Match preview ; Norwell set for New Road return
28 May 2016
Gloucestershire's leading wicket taker in the Championship in 2015, Liam Norwell, is back in contention for a return to first team cricket against Worcestershire on Sunday.
Norwell hasn't played a first class match since the reverse fixture at the Brightside Ground at the end of April, but bowled 20 overs in the 2nd XI game against Kent which finished on Friday and is included in a squad of 12 for the match at New Road.
Head coach Richard Dawson said "It wasn't just Liam getting some overs under his belt that was important, we fielded for 130 overs so he spent a lot of time on his feet."
"The lads who have been playing have done well but it's nice to have a bowler fit who not only took 60 wickets last year but can also keep the run rate down. Any team would miss someone who can give you that."
Norwell's inclusion in place of Tom Hampton is the only change to the squad selected for the home draw with Northamptonshire last week.
SQUAD :
Roderick (c), Dent, Van Buuren, Klinger, Marshall, Hankins, Noema-Barnett, J. Taylor, Miles, Payne, Shaw, Norwell.
LAST SEASON :
Gloucestershire's only match at New Road last season was in the group stages of the Royal London Cup, when half centuries from Will Tavare, Gareth Roderick and Geraint Jones saw them to a four wicket win. The last Championship game at Worcester between the teams was in 2014, when Gloucestershire won by 7 wickets after being left to score 177 for victory.
Earlier this season, the two sides played out a draw at the Brightside Ground with England all rounder Moeen Ali making an unbeaten century in Worcestershire's second innings, and Gloucestershire head coach Richard Dawson says his unavailability for this game is something of a bonus.
"Moeen is a seriously good player, as we saw both against us and with his England hundred against Sri Lanka. He didn't play in Worcestershire's victory at Leicester last week though and they also had a good T20 win at Edgbaston on Friday so they'll be confident. Joe Clarke did well against us at Bristol, Brett D'Oliveira is in good form and their attack is decent with Leach and Henry leading it."
The game is the last one for Gloucestershire in the Championship until they go to Leicester at the end of June, and Dawson believes a good result at New Road will cap a satisfactory first phase of the season.
"It's been busy for the boys, and there have been many more positives than negatives so far" Dawson said. "Having got the first win against Glamorgan we played some good cricket for three days against Northants and then couldn't quite get over the line. The number of wins is down for everyone compared to last year, so for a lot of teams it's a question of staying in the pack until later in the season and we're no different."
COVERAGE :
You can follow the match via the live scorecard available on the webiste, or via Twitter @Gloscricket.
