side to a five-wicket win with two overs to spare.

After hitting five sixes in each of the two previous wins, Stokes hammered three more in his unbeaten 41 off 26 balls and Breese made 24 off 15.

With one group game left at home to Derbyshire on Sunday, Durham still have a slim chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals. Leicestershire now have no hope of progress.

Their defeat was tough on allrounder Rob Taylor, who raised their hopes after a feeble betting performance by taking 4 for 11 in four overs of accurate left-arm swing.

Durham scored only six runs in four overs in the middle of their innings and it was when Anthony Ireland was guilty of a fumble at long-off that the floodgates opened. It allowed Stokes to go back for a second run and he hit two of the next four balls from Shakib Al Hasan for six over long-on and backward square leg. In the next over he pulled Shiv Thakor for six, while Breese produced some clever improvisations in hitting four fours.

After being put in Leicestershire did not get going at all until Taylor and Ned Eckersley scored 23 off the last two overs. Chris Rushworth's opening burst of 3 for 10 in three overs stifled Leicestershire, who were indebted to England Under 19 allrounder Thakor for holding things together with 42 off 38 balls.

He hit one four and a six over long-off, otherwise there were only two boundaries in the innings until Eckersley hit Stokes for four and six in the final over.

Phil Mustard's fine form at the start of the competition has deserted him since Durham started winning and in the second over of the reply he drove at an away-swinger from Ireland and edged to Joe Burns at slip.

Acting captain Mark Stoneman fell for 12 when he drove Taylor to cover, then Will Smith was caught behind and Scott Borthwick clipped a catch to midwicket in to end a good innings of 30. Taylor also had Gordon Muchall lbw, but once his spell was finished Durham cut loose.

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Lord's sell-out watch Middlesex crash

Surrey 178 for 7 (O'Brien 54, Patel 3-28, Berg 3-37) beat Middlesex 92 by 86 runs
Scorecard

It was over so quickly that people didn't really know what to do with themselves. Some stayed in their seats, others meandered - all finishing off the food, drink and conversations that would have lasted them 20 minutes more. The rest sidled out into the streets of North-West London, muttering about one of the worst Middlesex performances in recent memory.

For the first time in their Twenty20 history, Middlesex failed to reach three figures. It was rather uneasy to watch; Dawid Malan, Joe Denly, Adam Voges and Paul Stirling managing to face only 21 deliveries between them, amassing 25 runs. Eoin Morgan hit the hardest nine runs you'll ever hear, before Jason Roy took a superb catch at backward point. He would drop one later, eliciting the second biggest sarcastic cheer of the night - first coming in the games' aftermath when St John's Wood station was deemed open, just minutes after the PA announced it was closed.

But if Middlesex were bereft of ideas, it was because Surrey weren't giving them any clues. Their in-fielding was top notch, backing up some impressive bowling, particularly from Chris Tremlett who looked as quick as he has done this season.

Essentially, the game was settled on who utilised the boundary away to the Tavern and Mound Stand best. "Barely 45 yards," according to Kevin O'Brien, who pillaged 54 in just 24 balls. However, it was his Irish counterpart Stirling on the opposition who made the most emphatic use of the abbreviated edge when he hooked Tremlett out of the ground. It was the only maximum Middlesex could muster.

O'Brien will join Ricky Ponting - kept out of today with a groin complaint - in the Caribbean Twenty20, which he sets off for on Sunday. As such, he will be unavailable for the knockout stages of the FLt20, but he has helped Surrey get closer to them with this win seeing them leapfrog Middlesex into third via run rate, with two games left to play.

It was a shame that Middlesex's home campaign in the competition ended in such a disappointing manner in front of a bumper crowd of 28,000. Is it a London thing? Surrey have also boasted sell outs at The Oval this season, and it will again be the case tomorrow when Hampshire visit.

The capital's two grounds are 45 minutes and two trains apart, and there may indeed be a crossover of neutrals, but they are shining advertisements that Twenty20 cricket is a good thing. The vitality it brings to the domestic game cannot be understated, not least when it comes to carrying through a new generation of fans - one that was probably lost in the time before free hits. Just ask Roy who was mobbed like the boy band member he resembles when he stepped out of the Pavilion to head home, by a crowd of kids baying for his signature on programmes, mini bats and boundary signs.

As the crowds settled in, Surrey were flustering to 17 for 2. But it was the promotion of O'Brien to No. 4 that proved to be the making of Surrey's innings, as he made use of 11 of the remaining Powerplay deliveries available to him to score 29.

At the other end, Vikram Solanki was proving a contrasting foil for O'Brien, as they put on 90 - Surrey's highest partnership for any wicket in the competition this season. They batted with such polarising ways and means that you could imagine them flat sharing in the lower east side of Manhattan; Solanki, the city slicker, all class and convention, and O'Brien, the small town biffer, with larger than life personality and tree trunks for arms. Cue your conventional sitcom capers.

