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PREVIEW : "We won't be going through the motions" - Dawson

24 September 2017

Gloucestershire complete their Division 2 Championship season at the Brightside Ground against Derbyshire (Monday, 10.30am) with head coach Richard Dawson calling on his players to finish the season on a positive note.

Due to the international match taking place at the ground on Sunday 24 September, there is no parking on site for this match, click here for more information

Gloucestershire are assured of a sixth placed finish for the third season in a row, but they are unbeaten in Championship cricket at Bristol this summer, and that's a record Dawson wants to preserve.

"One of our goals was to play better cricket at home and we've done that, which has made us harder to beat" he said. "We know at Bristol we're virtually certain to be batting first every time because the ball seams around in the first innings and then it gradually gets easier."

"We've talked a lot about getting a total on the board in that situation and being competitive after both teams have batted, and the only defeats we've had have been away at Kent in the first game, and then at Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire, who are the top two sides."

Derbyshire arrive at Bristol having had their last home game against Kent at Chesterfield last week completely washed out. The teams have not played each other at all this year, and Gloucestershire will probably go into the match without Liam Norwell, whose century in the corresponding fixture last summer was the first ever made by a night watchman in the club's history.

Norwell strained a hamstring in the draw at Glamorgan, and head coach Richard Dawson will decide on his possible replacement on Monday morning. The rest of the team is likely to be unchanged, with Benny Howell again opening the batting after his century in Cardiff.

"We needed an opener and gave Benny an opportunity, which he took" Dawson went on. "James Bracey's hundred will also give him confidence that he can do a job against good bowlers."

"Overall it's been a tough season, and we'll sit down after this week and go through what has happened. Some things have improved, while others have not moved forward as well as we would have hoped, but we finish at home and we want to finish playing good cricket and not going through the motions. That's the goal."

Coverage:

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

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