PREVIEW: T20 PROGRESS IS ON THE LINE AT UXBRIDGE
14 August 2017
It's now or never in the NatWest T20 Blast 2017 if we are to make the quarter finals.
A win over Middlesex at Uxbridge on Tuesday (5.30pm) would take matters to Thursday at the Kia Oval against Surrey, although there is a third stage to the plot in that Gloucestershire are the team to sit out the final round of games in the South Group on Friday evening. Pending previous results, it could be a nervous night.
But enough of the hypothesis. Anything less than two wins probably won't be sufficient for a place in the last eight, and speaking to the media after the defeat by Essex on Sunday, Klinger was clear that the recent trend of low scores had to be stopped.
"We have had some guys get some nice 20's or 30's but in three of the last four games there's no hiding away from the fact that no one has played a match winning innings. We got a bit lucky with the win at Glamorgan, and in the next two games we need to be better."
Good morning!
It's a huge game tonight in the @NatWestT20Blast v Middlesex!
With two games to go, can we finish top 4⃣? #GoGlos pic.twitter.com/rUIvct2Ol2
— Gloucestershire CCC (@Gloscricket) August 15, 2017
"Our bowling group in the last few matches has actually been really good, but to win most games in T20 cricket you need someone to get a 70 or an 80, and to get two people doing that would be even better."
For their part Middlesex are not completely out of contention either, albeit from their position at the foot of the table it's a complex mathematical equation. Gloucestershire started the South Group with a tie against Tuesday's opponents - what a difference that extra point would make now - and it was at Uxbridge in 2011 that Hamish Marshall and Kevin O'Brien both made hundreds in the same match.
"We have a decent record against Middlesex but that doesn't count for much now" he added. "We have to bring our skills and commitment to the game, look to finish on 16 points and hope that's enough."
Head coach Richard Dawson has named a 14 man squad for our match against Middlesex in Uxbridge:
Squad :
Klinger (c), Mustard, Cockbain, Bancroft, Hankins, Howell, J.Taylor, Noema-Barnett, van Buuren, Smith, Payne, Liddle, M.Taylor, Miles.
Five of the nine teams in the South Group currently have 12 points but Dawson says he isn't studying the table.
"It's almost an irrelevance to me at this stage because the two games are like playing a semi final and a final" he said. "We know we can win these games if we play good cricket, and it's not just about believing you can do it. It's about thinking smartly and execution of skills."
"It's been a tough tournament and we will finish the group with four games in seven days, three of them away which is a lot of travelling and playing. We've played some decent cricket in this format for the last two years, and we now want people to put their hands up and make match winning contributions."