The difference in their methods was perhaps most evident when it came to their approach to the short boundary. While Solanki danced and flicked Ravi Patel to midwicket for six, O'Brien clubbed and muscled. Both fell in Patel's final over, as the left-arm spinner finished with the impressive figures of 3 for 28 in his four, the only Middlesex player to leave Lord's with anything to celebrate, albeit sheepishly.

Gareth Berg might have been another when he quelled a last over blitz with some fine yorkers to concede only four runs by taking two wickets. It turned out to be rather pointless in the end, as Middlesex flopped in London's dusk and all but quashed their FLt20 dreams.

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'More than nervous, I was emotional' - Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu's personal history has all the makings of a classic bildungsroman. The early promise of a teenage prodigy, the growing pains, the rebel years, and now redemption. The final chapter of his story is yet to be written, but now that he's enjoyed a successful debut for India, it's a lot more likely that his ending will be a happy one.

"It feels marvelous," said Rayudu after he shared a match-winning 159-run stand with Virat Kohli to help thump Zimbabwe by six wickets in the series opener at Harare Sports Club. Kohli departed before the match was won - though not before racking up a 15th ODI century - but Rayudu stood firm and hit the winning runs off a Tinotenda Mutombodzi full toss.

"It's been pretty emotional," he said. "More than nervous, I was very emotional." If that was the case, he hid his emotions well after entering with India at 57 for 2 with the openers back in the pavilion. India weren't exactly under intense pressure at the time, but the match was far from won.

With Kohli stroking the ball supremely at the other end, Rayudu was afforded the luxury of time and space to play himself in, and left three of his first 10 deliveries alone. Placing the ball and running well, he left the bulk of the aggressive stroke play to Kohli and reached a debut fifty, off 74 deliveries, in the 39th over.

"I think he's playing the best cricket possible," Rayudu said of Kohli. "I definitely feel that he's the best in the world right now in the one-day format. He made it a lot easier for me, and I was just looking at the way he was constructing his innings. It's a very good learning experience."

Rayudu's clashes with authority over the years have been well documented, and a large tattoo on the side of his neck completes the 'bad boy' image, but it was at the IPL that he found a support structure to temper his fiery side and harness his potential. Whether the tournament helps or hinders young cricketers' development is a deeply divisive issue, but in Rayudu's case the Mumbai Indians set-up seemed to bring out the best in him.

"My family, my friends and especially the Mumbai Indians support staff [have been there for me]," Rayudu said. "Sachin [Tendulkar] and Robin Singh especially. They've helped me a lot, and I'd definitely like to thank them for that.

"I always had the belief that if I could get things right and I could get my mind right I could make it into the team one day, and I'm really happy that I got my chance today."

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Penalty compounds Gloucs misery

Warwickshire 149 for 3 (Clarke 40) beat Gloucestershire 145 for 7 (Klinger 68, Javid 3-26) by 0 wickets
Scorecard

Warwickshire kept their hopes of reaching the Friends Life t20 quarter-finals alive while inflicting further misery on Gloucestershire with a seven-wicket win at Edgbaston.

The Bears paced their chase of a 126-run target to perfection with Varun Chopra and William Porterfield leading the way with an opening stand of 68 and Rikki Clarke clobbering 40 from 21 balls.

Gloucestershire's defeat, which ended their own slim hopes of making the knockout stages, followed the decision by an England and Wales Cricket Board pitch panel to deduct them two points from next year's competition for the substandard surface they prepared for their home group match against Warwickshire at Cheltenham on July 14.

The Gladiators, who were shot out for 96 at Cheltenham, were more competitive this time and made 145 for seven after they were put in thanks to captain Michael Klinger's 68 from 52 balls. It took Klinger time to assess the pace of a pitch that Warwickshire used for last Saturday's win over Northamptonshire and the Australia A right-hander managed only 21 runs in the first 10 overs.

But Klinger found his range by pulling Steffan Piolet over the short-midwicket boundary before reverse sweeping Ateeq Javid for a second six. Klinger's third six, swept off Piolet, took him to a 40-ball half century but he perished in the penultimate over of the innings when he was bowled while aiming Jeetan Patel through the off-side.

Apart from Klinger only Ian Cockbain, who also launched Piolet for a six in his quickfire 25, really got to grips with Warwickshire's miserly offspinners.

Javid followed up his four wickets at Cheltenham with 3 for 26 and Patel, who bowled Ed Young with his last ball, finished with a season's best 2 for 13.

Chopra and Porterfield's partnership ensured there was no chance of a repeat of Warwickshire collapse against Somerset on Sunday when they were shot out for 73, their lowest Twenty20 total.

Porterfield eased to 34 from 30 balls, comfortably his highest score in this season's competition, but then carved Alex Gidman to Cockbain at point and Chopra also perished when well set, falling lbw while trying to sweep slow left-armer Tom Smith.

Clarke then struck three sixes off Young in what proved to be the decisive over before he picked out deep midwicket, and Darren Maddy guided Warwickshire home with 14 balls to spare.

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