Dom Sibley ton puts Warwickshire on road to cup victory
An opening stand of 152 between centurion Dom Sibley and Rob Yates paved the way for Warwickshire’s emphatic eight-wicket Royal London Cup win over Gloucestershire at Cheltenham College.
The home side posted 264 all out from 48.5 overs after losing the toss, Ben Wells (76) and Zafar Gohar (62) hitting career-best List A scores, while former Gloucestershire seamer Craig Miles claimed three for 53.
That total looked below par on a true pitch and a lightning outfield.
So it proved, as Sibley finished unbeaten on 106 off 107 balls and Yates blasted 87, with 11 fours and a six, as Warwickshire raced to their target with 11.2 overs to spare.
Gloucestershire were left to rue too many batting errors as they suffered a third defeat in as many Cheltenham Festival fixtures, despite an encouraging start.
Sibley said afterwards: “It was my first white ball game in a while for various reasons and really good fun.
“I enjoy batting with Rob Yates and he was flying, really taking the pressure off me with the way he played.
“I just want to keep contributing to winning games of cricket for Warwickshire before leaving and if possible help them win this competition and stay up in the Championship.
“I think we have a great chance in the Royal London Cup.
“We have restricted Gloucestershire to a total that was well below par and then made the light of the chase so that is encouraging for the rest of the competition.”
