Match Preview | Gloucestershire v Sussex | LV= Insurance County Championship
26 April 2023
Gloucestershire return to Bristol this week to host Sussex in the LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two.
Glos were halted in pursuit of a likely victory last time out against Worcestershire as rain prevented the Shire from taking the final five wickets on day four (Worcs were 51/4 but Brett D’Oliveira had retired hurt).
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Team news
Dale Benkenstein makes one change to the Gloucestershire squad with a fully fit Matt Taylor replacing Josh Shaw in a thirteen-player squad.
Taylor has recently returned to full fitness and could play his first four-day game since the Cheltenham Cricket Festival last summer. Taylor's left-arm seam gives Benkenstein the option to further vary the Gloucestershire bowling attack.
Marcus Harris and Chris Dent look set to resume their roles at the top of the Gloucestershire batting order, fresh from their second 50+ run partnership in as many matches.
James Bracey scored his first fifty of the season against Worcestershire and keeps his place in the squad beside Miles Hammond who achieved the feat in the Shire’s first game of the season against Glamorgan.
Graeme van Buuren will captain a side that could feature the spin options of Ollie Price, Jack Taylor and Zafar Gohar, a trio who will be buoyed by Yorkshire spinner Dom Bess’ four match wickets against Sussex in the previous round of fixtures.
After his day one heroics at New Road, in which he scored a century and took a hat trick in the space of three hours, Tom Price keeps his place in the squad. As does Ajeet Singh Dale, who, himself achieved an important career milestone in Worcester by claiming his first career five-wicket-haul in the first innings with figures of 6/41.
Marchant de Lange was the talk of Division Two on day four as his short-pitched bowling caused all sorts of problems for the Worcestershire top six. The paceman keeps his place alongside batter Ben Charlesworth who had some time in the middle for Gloucestershire Second XI in Thornbury earlier this week.
Gloucestershire v Sussex | LV= Insurance County Championship Division Two | Watch every ball on the Glos Cricket Match Centre HERE | 11:00am Start Time
Our opponents
Sussex drew their last match to Yorkshire after rain washed out the final day in Hove.
Just three down, Yorkshire required another 63 on the final day to beat Sussex but a miserable day meant play could not start at any point.
India international Cheteshwar Pujara was kept quiet in both innings, scoring a cumulative 31 in the match, however, Tom Alsop was unlucky to miss out on a first hundred of the season as he was dismissed for 95 by George Hill.
One wicket in the match against Yorkshire, England bowler Ollie Robinson misses the fixture as his overs are managed ahead of this summer’s Ashes series.
Your Gloucestershire squad to face Sussex
The Sussex squad to face Gloucestershire
Cheteshwar Pujara (c), Tom Alsop, Jack Carson, Oli Carter (wk), Tom Clark, James Coles, Henry Crocombe, Tom Haines, Fynn Hudson-Prentice, Sean Hunt, Aristides Karvelas, Nathan McAndrew, Ali Orr.
