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Kent T20 Match Preview: Cockbain wants to extend winning run and guarantee home quarter final

7 July 2016

Gloucestershire go into Friday night’s NatWest T20 Blast clash with Kent knowing another win would all but guarantee their quarter final qualification.

The South Group table-toppers have won their last five on the bounce and name an unchanged squad for the visit of the Spitfires.

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Ian Cockbain – who made a man-of-the-match winning 73 not out in Wednesday’s six wicket victory over Surrey - says his side are not only targeting the last eight but want to secure a top two place  and a home quarter final.

He said: “Our goal now is to get one of the home quarter finals, obviously it would be superb to play here.”

Having secured wins over Surrey, Somerset (twice), Sussex and Essex in their last five matches, Cockbain puts the team’s success down to an understanding of their roles within the team.

He said this will be a crucial factor in trying to do the double over Kent, having beaten them at Beckenham earlier this season.

He said: “I think everyone’s pretty clear on their role. We know what job we need to do and it’s just about having that belief. It’s also been about the way we’ve practiced those roles - it’s a big confidence thing.

“If we look after our game we can’t go far wrong. We’ve had a few good games against Kent in the last few years so hopefully we can take that and keep our momentum.”

Cockbain’s innings v Surrey saw him become the highest scorer in this year’s NatWest T20 Blast with 327 at 54.5.

He moves him into 9^th place in the Professional Cricketer’s Association (PCA) Most Valuable Player (MVP) rankings. Glos captain Michael Klinger currently tops the list with Benny Howell in fourth.

The home side welcome the visit of Kent with a number of other players finding form at the right time including Andre Tye who took Glos best figures of 3-16 on Wednesday and Matt Taylor who has picked up three wickets in each of his last three games.

Gloucestershire Squad: Michael Klinger (c), Hamish Marshall, Ian Cockbain, Chris Dent, Benny Howell, Kieran Noema-Barnett, Graeme Van Buuren, Gareth Roderick (w), Andrew Tye, Tom Smith, Liam Norwell, Matt Taylor, Craig Miles

Kent Spitfires

The Spitfires head to the Westcountry for their double-header with Somerset and Gloucestershire needing nothing less than two victories to keep alive their slim hopes of qualifying from the South Group.

Kent are currently second bottom of the table with three wins from nine matches and have won just once in their last four outings.

Their situation has been made worse by injuries to Daniel Bell-Drummond (hand), Calum Haggett (ankle), Adam Riley (side) and Ivan Thomas (hamstring) who all miss out on a visit to the Brightside Ground.

With two overseas players able to play in T20, New Zealand opener Tom Latham returns to the side and Kagiso Rabada will be hoping to add to the seven wickets taken in his first three appearances for Kent.

Kent Spitfires Squad: Sam Northeast (c), Tom Latham,  Joe Denly, Darren Stevens, Fabian Cowdrey, Alex Blake, Sam Billings, Adam Ball, James Tredwell, Kagiso Rabada, Mitch Claydon, David Griffiths, Sam Weller.

Key Man – Kagiso Rabada

One of the most exciting young players in world cricket, Kagiso Rabada will spearhead the Spitfire attack on Friday night.

In 2015 the South African fast bowler became only the second player to take a hat-trick on ODI debut v Bangladesh, finishing with 6 for 16 – the best figures by a debutant.

He underlined his world-class potential on England’s tour to SA last winter, becoming the youngest South African to take 10 wickets in a match when he finished with 13-144 in the final test aged just 20.

Capable of bowling at 90 mph, he took 2-31 on his Kent debut v Sussex Sharks in the NatWest T20 Blast last week.

Gloucestershire v Kent Spitfires

• Gloucestershire have won three of their last four versus Kent Spitfires, this having previously failed to win of the six games played against them before this run (L6).
• The last three encounters between these two counties on a Friday have all been won by Gloucestershire.
• Six of the last seven times these sides have faced off have been won by the chasing team.
• Hamish Marshall’s 56 helped Gloucestershire secure a seven wicket victory over the Spitfires when they met earlier this season.

Last Time We Met (NatWest T20 Blast)

Friday June 3 2016 at Beckenham

Kent 144-7 (20 overs) (Northeast 35, Tye 3-18)

Gloucestershire 146-3 (19.2 overs) (Marshall 56, Stevens 1-20)

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