Will Makes It A Debut To Remember
13 April 2014
Will Tavare marked his LV=County Championship debut for Gloucestershire with an unbeaten century on the opening day of the match with Hampshire at Bristol.
The 24-year-old Bristolian batsman hit 135 not out in a total of 292-5, sharing a second-wicket stand of 163 with skipper Michael Klinger, who made 81, and became only the ninth Gloucestershire player to make a hundred on debut.
Will reached his century with a six off Liam Dawson, the second time he had cleared the ropes, having faced 198 balls and also hit 14 fours.
He came to the wicket with Gloucestershire 17-1 after the early dismissal of Chris Dent and helped overcome a mini collapse after Klinger’s departure.
Alex Gidman and Hamish Marshall fell cheaply as Gloucestershire slipped to 186-4. But Will Gidman then steadied things with a valuable innings of 55, adding 103 for the fifth wicket with Tavare.
At the close a weary, but delighted Tavare told this website: "It was a really tough day for me because the pitch was doing a bit early on and Hampshire have some quality bowlers.
"Batting with Michael Klinger was great for me because he is an intense character, like myself, and he made sure I kept concentrating.
"I also enjoyed the partnership with Will Gidman at the end of the day, which was important for the team after we lost a couple of wickets.
"Things went my way today and I know that is not always going to be the case. It was a full toss that I hit for six to reach my century. I saw it early and was able to move down the wicket to strike it.
"I wasn't sure the ball had cleared the rope so I didn't celebrate immediately. It was a great moment for me, especially with family and friends in the ground watching.
"It could be that the pitch will get easier to bat on as the game progresses. Hampshire obviously felt that would be the case when putting us in, so we need to add as many runs as possible tomorrow."
The full list of player to make a century on Gloucestershire debut reads: Denis Moore, David Shepherd, Richard Scott, Andrew Symonds, Chris Taylor, Craig Spearman, Hamish Marshall, Ed Cowan and now Tavare.
It was an innings that would have delighted Will's uncle, Chris Tavare, the former England, Kent and Somerset batsman.
Coach Owen Dawkins told this website “Everyone is thrilled for Will. His innings was reward for a tremendous amount of hard work, not just in pre-season, but over the last couple of years.
“He gave a couple of slip chances early in his innings, but from them on was tremendous, reaching his hundred by dancing down the pitch to Dawson and hitting him for six over long-on.
“Michael Klinger played as though he had never been away and Will Gidman made an important contribution. Having been put in on a pitch that offered a bit of movement, we have to be very pleased.”
For more details on the opening day against Hampshire click on Cricket and the Match Reports.
