Gareth Looking To Build On Gritty Tons
2 September 2013
Gareth Roderick goes into the game against Leicestershire at Bristol, starting tomorrow, looking for his third LV=County Championship century in as many games.
Not bad for a 22-year-old, who was still seeking his maiden first class ton when Gloucestershire took on Kent at Canterbury less than a fortnight ago.
Gareth made 152 not out in the second innings of that game to take it into a final day, which as it turned out was washed out, enabling the visitors to escape with a draw.
Then on Saturday against Essex at the Bristol County Ground Gareth hit 136 to help secure another battling draw after Gloucestershire had narrowly avoided following on.
Gareth is ending his first season as a county player on a high, having also established himself as first choice wicketkeeper, but is modest in reflecting on his outstanding form against Kent and Essex.
He told this website: “It’s always nice to contribute, although I’d have preferred it if the team had won both games.
“At Canterbury we knew the forecast was bad for the final day and that the weather might come to our rescue, which is how it turned out.
“Liam Norwell and I had to bat out around six overs at the end of day three, but he knows how to stonewall it in those circumstances and we managed to survive.
“I’ve played 20-odd games now and it was starting to eat away at me that I hadn’t scored a hundred. So it was great to get the monkey off my back with my first one.
“The century against Essex gave me even more satisfaction because it was made on a difficult pitch and the bowlers went at me a bit more.
“I got hit on the grille by a delivery from Tymal Mills, who is pretty sharp, and had a bit of blood behind an ear. Overall, the wicket was tougher to score on than the one at Canterbury.
“Up to the Kent game my season had gone okay. In white ball cricket I had produced some decent performances with the gloves, but not really contributed with the bat.
“In the Championship I had done alright, without being as consistent as I would have liked as a batsman.
“My wicketkeeping has come on a lot and great credit for that must go to Jon Batty and Owen Dawkins who have worked with me. There is still a lot of work to do though.”
Promotion in the batting order from seven to number three has given Gareth more opportunity to play long innings and it is a role he hopes to secure long term.
He said: “The first time it happened was at Cheltenham. The thinking was that if I moved up to number three it would give us the option to play an extra bowler if required.
“My body is certainly telling me it is the end of the season, particularly as it has been my first summer in county cricket, but I’ve enjoyed the challenge of keeping and batting at three.
“I always want to bat as high in the order as I can. It has been a test batting for long periods, but I have tried to stick to my natural game because when I go too defensive I tend to get myself into a bit of trouble.
“I’ve kept trying to be positive and in the last couple of games it has worked.
Gareth admits Gloucestershire hopes of promotion this season are now looking slim, but he is still optimistic the team can end on a high.
“Being realistic, we are quite far behind the top two teams with only a few games to go, but we look to win every game we play and that will remain the case,” he said.
“Hopefully we can make a good start against Leicestershire and put them under some pressure.”
Gloucestershire Squad : Michael Klinger, Chris Dent, Gareth Roderick, Alex Gidman, Hamish Marshall, Ian Cockbain, Will Gidman, Tom Smith, Craig Miles, Matt Taylor, David Payne and Benny Howell.
