Match Preview: Taylor says there is more to come from unbeaten Glos ahead of Durham visit
3 August 2015
Gloucestershire allrounder Jack Taylor says there is still more to come from the team despite their superb start to the Royal London One-Day Cup.
The side face Durham at the Bristol County Ground tomorrow having won all three of their completed games in the competition - including beating local rival Somerset on Sunday.
He said: “We have won the last six matches in all competitions so the confidence is high, particularly as we haven’t played 100% in the One-Day Cup yet but are still winning games.
“We have played well but we haven’t fielded as well as we can, our bowling can improve as a group and we need to rotate the strike better in the middle of our innings.
“If we can start performing anything like our best we are going to put ourselves in with a great chance of getting out of the group stage.”
Gloucestershire are currently one of only two unbeaten teams in Group A and sit in third place ahead of the visit of fourth placed Durham.
Since their abandoned match against Yorkshire, Richard Dawson’s men have held their nerve to secure victories in three nail-biting finishes.
They beat Derbyshire and Leicestershire off the final ball of the match before winning with two balls to spare against Somerset.
This has been at odds with Glos’ NatWest T20 Blast form when they came out on the wrong end of close encounters on five separate occasions.
And Jack says the side have learned from the tight finishes in the T20.
He said: “Being involved in those sort of games can only help. We’ve been there before and it’s just about trying to keep as calm as we can and executing our skills and that’s something we’ve just done better this time.
“I think with our bowling options and the depth we have in our batting this is a competition we back ourselves in.”
Jack has played a key role in two of the One-Day Cup victories, making an unbeaten 24 off 13 balls –including hitting the winning runs – v Somerset and smashing 41 not out off 14 against Derbyshire.
And he says he has been pleased to play his part in the side’s recent success.
He said: “It’s been nice to be contributing, especially to be there at the end to finish things off.
“You just try to keep a clear head and think about where you want to hit the ball and back yourself to execute if the bowlers miss their areas.”
After winning their first two completed matches, Durham travel to Bristol having lost their last two - to Surrey and Yorkshire.
It is the first time the two sides have met in six years and Jack says the lack of familiarity with the opposition could be an advantage.
He said: “They are a good side with a strong middle order and Chris Rushworth in good form with the ball but sometimes not knowing too much a is a good things as it allows us just to focus in ourselves.”
Durham batsman Graham Clark, who signed his first professional contract last week says his side will be looking to get their One-Day campaign back on track this week.
Speaking to the Durham official website he said: “We don’t dwell on what has gone on before. We have to pick ourselves up and get a few victories under our belts to make sure we get in the draw for the last eight. This is a good chance to put things right. Three wins in a row in the competition will leave us in a really good place.”
Gloucestershire Squad
Klinger(c), Dent, Roderick(w), Howell, Jones, Noema-Barnett, Taylor, Fuller, Miles, Smith, Payne, Tavare, Norwell
Durham Squad
Mark Stoneman(c), Paul Collingwood, Phil Mustard (w), Scott Borthwick, Graham Clark, Ryan Pringle, Gordon Muchall, John Hastings, Keaton Jennings, Usman Arshad, Chris Rushworth, Jamie Harrison, Calum MacLeod.
Opta Facts
- Of the seven completed List A matches between these sides in Gloucestershire, the hosts have won five and lost two.
- These sides have not met in this format since the 2009 Natwest Pro40, when Durham won by 1 run after bowling Gloucestershire out for 205 in the final over.
- Durham have won four consecutive away List A games (excluding neutral venues), they have not won five in a row since 1992.
- In eight of the North East side’s last nine away games, the team to win the toss has gone on to lose.
- Ahead of Gloucestershire’s meeting with Somerset on August 2nd, Jack Taylor had hit 41 runs from only 16 balls in List A cricket this summer, a strike rate of 256.25.
