News

Match Preview: Glos target third T20 derby win in a row v Somerset

30 June 2016

Gloucestershire go into Friday’s derby with Somerset looking for their third T20 win in a row against their local rivals.

Richard Dawson’s men travel to Taunton on the back of three straight wins in the NatWest Blast and are unbeaten on the road this year.

They are currently joint top of the South Group and - based on the on the first two seasons of the competition -  three more victories from their remaining six matches would see them through to the quarter-finals and two may still be enough.

One man who has come to the fore for Glos in recent games is seamer Matt Taylor who took a career-best 3-29 against Sussex Sharks on Sunday off the back of bowling a maiden at Chris Gayle in the four wicket win over Somerset at Bristol.

And the left-armer, who missed most of last season with a back injury, said he is relishing the opportunity to establish himself in the shortest form of the game.

He said: “It has been great to be given a chance in the NatWest T20 Blast this year and I am loving it.

“Playing in front of bigger crowds has been great. We had 6,000 at Arundel against Sussex and to play in front of 12,000 at the Brightside Ground against Somerset was awesome.

“It was my first taste of playing in front of that many and it was great to be out there and to try and put on a show. I like to think that I can rise to the occasion and perform under pressure. I just tried to keep it simple and execute my skills.”

Matt’s good form has been mirrored by fellow bowler Benny Howell (pictured) who is currently the second highest wicket-taker in the competition and has bowled the fifth most dot balls

He took 2-29 in Gloucestershire’s four-wicket win over Somerset at Bristol – a game that the home side secure victory off the penultimate ball thanks to a Gareth Roderick boundary.

Matt says the whole squad are in confident mood ahead of Friday’s match at the sold out Coopers Associates County Ground.

And he expects a hostile reception: “The boys are feeling really confident at the moment but we won’t be taking Somerset lightly. You can get on a roll in the T20 and we have won every match away from home so hopefully we can keep it going.

“I am expecting the crowd at Taunton will be pretty rowdy but I am looking forward to it.”

Gloucestershire have named an unchanged squad from the one that travelled to the South Coast for the double-header against Hampshire and Sussex.

Gloucestershire Squad: Klinger (c), Marshall, Cockbain, Dent, Howell, Noema-Barnett, Roderick (w), J Taylor, Smith, Van Buuren, Tye, Miles, Norwell, M Taylor, Payne

Somerset

Somerset have enjoyed a mixed start to their NatWest T20 Blast campaign, winning three and losing four of their first seven games.

After losing to Gloucestershire at the Brightside Ground they put themselves back into quarter final contention with a six wicket win over Hampshire, only to lose in a rain-affected match with Middlesex last time out.

They are currently fifth in the south group, level on points with fourth-placed Sussex and are unbeaten at home.

They go into Friday night’s Cider Derby without star batsman Chris Gayle, whose stay in Taunton has now come to an end.

Speaking to Somerset’s official website, director of cricket Matthew Maynard said his side will be looking to get their own back on their local rivals.

He said: “A game with Gloucestershire is always a tough one and we will have another sell out crowd behind us when we play them on Friday.  The last time we met we just missed out, so you can be sure that all of the boys will be up for getting their revenge!”

Somerset Squad: Jim Allenby (c), Johann Myburgh, Peter Trego, Mahela Jayawardene, James Hildreth, Michael Leask, Roelof van der Merwe, Lewis Gregory, Ryan Davies (w), Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Tim Groenewald, Josh Davey, Max Waller

Key Man - Mahela Jayawardene

He may have recently turned 39 but Somerset’s Sri Lankan batsman Mahela Jayawardene remains a class act. With more than 25,000 international runs across all formats there have been few more consistent and enduring batsmen in world cricket. He is yet to catch fire in this year’s NatWest T20 Blast with just one 50 to his name. But his unbeaten 45 off 32 balls in the win over Hampshire two games ago could be an ominous sign of a return to top form ahead of Gloucestershire’s visit.

 Opta Facts

• Gloucestershire have won back-to-back matches versus Somerset; they’ve never managed to win three times in a row against them.
• Somerset have won all three of their home matches this summer.
• Gloucestershire have won six in a row on the road.
• Hamish Marshall (Gloucestershire) comes into this game on the back of scoring 90 (v Sussex); he scored 93 the last times these sides last met in Taunton.

Last Time We Met (NatWest T20 Blast)

June 17, 2016 at The Brightside Ground, Bristol

Somerset 158-5 (Gayle 40, Howell 2-29) (20 overs)

Gloucestershire 160-6 (Klinger 60, van der Merwe 3-16)

Gloucestershire won by four wickets

Head-to-Head

• Previous
• Next