Dent Out Of Sussex T20 Clash
6 June 2014
Chris Dent has been ruled out of Gloucestershire’s NatWest T20 Blast match with Sussex at Hove tonight (7pm start).
The opening batsman damaged a thumb while fielding at slip in the LV=County Championship win over Leicestershire at Grace Road and is awaiting the results of x-rays to assess the damage.
Will Tavare is also on the injured list after hurting a knee fielding against Leicestershire. He batted down the order in Gloucestershire’s first innings and was not needed in the second as the team completed a resounding nine-wicket win.
Dent’s injury could open the way for Dan Housego to make his first appearance of the season against Sussex.
He is added to the squad, along with Jack Taylor, whose brother Matt could make play his first T20 game for the club.
Skipper Michael Klinger told this website: “We are waiting to see how serious the injuries to Chris and Will are.
“Knowing we were effectively two batsmen light made the Championship win over Leicestershire all the more satisfying.
“We are also light on bowlers at the moment and that will affect our selection plans for the Sussex game. We will assess conditions before settling on a team.”
Michael is hoping his side will take confidence from chasing down a target of 251 in 39 overs at Grace Road to collect 21 points and move into third place in the Championship Second Division.
He led the way with a superb final day century, ably assisted by Benny Howell and Alex Gidman, but gave much of the credit for the win to loan recruit Geraint Jones.
Michael said: “Geraint’s 93 in the first innings kept us in the game at a time when we were in trouble. It was probably the most important contribution of all.”
Team v Sussex (from) M.Klinger (capt), A.Gidman, H.Marshall, I.Cockbain, B.Howell, D.Housego, G.Jones (wkt), T.Smith, J.Fuller, G.McCarter, M.Taylor, L.Norwell, J.Taylor.
