Competition for places heats up after impressive win in Canterbury
17 April 2018
Competition for places in the seam attack could make Gloucestershire the dark horses of this season’s Specsavers County Championship Second Division promotion race.
Richard Dawson’s team got off to a flying start with a shock five-wicket victory over Kent at Canterbury last weekend.
And the victory was all the more impressive for being achieved without last season’s leading wicket-taker Liam Norwell and left-arm seamer David Payne, both on the injured list.
While Payne will be out for some time following ankle surgery, Norwell, who claimed 59 victims in 11 Championship appearances last season, is due to test his recovery from a hamstring problem in a second XI game against Glamorgan at Cardiff, starting tomorrow (Weds).
Already he faces a battle for his place that was unthinkable a year ago. New overseas signing Dan Worrall had match figures of four for 45 against Kent, while Matt Taylor (six for 69) and Craig Miles (four for 60) were also in fine early-season form.
Another winter signing, Ryan Higgins, excelled with his medium-pace. He returned career-best first class figures of five for 22 in the second innings, leaving head coach Dawson with plenty to ponder ahead of Glamorgan’s visit to Bristol, starting on Friday.
He said: “It’s the sort of problem every coach wants. Liam Norwell needs match practice and will see how he goes in the seconds this week.
“It is a three-day game at Cardiff, but we will have the option of pulling him out on the final day if we want him to play in the Championship fixture.
“There is no need to rush him after the way we bowled at Canterbury. Dan Worrall demonstrated a beautiful action, Matt Taylor swung the ball and Craig Miles produced some heavy deliveries.
“Ryan Higgins also move the ball in the air at a slower pace, not only tying up one end to exert pressure on the batsmen, but taking wickets too.
“It wasn’t that bad a pitch. The combination of swing and some seam movement was simply too much for batsmen, who have had so little practice because of the wet weather.”
Gloucestershire suffered a heavy defeat by Kent at Canterbury in the corresponding fixture at the start of last season. And, while Dawson is not getting carried away with one result, he does believe his team can prove a few people wrong.
“No one fancies us for anything this summer and that’s okay,” he said. “The players have worked very hard during the winter and hopefully we can cause a few more surprises.”
Article written by Richard Latham for the ECB Independent Reporter Network
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