I Will Always Love Gloucestershire - Alex
17 October 2014
Alex Gidman may be joining Worcestershire next season, but he will remain a Gloucestershire fan at heart.
That much was clear when the former skipper talked to this website about his years of service at the County Ground and the reasons for seeking pastures new in 2015.
With brother Will also leaving to join Nottinghamshire, two of the most familiar faces in Gloucestershire’s dressing room will be missing next summer.
But Alex is still predicting a bright future at the Bristol County Ground and admits that leaving will be a wrench.
He said “Everyone knows how much I love this cricket club and how much I have enjoyed playing here.
“Just because I am leaving doesn’t mean I will fall out of love with the club. I will always be a Gloucestershire supporter.
“It’s emotional on one level and I have had some moments in recent weeks, which I won’t go into, but I will crack on and get on with the next phase of my life.
“The future for Gloucestershire is very bright, there is no doubt about that. There are some very talented cricketers here, who are bursting at the seams to get out of their shells and start really nailing games.
“It could easily happen next year and if not in the very near future. There is a lot to look forward to without me and Will being part of it.”
Alex points to the Championship victories at Worcestershire and Kent at the end of the season as signs that Gloucestershire will be a potent force next summer.
He said: “In the last two away Championship games the team bowled the opposition out twice without Will being in the side and that was really important to the bowlers’ confidence going forward.
“I’m delighted with how I finished the season, but over the course of it batting was our weakest point as a team. We played on some pretty good wickets and failed so I know that is something that will be addressed by the group during the winter.
“I am not going to blow my own trumpet because I had three magical games, otherwise my figures would have been pretty average as well.
“Last year we had four batsman who passed 1,000 runs and on reflection it would have been better if a couple had done it then and a couple this year, with the others getting 800 or 900.
“It’s a very challenging part of the game to follow up good seasons in the Championship and it certainly isn’t easy.
Now Alex is looking forward to competing in the top flight of the Championship with his new county following promotion this year.
He added: “I hope Worcestershire can make an impact on the First Division next season, but I haven’t looked into that in too great a depth so far.
“There are very personal and selfish reasons why I have chosen to move there. I really liked the way they played against us at Cheltenham this year and they stood out as a very disciplined team.
“But it’s about me. I wanted to try and buy into a new culture, enter a new dressing room, make new friends and have to take myself out of my comfort zone.
“I felt I had got into one with Gloucestershire, which was okay for the present, but might have developed into something that was not beneficial to the team.
“Now I am looking forward to being challenged by another set of players at another club.
“Gloucestershire cricket has meant everything to me. I used go and watch the team play at Cheltenham when I was 14 and wonder what it would be like to play out there.
“To have done that so many times now and represented the club so often over many years makes me immensely proud.
“It’s a wonderful club with fantastic supporters and that will never change. I will be keeping a very close eye on how the team develops.
“I know all the players very well and I will always be ready to help them in any way I can. I have had a wonderful career and it is only now when I sit back and reflect that I realise how much fun I have had.
“In the last few weeks I have thought about some brilliant times in games and some tremendous team-mates. Those memories will live with me for a very long time.
“Worcestershire are in the same Royal London One-Day Cup group as Gloucestershire next season so I will be playing against the lads.
“I will be the happiest man on the planet if they go and win a trophy next season or win promotion –but I will still be trying to score a hundred against them that day!”
