Dent believes final could be springboard to long-term success
15 September 2015
Chris Dent says he hopes Gloucestershire’s first Lord’s final in 11 years will prove to be a springboard to even greater success.
The left hander believes Saturday’s Royal London One-Day Cup final against Surrey could be a pivotal moment for the squad.
He said: “I think getting a taste of big matches like the semi-final and final might change the mind-set of the players and give us that thirst to play in more finals and to achieve more success.
“I am sure it is most cricketers’ ambition to play in a Lord’s final and it could be a once in a lifetime opportunity - I can’t wait.”
To watch the full interview with Chris click below.
A local lad, Chris played junior cricket for Gloucestershire from the age of 12 but says he was too young to remember much of the time when the club dominated one-day cricket, winning seven trophies between 1999 and 2004.
But he says watching footage from the old finals has sparked even more excitement ahead of the club’s biggest game since reaching the T20 final in 2007.
Chris said: “It looks like such an exciting day and something that as a cricketer you want to be involved in.
“I would be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about what it would be like to win but it’s such a big game and I am trying to focus on how we win it and the processes we need to go through first.”
The 24-year-old is one of seven ever-presents in the Gloucestershire dressing room in this year’s RL Cup and made his highest score of 49 against Saturday’s opponents during the group phase.
Glos lost that match but still finished ahead of Surrey in the table. And although many people are making Surrey favourites Chris believes it will be a close game.
He said: “Surrey are a really good side with some good players but I honestly think it will be 50:50 on the day.
“As a team we have come together and played for each other and it has worked for us. We have tried to go into every game the same and we have kept winning.”
Chris believes the togetherness of the Glos squad has played a big part in this season’s success and he says the celebrations that followed the semi-final win over Yorkshire offered a taste of what they can achieve going forward.
He said: “There was nice celebration in the changing room afterwards. We had a minute or so of just cheering and clapping. It was one of those moments where you get the hairs on the back of your neck and as a group of players it felt like we were about to do something really special.”
Tickets for the final are still available, click here.
