Let's Make It A Breakthrough Year - Will
8 January 2014
Will Brown is challenging Gloucestershire’s players to make 2014 a “breakthrough season” in terms of success on the field.
While confirming that finances will probably not allow any more additions to the squad, the chief executive believes it is now sufficiently experienced to make a strong challenge for honours.
And he says it is essential for the future of Gloucestershire cricket that a winning team develops to accompany the strides that have already been made in developing the County Ground.
Will told this website: “We are really happy with the squad we’ve got, having been able to retain the players we wanted and seen a couple step up from our second XI and academy, which is exactly what we are looking for in terms of developing our own talent.
“The financial reality as we approach our budget process this month is that unless we are given a short-term cash injection from outside the club it is unlikely that we will be able to fund any additional players for the 2014 season.
“The decision was taken a few years ago that our focus would be on having a ground that hit the ECB requirements for international cricket and a lot of money has been sucked out of the club to ensure that is the case.
“However, we have also tried to ensure that we have as strong a team as possible representing Gloucestershire, and I believe our current squad is capable of being very competitive in domestic cricket this summer.
“It is not a young squad anymore. There are some youngsters in it, but a lot of the guys who were quite rightly described as inexperienced two or three years ago are now well into their twenties with a decent amount of cricket under their belts.
“2014 has to be a breakthrough year for us on the pitch. Now we have such excellent facilities, we need to ensure we are making the most of them in terms of the income we are generating as a club.
“The better we perform as a team the easier it will be to do that, so the players have to stand up and be competitive in as many formats of the game as possible.
“The more successful they are, the more people we will get coming through the gates. It’s natural correlation in professional sport everywhere.
“Our on the field team and our off the pitch staff must realise that we are all working for the same thing and we need strong performances from all of them over the next couple of years.
“I genuinely believe both as a fan and in my role with the club that we have the players to really make an impact and produce winning cricket this summer.”
Will senses that his confidence is shared by supporters. For the first time in several years membership figures look set to rise.
"The indications in that respect are good and we are pleased with the response to our various packages," he said.
"I am sure people are aware that watching cricket at the County Ground is going to be a pleasurable experience, with all the new facilities, and they can also see that our team is maturing and full of potential."
