Players go into Somerset match in confident mood - Klinger
1 August 2015
Michael Klinger says Gloucestershire will take confidence from their NatWestT20 Blast win over Somerset when their local rivals visit the Bristol County Ground this Sunday.
The skipper made 58 to help his side to an eight wicket victory at Taunton last month and will be hoping for a repeat performance in the Royal London One-Day Cup.
He said: “We beat them a couple of weeks ago in the shorter format and we will definitely take confidence from the T20 into the one-dayers.
“The boys enjoy playing against them so all we want is a decent day and a big crowd in and I'm sure it'll be a competitive game.”
Tickets are still available for the final derby clash between the sides this summer. You can buy them here or on the gate on the day.
And Michael is urging fans to come down and support his team.
He said: “We’ve seen in the T20 games both home and away the atmosphere was unbelievable and we hope our supporters will come down and cheer us on.”
Both sides go into the game on the back of victories.
Somerset claimed their first win of the tournament as they beat Worcestershire by 56 runs. And Gloucestershire followed up their dramatic six wicket win over Derbyshire with another nail-biting last ball victory against Leicestershire.
Glos currently sit fourth in the table, only behind the two teams above them on run rate, while Somerset are sixth.
Glos and also finished above their neihbours in the NatWest T20 Blast.
But Michael says he doesn’t expect that to have much of a bearing on the match and anticipates a hard-fought contest on Sunday.
He said: “They got over the line in a close T20 game here, and we had a win down there so it should be tight. But don't forget they're in Division 1 in the Championship.
“It would be wrong to say they are stronger or weaker in the T20 or in this competition. They are a very good side in all formats.”
Both teams posted over 300 in their last matches and boast Royal London One-Day Cup centurions in their ranks. Gareth Roderick scored 104 for Glos at Leicester while Tom Cooper made the same total against Durham.
But for all the runs, Michael believes it is the bowlers that could hold the key and is backing his attack to be a real force in the Royal London One-Day Cup
He said: “50 over cricket is very different to T20 with a new ball at each end and it will be a different style of cricket but we’ve got guys who are in good form who I’m confident will perform well.
“I think that our bowlers can be a real strength for us in this competition.”
