Soggy evening at Chelmsford brings frustration for the Eagles (From Braintree and Witham Times)

By Martin Smith

Essex and Gloucestershire were frustrated by the weather as their Natwest T20 Blast match was abandoned at Chelmsford without a ball being bowled.

Gloucestershire suffered their third no-result and second complete wash-out, of the NatWest T20 Blast season when play was rained off despite the toss being taken at the Cloudfm County Ground.

There were five pitch inspections during an evening of intermittent rain and play was due to start in a five-overs-a-side game at 9.28pm on Saturday.

But further rain after Gloucestershire had won the toss and decided to field led to umpires Graham Lloyd O’Shaugnessy abandoning the televised match.

The call-off saw Essex remain bottom of the south group and their hopes of going through receded further after the rain had fallen without much let-up from mid-afternoon onwards.

Gloucestershire’s fourth one-point return – which includes a tie in the opening game – left them in seventh place, but within a point of Middlesex in the last of the four qualifying places for the knock-out stages.

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