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Match preview: Same squad again for Southampton

6 May 2017

Gloucestershire visit Hampshire on Sunday in the South group of the Royal London Cup knowing that both teams are at the stage where one more defeat will make it difficult to qualify for the knockout stages.

Gloucestershire's result against Essex on Thursday was almost a mirror image of Hampshire's game at Chelmsford, and although Gloucestershire beat Middlesex while Hampshire lost, their hosts at the Ageas Bowl won at Canterbury in the opening round of games against Kent as Gloucestershire were edged out by Glamorgan at the Brightside Ground.

Neither side has yet batted first in any of their matches, but that's not unusual so far in the competition. Three quarters of the games have seen the side winning the toss choosing to field first, and Gloucestershire assistant coach Ian Harvey has had no problem with Michael Klinger doing that twice so far, even though both games have ended in defeat.

Speaking after the game at Chelmsford, Harvey said "The wickets around the country have been very good so most teams are bowling first, but whatever you do, you have to do it well. Good sides make you pay if you don't take chances. We probably wouldn't have taken two wins and two losses at the half way stage in the group but now we've got no choice but to aim for that and bounce back quickly. We did it at Lord's after the Glamorgan game and we need to do it here."

Head coach Richard Dawson will again select the final XI from the 13 players which have made up the squad for all the games so far for what is Gloucestershire's first List A match at Southampton since 2009.

Squad:

Klinger (c), Mustard, Dent, van Buuren, Cockbain, J.Taylor, Howell, Noema-Barnett, Smith, Miles, Norwell, Liddle, M.Taylor

Phil Mustard's elevation to open the batting alongside captain Michael Klinger saw him convert a start into a big score for the first time against Essex, and the Gloucestershire wicketkeeper conceded there was a sense of relief to do so.

"It was the first runs I'd got in white ball cricket this year, and although it took me a while to get going hopefully it will put me in good stead for Sunday" Mustard said. "It's been an up and down week. We were down and out against Middlesex and came back to win, and we were in contention in the other two games so we just need one or two things to click. On Thursday there were some fielding errors but we have to pick ourselves up again, and if we can win on Sunday it will still put us in the mix for the top three spots. It's a crucial game and hopefully we can come out on top."

Hampshire have also named an unchanged squad from their defeat under Duckworth Lewis against Middlesex at the Ageas Bowl on Wednesday. It includes Michael Carberry, who has returned to playing after being diagnosed with a cancerous tumour last July.

Hampshire squad:

Carberry, Alsop, Vince (c), Bailey, Adams, Dawson, Ervine, McManus (wk), Berg, Abbott, Crane, Topley, Holland.

Coverage :

You can follow the match via the live scorecard available on the website, or via Twitter @Gloscricket

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