It's in our hands - Head Coach Richard Dawson
14 August 2015
Head Coach Richard Dawson has praised his players for putting Gloucestershire in a position to secure a home quarter final in the Royal London Cup but says they have to treat it as a job which is only half finished.
With two games remaining in Pool A, Gloucestershire sit level on points with leaders Surrey, who come to the Bristol County Ground on Tuesday for the last group fixture. 24 hours earlier, Gloucestershire travel to Wantage Road to play Northants, who still have a chance of making the quarter finals themselves.
Gloucestershire squad to face Northans:
C Dent, W Tavare, G Roderick, G Jones, B Howell, K Noema-Barnett, J Taylor, J Fuller, T Smith, D Payne, C Miles, L Norwell, M Hammond
"We've got two games to nail down our place and if we play well we'll deserve to get it" Dawson said. "If we don't we won't get the win we want. We have to earn it. We went to Worcester in our last match knowing getting into the quarter finals was in our hands and we won there, and this is the next step."
"Physically and mentally it has been tough because we have used a small squad over a very intense period and the pleasing thing is that they have taken on responsibility. I know Michael Klinger has got the headlines but we've had a lot of players contribute to the wins we've had."
Dawson confirmed that Geraint Jones would be available again on Monday after missing the Championship victory at Swansea, and that decisions on the fitness of Michael Klinger and Hamish Marshall would be made on the day. Both have been working with physiotherapist Steve Griffin while the rest of the squad have had a lighter week in terms of training.
"We've allowed the lads to get away from cricket for a few days" Richard went on. "The boys needed a proper rest after a long 16 day stretch which ended with the Championship game at Glamorgan. They've done a couple of gym sessions, we'll do a net session on Saturday and we'll be fresh for Monday."
Northants have already reached the T20 semi finals and Dawson agreed that David Willey's 40-ball century against Sussex in midweek showed they pose a significant challenge.
"They've got some real match winners. I didn't see Willey's innings but the lads have been talking about it. When batsmen get in like that they're hard to bowl to, and especially at the end of an innings they've found ways to score boundaries or clear the rope. We've used different bowlers in different situations and with Benny Howell and Kieran Noema-Barnett both being able to bowl and us playing two spinners we've been able to adapt to conditions pretty well."
Qualification could still come down to the final pool match against Surrey at the Bristol County Ground on Tuesday, although Dawson would like to take any tension out of that
situation if at all possible.
"We play well at home so being there for the last game we can hopefully use the conditions and the dimensions of the ground to our advantage" he said. "We've played Surrey in the T20 and they have some exceptional players, but it would be great to get a home quarter final and a full house at Bristol."
