Friday Nights Will Be Fun - Bracewell
18 December 2013
John Bracewell believes regular Friday starts for Twenty20 cricket next season will lead to bigger crowds and great atmospheres at the matches.
Five of Gloucestershire’s seven home group games are on a Friday, with the other two – against Glamorgan at Bristol on June 8th and Essex at Cheltenham on July 20th – being Sunday fixtures.
The club’s Director of Cricket is happy with the schedule, even though it will lead to some long weeks, with LV=County Championship games tending to run from Monday to Thursday.
John told this website: “Twenty20 cricket is all about entertainment and it is right that spectators can put in the diaries that Friday nights are T20 nights.
“Equally, the players will look forward to Friday evenings and enjoy the competition more as a result, with the opportunity to entertain their supporters.”
Gloucestershire begin the tournament with a two point deficit as a result of a penalty imposed for what was deemed a sub-standard pitch for a game at Cheltenham last year.
“We will be behind the eight ball because of that and the fact that we won’t be employing a second overseas player for the competition,” admitted John.
“But we couldn’t hope for a more exciting start than Somerset at home in our first match (on Friday May 16th), particularly as we only play them in T20 next season.
“There will be a packed house and that is something our young players have got to get used to. They get as excited about playing Somerset as our fans do.
“Playing our neighbours also gives us a measure of where we are at that particular time. It’s an early start to the tournament next year and a tough test to begin with.
“We have to ensure we are well prepared to play T20 so soon. In the past we have tended to use the second XI T20 competition as practice, but that won’t be possible now.”
