Alex Gidman: The weather was the only winner at Cheltenham – again

ON THE face of it, this year's Cheltenham Cricket Festival could certainly have gone better for Gloucestershire. As though the wet weather that washed out four of the 11 days at the College Ground was not bad enough, we only managed to win one of the four games played, a CB40 victory over Worcestershire.

We were comprehensively outplayed by Middlesex in the 40-over competition during a weekend that also saw us contrive to throw away a winning position and have to settle for a draw in the championship match against Leicestershire.

But results alone can sometimes be misleading and a detailed analysis of our performance suggests a number of reasons to be cheerful.

In fact, there are a number of factors that lead me to conclude that our young players are learning quickly and making real progress this season.

Although we lost by ten wickets to Middlesex, there were still a number of positives to take from the game, namely the fact we managed to post 214-8 against a very strong bowling attack.

It was not enough in the end, but it compared well with what me might have done in similar circumstances in recent seasons.

I can recall a time when we would probably have been 40-4 and really struggling against good opposition on that wicket.

But we managed to lay some solid foundations after a slow start and that was a big plus for sure.

If losing to Middlesex was a bad day at the office, beating Worcestershire in the CB40 was most definitely a good day.

We have tended to either win or lose easily this season and I was especially pleased to see us come through in a close game that could have gone either way.

How your players respond under pressure in a tight situation says a lot about any team and, at five wickets down chasing a modest total, we were definitely having a wobble.

I am glad to say I was joined by Ed Young and later James Fuller, and those two both demonstrated a good deal of composure to help dig us out of trouble and cross the finish line with three wickets in hand.

We would certainly have struggled to get the innings back on track if that had happened at any time in the last few seasons.

The guys deserve credit for toughing it out and making sure their earlier good work did not go to waste.

I know many of our supporters felt disappointed that we were unable to chase down 222 to beat Leicestershire on the final day of the Championship game at Cheltenham.

There is no doubt we should have finished the job when needing 47 off ten overs with six wickets in hand and we know it was an opportunity missed.

But people have to remember we chased in a really mature fashion and laid foundations in a way that would simply not have been possible even a year ago. I remember a time not so very long ago when we would have been holding on and trying to survive for a draw during the final two hours.

Although we lost our composure when it came to crunch time, we at least gave ourselves a chance to win the game and that was pleasing.

It shows the guys are gaining valuable batting experience and learning from previous mistakes and shortcomings. That represents progress and it cannot be ignored in any assessment of our season so far.

I did not expect to come away from the Cheltenham Festival in a position where Gloucestershire were challenging on all three fronts.

Although we lost our Friends Life t20 quarter-final against Sussex last night, we are still very much in the hunt in the CB40 competition.

Even though we lost to Middlesex, our fate remains in our own hands and, providing we beat Holland in Amsterdam this Friday and then get a result against Lancashire at Old Trafford the following Monday, we will be in control of the group and in with a great chance of making the semi-finals.

All is not lost in Division Two of the Championship either. We have six games still to play and, as we have seen in previous years, back-to-back wins can propel you up the table and put you in contention.

One thing is for sure, there is still a lot of cricket to be played between now and the end of the season and we are going to be involved in some really big games.

Interview: Andy Stockhausen

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