News

Hamish Happy With Underdogs Tag

23 July 2012

Hamish Marshall is happy that Gloucestershire will start as firm underdogs against Sussex in Tuesday night’s Friends Life t20 quarter-final against Sussex at Hove (7.10pm start).

The skipper believes the energy of his young side harnessed to the wiles of 40-year-old Muttiah Muralitharan can spring a surprise, just as it did in the group victory over Somerset at Taunton.

Gloucestershire won by an amazing nine wickets that night, with the Sri Lankan spin maestro, contributing a miserly four overs.

Now Hamish is hoping Murali’s determination to win a trophy in what he has said will be his final season playing in England will lead to a repeat performance.

Gloucestershire’s T20 captain told this website: “Murali has been bowling really well and putting pressure on the opposition middle order with his experience and skill.

“As good a bowler as he has been, it’s all about how he is performing now and I would say he has been outstanding in the group games.

“He has been a diamond for us in the competition because he doesn’t offer good batsmen easy runs. That creates pressure, which we have been able to feed on.”

John Bracewell describes the influence of Muralitharan on Gloucestershire’s surprise appearance in the quarter-finals as “immense”.

The club’s Director of Cricket said: “As a player Murali makes opposing batsmen cautious because he is a legend. He has earned that right and also has the ability to take wickets in the middle of an innings.

“He shuts teams down and that is invaluable for our particular strategy. The experience gained from taking 800 Test wickets enables him to assess conditions quickly and decide what pace to bowl.

“Apart from all that, Murali is an enormous source of information, which he has stored up over the years. A lot of players delete some of the stuff they learn. He has deleted nothing.”

“He doesn’t wait for young players to approach him. He engages with individuals and is incredibly competitive, even in games of dressing room cricket.”

Gloucestershire’s small squad is stretched by the loss of last season’s Player-of-the-Year Will Gidman and batsman Chris Dent through injury.

With Ed Cowan having left and new overseas signing Rob Nicol not eligible for the quarter-final, Dan Housego looks set to be drafted into the batting line-up.

Marshall has great respect for Sussex as a one-day side, but insists if Gloucestershire go into the game with the right attitude they can prevail.

“We need to be positive from the outset and see how they react to being under pressure,” he said.

“The victory over Somerset was huge in terms of building self-belief because we clinically beat a very good side.

“Facing Sussex in a big quarter-final is another fantastic test for a bunch of young cricketers who have already exceeded expectations in one-day cricket this season.

“We are still progressing as a team and we will learn a bit more about our talented youngsters on Tuesday evening.”

Gloucestershire squad: Marshall, Howell, Housego, A Gidman, Cockbain, Young, Fuller, Batty, Saxelby, Norwell, Payne, Taylor, Muralitharan.

• Previous
• Next