Team ethos got us through - Dawson
18 August 2018
Head coach Richard Dawson has highlighted the collective effort of his players as the dominant factor in Gloucestershire's qualification for the Vitality T20 Blast quarter finals.
Up against teams with bigger squads and bigger budgets, Gloucestershire secured their place in the last eight with two games to spare, and even though a home quarter final proved a step too far, Dawson felt the improvement on last year with eight wins compared to four in the group stages represented signifcant progress.
"We've played some very good cricket to get to this point" said Dawson after confrmation that the quarter final would be against Worcestershire at New Road next Saturday afternoon.
"It's been down to the whole group and not one or two individuals. People have been asked to do jobs for the team and that's what has got us over the line. The lads can take confidence from the way they've gone about things and finished chances we've had to win games."
Opponents Worcestershire last reached the quarter finals in 2015 and have never been to Finals Day before, whilst Gloucestershire's last visit was in 2007 so Dawson agreed the match represented a big opportunity for both clubs.
"We had the quarter final with Durham in 2016 at the Brightside Ground when we missed out and we want to go one step further" he added. "Worcestershire are an explosive side but that's what you expect at this stage. At the start of the tournament you want to get to the quarter finals and that's where we are. Now we want to play well on the day and hopefully get through."
Beforehand Gloucestershire travel to Edgbaston for a Championship match against Warwickshire which starts on Sunday (11.00am).
It is Gloucestershire's first four day game there since 2008, and after winning their previous fixture against Durham at the Cheltenham Festival, skipper Chris Dent wants his side to show the same attitude against the leaders of Divsion 2.
"Our mindset was good and we showed a lot of fight in that game" said Dent. "We took a lot out of how we played at Cheltenham, so hopefully everyone is ready to switch on again because we want to show we can hold our own against what is obviously a strong side. They've got some experienced players as well as some younger lads and that mix has done well."
The squad of 12 for the match includes 17 year old Ben Charlesworth, a left handed batsman and medium fast bowler who represented England Under 19's in their series against South Africa earlier this summer.
Squad:
Dent (c), Hammond, Bracey, Roderick, Howell, Charlesworth, Higgins, Miles, Payne, M.Taylor, Drissell, Lintott.
Coverage:
You can follow the match via the live scorecard availabe on the website, or via Twitter @Gloscricket.
Ball by ball commentary is also available on the BBC Sport website.
