News

Dawson refreshes squad for return of red ball cricket

27 June 2016

Gloucestershire head coach Richard Dawson has recalled four players who have had little or no involvement in one day matches this summer for Monday's Division 2 Championship game against Leicestershire at Grace Road.

The inclusion of Graeme Van Buuren and Will Tavare gives the squad seven specialist batsmen to choose from, while David Payne's ankle injury has settled sufficiently for him to be named along with Craig Miles, who hasn't played in the rash of recent T20 fixtures.

"Some people haven't been involved lately so they'll be fresh for the Leicestershire game and we've tried to pick a squad which will give us the best chance of winning" Dawson said.

"Tavare made a century in the drawn second XI game with Hampshire and Payne bowled in the nets on Friday, which was his second session of the week. Because of the schedule and with the T20 games still going on, we've mixed the training up and done some red ball and white ball work. It was brilliant to get the win at Worcester in the last four day game, and now it's a case of starting again."

Squad :
Roderick (c), Dent, Van Buuren, Klinger, Marshall, Tavare, J Taylor, Howell, Noema-Barnett, Payne, Norwell, Miles.

The game at Grace Road marks the halfway point in the Championship campaign, and with the Division 2 table so close, Dawson feels the period up to an including the Cheltenham festival will shape the season's final lap.

"The next month will be hard" Dawson went on. "We're in a decent position but you have to forget what teams around you are doing at this stage. The demands at Cheltenham are both mental and physical. After that the games thin out a bit and you feel you've broken the back of the season, so only then can you really judge where you are. You want to stay in all the competitions as long as possible and at the moment we're still scrapping."

Form :
Gloucestershire don't play Leicestershire in one day cricket this year, so this is their first meeting of the summer. In 2015, Leicestershire lost at Cheltenham in a game memorable for Benny Howell's maiden Championship century, while the two teams drew the return fixture at Grace Road in September.

Over the winter Leicestershire restructured their coaching staff, and the addition of several senior players results have markedly improved, with an eight wicket win over Essex pulling them level with Gloucestershire in Division 2 on 93 points.

It remains to be seen if Michael Klinger continues to bat at number four - as he has done in both his Championship appearances so far - although head coach Richard Dawson is confident the Australian's strong white ball form can continue after scores of 166*, 78 and 60 in his last three innings.

"It's not by chance Michael gets runs because he's consistent in everything he does" said Dawson. "He doesn't necessarily hit a thousand balls in the nets. He knows what he needs, and both in training and away from the ground his preparation is thoroughly professional."

"When we've played at Grace Road in the past it has helped the seamers, and Graeme Van Buuren has shown he can offer us an option as a spinner. McKay is a good leader for the Leicestershire attack, supported by Shrek and Raine, and they've added a few boys to their batting in Horton, Dexter and Pettini. They're coming into this game off the back of a victory at Chelmsford so they've played some good cricket and it'll be a challenge for us."

Coverage :
You can follow the match via the live scorecard available on the website, or via Twitter @Gloscricket.

• Previous
• Next