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"Something always happens" - Richard Dawson's Festival thoughts

2 July 2017

Gloucestershire head to the College Ground on Monday for the annual Cheltenham Festival, with two Championship and three Nat West T20 Blast matches forming a busy sequence over the next fortnight.

The visit of Glamorgan - who haven't played at Cheltenham since 2010 - opens the Festival and head coach Richard Dawson is able to add Graeme van Buuren to the side which drew the day-night Championship match at Hove, van Buuren having missed the game with a twisted knee.

Squad :

Bancroft, Dent, Tavare, Roderick, Van Buuren, Hankins, Mustard (c), J.Taylor, Noema-Barnett, Payne, Miles, Norwell.

"We've got two weeks of tough cricket ahead of us, but it's a time everyone at the club looks forward to whether you are in the dressing room or a supporter" Dawson said ahead of a net session under sunny skies at the College Ground.

"We've had some decent games here in the last couple of years, and some fast moving games too. A lot can happen in two hours, let alone two weeks. You can have periods where the ball is flying around but as we saw last year you can take packs of wickets in a short space of time and games can turn. Something is always happening so you've got to be sharp on your feet and mentally switched on as well."

After Craig Miles and Will Tavare both reached 50 first class appearances in their career at Hove, Jack Taylor could reach the same milestone against Glamorgan having passed 2,000 first class runs in the last home Championship match against Nottinghamshire. Taylor made a memorable century against Northants in the 2015 Festival and Richard Dawson says that innings highlighted the appeal of the Festival.

"You get value here as a batsman and a bowler" he went on. "The boundaries are quite short so it is a quick scoring ground but if you put the ball in the right areas there is enough to keep you interested. It's decent cricket and with the crowd close to the play it's a good atmosphere all round."

Glamorgan come into the game having changed captains mid season - Australian Michael Hogan taking over from Jacques Rudolph - and after being spun out on the final day of their last Championship match against Derbyshire by 16 year old leg spinner Hamidullah Qadri, but head coach Richard Dawson knows wins over Durham and Worcestershire show they have match winners who must be respected.

"They have a good balance with guys like Hogan, de Lange, Rudolph and Ingram alongside some lads making their way in their careers" he said. "They have players who can change a game so you can never take them lightly."

Coverage :

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

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