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Match Preview: Lads are looking forward to local derby - Dawson (with video)

19 June 2015

Gloucestershire head coach Richard Dawson says his squad are looking forward to the challenge of taking on local rivals Somerset in front of a full house at the Bristol County Ground.

The team go into the game with four wins out of seven in the NatWest T20 Blast and can return to the top of the South Group with a win.

Richard said: “It will be a full house and an electric atmosphere. The times you get to play in front of 8000 people in a season don’t happen every week, so the lads will be relishing it.”

Speaking at a practice session ahead of the local derby, Dawson paid tribute to the form of skipper Michael Klinger and reflected on the way his side bounced back from defeats to Essex and Glamorgan with an emphatic win over Middlesex last time out.

To watch the interview and see Gloucestershire preparing for the match click below.

To take a look at how the two teams stack up in stats click here.

Team News

Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire have named an unchanged squad from their last T20 match with Hamish Marshall still missing with a calf injury.

Gloucestershire from: Michael Klinger, Ian Cockbain, Peter Handscomb, Geraint Jones, Benny Howell, Kieran Noema-Barnett, Jack Taylor, James Fuller, Tom Smith, David Payne, Robbie Montgomery, Miles Hammond, Craig Miles

Somerset

Somerset are expected to omit Marcus Trescothick from their team to take on local rivals Gloucestershire.

The former England batsman has struggled for form in the competition so far, scoring just 45 runs at an average of just nine, while also keeping wicket.

Director of cricket Matthew Maynard said: “We think it might be time for Marcus to take a break. There have been a couple of technical issues with his batting that mean he has not been striking the ball as cleanly as usual.

“I believe those have now been resolved, but that he would benefit from being rested and will come back fresher and as good as ever.”

Despite the presence of Chris Gayle for four of their opening six group games, Somerset have amassed only five points and desperately need to beat a Gloucestershire side with four wins already under their belts.

Former Hampshire wicketkeeper Michael Bates, signed on a one-month contract, is likely to take over the gloves against Gloucestershire with New Zealand international Luke Ronchi not joining up with the squad until the culmination of the current ODI series.

In the meantime, Maynard is hoping Australian Tom Cooper can build on his explosive innings of 84 not out against Glamorgan in the last T20 fixture after a difficult start to his time at Taunton.

Somerset (from): J Allenby, J Myburgh, P Trego, J Hildreth, T Cooper, M Bates (wkt), A Thomas, A Rehman, T Groenewald, L Gregory, M Waller, S Tanvir.

What they say…

Somerset-born Peter Trego – who warmed up for the visit to Bristol with a match-winning innings of 79 in the Championship game with Notts – said:  “It’s always a great challenge taking on Gloucestershire, with sell-out crowds almost guaranteed at both grounds.

“It was a great feeling beating Notts after such a great fightback and we need to use that as motivation so we can experience the same emotions on Friday night.”

Opposition Star Man

With Chris Gayle gone, Somerset are looking for a new hero and that man could be allrounder Jim Allenby.

The Australian-born player is a powerful striker of the ball and currently averages 30 with with a top score of 79 in this year’s Blast.

With the ball, Allenby is among the most miserly in the country with five wickets at 14 and an economy rate of just 5.92.

Last Time We Met

NatWest T20 Blast

July 11 2014 v at Taunton

Somerset 175-8 (20 overs) (Compton 46) (Howell 2-23)

Gloucestershire 168-6 (A Gidman 55) (Thomas 3-34)

Somerset won by 7 runs

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