MATCH PREVIEW: Dawson relishing tussle with former colleague Gillespie
26 April 2018
For two spells in his career, Gloucestershire head coach Richard Dawson played and coached alongside former Australian fast bowler Jason Gillespie at Yorkshire. In round 3 of this season's County Championship, the two men pit their tactical wits against each other for their current employers as Gloucestershire head to Hove on Friday (11.00).
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Gillespie was recruited by Sussex during the winter, and Gloucestershire travel to the south coast with the same squad of 13 which began the season with a win at Canterbury. Liam Norwell was left out of that game as a precaution as he recovered from a hamstring strain, but a recurrence of the same injury during the match against Glamorgan means Norwell is sidelined again.
"Liam had done all the things we wanted him to do, so now it's about putting a plan together to get him fit again through our physio and strength and conditioning staff, but we're not putting a time frame on it" Dawson said.
"We'll pick the 11 when we see the conditions on the morning of the game. It's a long trip and the last thing you want is someone getting injured in training the day before which leaves you short of options."
Squad :
Dent (c), Howell, Roderick, Bracey, J.Taylor, van Buuren, Higgins, Noema-Barnett, Miles, Worrall, M.Taylor, Liddle, Hankins.
Sussex were one of the few teams not to make an external domestic signing to their playing staff in the closed season, but Dawson believes attracting Gillespie could more than make up for it.
"He's a fine coach with a good reputation" Dawson added. "Having been his assistant I know him well and we have contact from time to time because I enjoyed my time working with him and learned a lot. Jason will want to stamp his style on their changing room. They have some batsmen who have got runs on the board already and although Chris Jordan and Joffra Archer are away at the IPL,they've signed Ishant Sharma who will provide a different challenge and he's been bowling very well from the footage I've seen."
Last season's game at Hove was during the experimental week where all the Championship cricket was played under lights. Rain meant it ended in a draw despite the efforts of both sides to set up a run chase, and Dawson says the wickets at Hove usually make for an even contest between bat and ball.
"They've got good bowling stock down there and they've got pitches that aid them with a bit of bounce" he concluded. "We've only played two games, but the biggest thing so far is that when people occupy the crease and get to 20, they've got to convert that into a big score, and that's been the message to the lads. They also need to put in the same effort they did against Glamorgan and understand it's over four days. It mustn't be two or three."
Coverage :
You can follow the match via the live scorecard available on the website, or via Twitter @GlosCricket.
Ball by ball commentary is also available on the BBC Sport website.
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