Klinger will draw on domestic success in Australia to help Glos secure RL Cup - with video
18 September 2015
Talismanic captain Michael Klinger is hoping to use his experience of winning trophies in Australia to lead Gloucestershire to their first piece of major silverware in 11 years.
The 35-year-old, who took an 18,000 mile round-trip home before the semi-final victory over Yorkshire, was instrumental in securing the Big Bash League with Perth Scorchers and the domestic one-day cup with Western Australia last season.
He said the ability to perform under the pressure will be vital if Glos are to beat Surrey in this Royal London One-Day Cup final.
He said: “There’s no doubt the nerves are going more and you feel the pressure. The quicker you can get into that state of mind of just playing another game of cricket the better and that’s the key for our guys. It’s the same for me. I’ll get nervous but I’m lucky I have played in some big finals back home - Big Bash and one-day finals - so hopefully that will hold me in good stead.”
To watch the interview in full click below
Michael has scored 531 runs at an average of 132.75 in this year’s Royal London One-Day Cup and is the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the tournament ahead of Benny Howell according to the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) rankings.
His 137 not out against Yorkshire was his eighth century in all formats for Gloucestershire this season.
His form opening the innings has been one of the key factors in the club’s success and he feels Surrey also pose a major threat at the top of the order.
He said: “Their top three is very strong, Jason Roy, Steven Davies and Kumar Sangakarra. If we can take early wickets and put pressure on the middle order it will be huge for us because I think the top order have done a lot of the work.
“I think that will be a key battle – our bowlers against their top order batters.”
Michael recently a signed a new two-year deal to stay at the Bristol County Ground until the end of the 2017 season. And he believes winning a Lord’s final would be invaluable for the side’s development going forward as well as an incredible experience personally.
He said: “I think the fact that we’ve made the Lord’s final and are one of the top two teams out of 18 is a huge effort whatever the result is. But winning these big games, I know from a confidence point of view can be huge going forward.
“Not only that but the fun and enjoyment you get from the celebrations afterwards. Those are the times you never forget as a cricketer and for me coming to the last two/three/four years of my career you want to have as many of those days and nights as you can before you finish. It would be great for the guys to have the experience of winning such a big game.”
