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Hamish Can't Wait For Festival Opener

10 July 2012

Hamish Marshall describes the Cheltenham Festival as “a very special time” and can’t wait for this year’s event, sponsored by Brewin Dolphin, to get underway tomorrow with an LV=County Championship match against Essex.

The experienced batsman will hand back the captaincy reins to Alex Gidman, having taken over as skipper for the Friends Life t20 group matches.

But as vice-captain Hamish will continue to play a key role in the two LV=County Championship fixtures and three Clydesdale Bank 40 games which will be played at the College Ground.

He told this website: “Last year was the first time I won a four-day game at Cheltenham. It gave all the lads a buzz and is something we very much want to replicate this summer.

“Every day is special at the Festival. Supporters go there who we don’t see that often because it is so far north of the county, so it’s important to put on some decent performances for them.

“When I first joined Gloucestershire I was told the pitches were hard and fast at the College Ground, having turned a lot for the spinners in previous years.

“More recently they haven’t offered a lot of turn or huge pace. But they are good cricket wickets and the team who hang in there for the longest tend to come out on top.

“We have had sessions there in past seasons which put us behind the eight ball. But against Kent in the Championship last year we stayed ahead of the game due to some fantastic individual performances.

“The ball has tended to swing a lot at Cheltenham and that has been the biggest threat to the batsmen. We are using a different ball to last year, but if we look after it hopefully we can get it swinging and our bowlers can do some damage.

“The balance has been better between bat and ball this season because the swing has been more consistent.”

Hamish says he loves everything about the Festival and particularly the atmosphere.

“It’s a real family environment at Cheltenham,” he said. “From the moment you get there you see all age groups waiting to watch the cricket’

“There is coaching available for the kids and I think it’s important we keep that going. The Festival brings families together and I’m sure that will be the case again this year.”

Gloucestershire face Essex and Leicestershire in the Championship at Cheltenham this year and Hamish sees both games as winnable.

“We have had some tough games against Essex in the past and at full strength they have some experienced quality players,” he said.

“They beat us in the opening game of this season quite convincingly so we have something to prove against them.

“But our confidence has risen since that match through some good performances in all formats of the game and I would expect us to give a good account of ourselves.

“Leicestershire have struggled a bit at times and we will certainly be looking to take points off them, But no game is easy and we need to be at our best.

“The same applies to our three CB40 games against Essex, Worcestershire and Middlesex, which could all go either way. The College Ground is long in the corners, but short square of the wicket and if the weather is good the outfield can be lightning fast.

“That can mean big scores and as a batting unit we have to be sure of giving our bowlers enough runs to play with.”

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