Marshall helps keep Glos hopes alive in competition.

Hamish Marshall top scored with 85 as Gloucestershire bounced back to winning ways in the Clydesdale Bank 40 with a 77-run victory over Middlesex Panthers at Lord's.

The Gladiators responded to last Sunday's defeat by Essex Eagles at Chelmsford with a comprehensive success, bowling out the home side for just 169 in 31.3 overs.

That was after Marshall's 71-ball innings and a half-century from Jonathan Batty had helped the visitors post 246, having won the toss.

Anthony Ireland claimed 3-36 from five overs in the Middlesex innings and there were two wickets each for Steve Kirby and Vikram Banerjee.

Skipper Alex Gidman told this website: "It was a tremendous performance by the team. We were so aggressive in the field and in the end defended our total comfortably.

"There was a really good partnership between Marshall and Batty and the only fault was that we probably should have got 20 or 30 more runs.

"We know what we have to do to perform well in this competitions and most of the necessary things came together."

The result means Gloucestershire have won two of their first three Group B games in the 40-over competition.

Their next game in it is at home to Northamptonshire on Sunday week.

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