Let's Win It For Michael Says Confident Alex
28 August 2014
Alex Gidman says Gloucestershire want to win tomorrow’s Royal London One-Day Cup quarter-final against Kent at Canterbury for injured skipper Michael Klinger.
The club captain is recovering from surgery on the broken forearm, which has ended his season, and is set to return home to Australia next week.
Gloucestershire remain optimistic that Michael return to the club next summer. In the meantime, Alex, who will lead the team at Canterbury, speaks of an extra incentive to reach the semi-finals.
He told this website: “There will definitely be a sense of wanting to win for Michael. He has been an enormous part of our dressing room for the best part of two years.
“It would be hard to find anyone else who could score his volume of runs in all forms of cricket, particularly the one-day formats, and give so much off the pitch as well.
“He will be a massive loss to us for the quarter-final, but as he would be the first to admit, injuries are part of the game.
“These things happen in professional sport, unfortunately. There will be a lot of us thinking let’s get through to the semi-finals for Michael and I am sure he will be rooting for us.”
Alex exudes excitement and confidence for the Kent match and believes it will be a fantastic experience for the younger players in the squad.
He said: “We always enjoy going to Canterbury. First and foremost, it’s a lovely place to play cricket.
“It’s a ground we have been to a lot in recent seasons, which is good because we know the slope there and we are getting to know the wicket.
“We’ve played a couple of floodlit games there so we have a decent understanding of the conditions we are likely to face.
“The toss could be important. We’ll do our research on what happens under lights and who has batted or bowled in the past with what outcome.
“That doesn’t mean I will win the toss! But we will have a good idea of what we need to do whether we bat or field first.
“I’ve looked at the scores there this year and they have varied a lot. There have been some high-scoring contests, but equally there have been low-scoring ones too.
“We will have a good look at the pitch when we get there, but whatever its appearance, it will be all about how we adapt to conditions on the day. I’m confident we can put in a good performance.
“It will be a fantastic experience for our younger players and the more often they are involved in this sort of game the quicker they will learn how to cope with big occasions.
“Win or lose, we will take a lot from being involved in a quarter-final. I have been in one for a few years, so I am going to be as excited and nervous as anyone.
“A home semi-final would be amazing, particularly after the disappointment of seeing the one-day international at the ground washed out.
“It would mean big numbers in terms of attendance, which would be great for the club. But first things first, we have to go and beat Kent.
“For me, captaining the side again, it means a return to sleepless nights of preparation and thinking about how things might turn out.
“I would be so proud to lead this side into a semi-final and maybe even beyond.”
The last 14 completed List A meetings between Kent and Gloucestershire have produced seven wins apiece.
Gloucestershire from; Marshall, Tavare, Dent, Roderick (W), A Gidman (C), Cockbain, W Gidman, Howell, J Taylor, Smith, Miles, Payne, Norwell.
