Sunshine And Optimism As Players Meet Press
10 April 2014
The Bristol County Ground was bathed in sunshine as Gloucestershire’s players and coaches met reporters and cameramen at the club’s annual pre-season Media Day.
Club Captain Michael Klinger was in greatest demand for interviews, along with Director of Cricket John Bracewell, while the squad lined up for team and individual photographs.
Players chatted with journalists and conducted television and radio interviews far more comfortably than 12 months ago when the event was held on a bitterly cold day.
Michael, who enjoyed a short family holiday on his way back to England from Australia, said he felt refreshed and eager to start his second season as skipper.
Alex Gidman summed up the mood of optimism in the dressing room, telling this website: “There is a really good vibe about the place.
“We have had a good pre-season and the lads have trained very hard. The weather has been fine, so preparations have gone as well as we could have hoped.
“The ground is looking great and the players are excited about the summer ahead. We are not the sort of squad to strut about boasting about what we can achieve, but we look forward to a successful campaign.”
John Bracewell said: “There is always a buzz at this time of year and we feel we have a squad in place to be very competitive this season.
“I expect us to be chasing promotion in the Championship and that remains the Holy Grail as far as I am concerned.
“But I also believe the new 50-over competition will suit us and we aim to make our T20 games the best Friday night out in Bristol.”
The opening LV=County Championship match of the season is at home to Hampshire, starting on Sunday. The team has yet to be announced, but it has been confirmed that Cameron Herring will be keeping wicket.
Unfortunately Gareth Roderick will miss the start as he requires surgery on his fractured finger. This will mean he is likely to miss the first six weeks of the season.
John Bracewell added: “It is bad luck for Gareth, but Cameron hit some excellent form with the bat in the Cardiff MCCU game, which was really timely.”
