Klinger focused on strong start in Royal London Cup
25 April 2017
Returning one day captain Michael Klinger says Gloucestershire must not get left on the blocks this year if they are to reach the knockout stages of the Royal London Cup.
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Klinger touched down at Heathrow on Saturday evening after another good domestic season in white ball cricket back home in Australia, with the Perth Scorchers winning the T20 Big Bash and Klinger himself being capped by Australia in the T20 format.
Last year he was Gloucestershire's leading run scorer in the Royal London Cup, but defeats in the first two matches at Taunton and Cardiff meant qualification for the quarter finals was ultimately out of reach, which is why he insists that can't be repeated.
"It's a short tournament so you have to start well" Klinger said. "It doesn't necessarily mean that you have to win the first match, but if you maybe look at the first four games and you can win three of them then you're in a good position. It's a tough tournament to win, and the focus must be to finish in the top four in the group to make the quarter finals."
Listen to Michael Klinger's full interview on his return to the club here:
The make-up of the group is the same as in 2016, which means Gloucestershire are up against five teams that play in Division 1 of the County Championship. They also have to contend with the loss of Hamish Marshall from the top order, but Klinger believes the acquisition of Phil Mustard along with having plenty of bowling options can still make Gloucestershire competitive.
"We've not discussed batting orders yet but I would have thought Phil would bat in the top three" Klinger added. "We're also lucky that we have several people - van Buuren, Howell, Jack Taylor - who bat in the top seven and can also bowl. In most games that would give us at least seven options."
The squad of 13 for the match is:
Klinger (c) Mustard, Dent, Cockbain, van Buuren, Howell, J. Taylor, Noema-Barnett, Smith, M. Taylor, Norwell, Liddle, Miles.
Glamorgan have had a miserable start to the season in four day cricket, but Klinger says there is no complacency regarding their limited overs pedigree.
"They are a good short format team and in Colin Ingram they probably have one of the best players in this competition. Jacques Rudolph is also very experienced so I think they have a strong side with some solid bowlers who could be better suited to 50 over and 20 over cricket, and with the tournament starting earlier in the season it will be interesting to see if the wickets seam around a bit more."
"We have a tough start with Glamorgan and then up to Lord's to play Middlesex on Sunday. On paper they are extremely strong but we've had a good record against quality teams with bigger names so hopefully we can keep that going."
Coverage :
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