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Worcestershire Match Preview: When it's someone's time to step up someone's doing it - Noema-Barnett

5 August 2015

Gloucestershire will book their place in the Royal London One-Day Cup for the second successive year with victory over the Worcestershire Rapids at New Road today.

The two sides have enjoyed contrasting fortunes in the competition with the visitor winning all of their completed matches and the home side still searching for their first success.

Glos beat reigning champions Durham by 71 runs on the Duckworth/Lewis method yesterday with captain Michael Klinger making an unbeaten 135 and David Payne taking 5-40.

And Gloucestershire’s New Zealand-born allrounder Kieran Noema-Barnett says the team are in positive mood going into the match with Worcestershire.

He said: “We’ve come together as a group really well. A lot of guys are contributing and when guys score hundreds and taker five-fers it’s pretty easy for the rest of us. We are in a good place at the moment.

Kieran won the domestic one day competition in his home country last year with Central Stags and he says he can see parallels with his old team.

He said: “I think the main thing is we are all contributing, we aren’t just hanging off a couple of guys’ coat-tails. When it’s someone’s time to step up someone is usually doing it.

“We’ve got wicket-taking bowlers with the ball and batsmen we have players who know their roles.”

To listen to the full interview with Kieran click below.

Team News

Both teams go into the match with their preparations affected by hamstring injuries sustained by their captains yesterday. Michael Klinger is a big doubt for Glos after leading them to victory over Durham while Rapids skipper Daryl Mitchell has already been ruled out after picking up a tear against Surrey.

Pakistan international Saeed Ajmal has been named captain in Mitchell’s absence while Geraint Jones will take over for Glos should Klinger not make it.

Gloucestershire have named an unchanged squad for the match while Worcestershire continue their rotation policy in the competition. Charlie Morris replaces allrounder Jack Shantry and Richard Oliver comes in for Mitchell.

Gloucestershire Squad:

Dent, Roderick (w), Howell, Jones (c), Noema-Barnett, Taylor, Fuller, Miles, Smith, Payne, Tavare, Norwell

Rapids Squad:

Oliver, Kohler-Cadmore, Fell, Clarke, D'Oliveira, Whiteley, Cox (w), Leach, Barnard, Ajmal (c), Morris

Key Man

Hard-hitting batsman Ross Whiteley has been picked as one-to-watch in this year’s RL Cup by former England allrounder Paul Collingwood after a number of explosive displays in the shorter forms of the game.

He smashed five sixes in his 77 off just 51 balls in the recent defeat against RL Yorkshire, having made a blistering 91 off 35 balls against the White Rose county in the NatWest T20 Blast earlier in the summer.

The former Derbyshire batsman, 26, has been tipped by Worcester captain Daryl Mitchell has a potential England player in the future.

Opta Facts

• Gloucestershire have won four of their last five matches against Worcestershire (L1).
• Worcestershire have failed to win the toss in eight of their last nine matches versus Gloucestershire.
• Worcestershire have mustered just three wins in their last 22 home games (L19).
• Gloucestershire claimed a 1 run victory over Leicestershire in their most recent away game; July 2010 was the last time they had been involved in such a tight finish on the road (1 run win over v Derbyshire).

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