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Match Preview: Miles included for Kent trip

6 May 2016

Fast bowler Craig Miles could make his first Championship appearance of the season when Gloucestershire travel to Canterbury on Sunday to face Kent.

The 21 year old, who took 46 Championship wickets last season, hasn't played in the first team since the match against Durham MCCU a month ago, but head coach Richard Dawson is pleased to have Miles available after he bowled 20 overs in a second eleven game earlier this week.

"Craig bowled really nicely on a flat Bristol wicket" Dawson said. "We didn't treat him any differently, he took the new ball and bowled in five and six over spells. It's really good to have him back fit."

Miles' inclusion is in place of Liam Norwell - who is left out for medical reasons. This is the only change to the squad selected for the drawn game with Worcestershire.

It means George Hankins keeps his place despite Benny Howell making a century and a half century against Durham's second eleven.

"It was great to see Benny return to form but George took his place and he keeps it" Dawson added. "He did well in the build-up to the Worcestershire game and it would be tough on him to give him one opportunity and then take him out of the team."

SQUAD :

Dent, Bancroft, Cockbain, Roderick (c), Marshall, Hankins, Noema-Barnett, J Taylor, Shaw, Payne, Miles, Hampton.

LAST SEASON :

The corresponding game at the St Lawrence Ground was a virtual washout, with only 15 overs play possible on the first day. The other three days were abandoned without a ball being bowled. Earlier in the season, Kent won at Bristol by 8 wickets after being set 241 to win on what was one of the best batting pitches of the summer at the Brightside Ground.

Kent recorded their first Championship victory of 2016 on Wednesday against Glamorgan, a match in which their overseas player, New Zealander Tom Latham, scored two half centuries and Dawson is anticipating a hard and competitive match.

"Kent come into this off the back of a good, clinical win and with Darren Stevens in their side they have a mature experienced cricketer who the others can play around" Dawson went on. "He gives them control with the ball and he can still be a match winner with the bat."

"We talked after the Worcestershire game about capitalising on positions of dominance, and that's not something we've consistently done. We spoke about being harder on ourselves in those positions because three times against Worcestershire they got back into the game."

"We all know - and it's the same for everyone - that the majority of Championship cricket is at the start of the summer. There has been a lot of runs around the country and we've always been in our last two games because we've done well in terms of first innings scores. While you're not going to win a game in the first day you might go a long way towards losing it, so that's something we've got to maintain."

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