Two points is the short term vision: Dawson
5 June 2018
Gloucestershire head coach Richard Dawson says a victory against Middlesex on Wednesday at the Brightside Ground (2.00pm) is his sole focus as the South Group in the Royal London Cup is played to a conclusion.
Gloucestershire could still mathematically finish in the final play-off place if they can chalk up a third victory in a tournament where rain and injuries have played a major role.
"They have certainly been relevant chapters in any book, and that's been frustrating" reflected Dawson. "The short term vision is we have to beat Middlesex and collect the two points, only then can you think about anything else."
"The long term vision when we started out was that we wanted to play better 50 over cricket than we had done in the past two seasons, and we have played some good stuff by chasing two totals successfully and putting two other competitive scores on the board. Unfortunately we didn't bowl well enough to build pressure in those games."
The side has had a settled look throughout the tournament with only 12 players being used, but Dawson admitted he will make a late decision on the team for Wednesday's game, especially with David Payne making good progress after his ankle surgery.
Gloucestershire 15 man squad:
Chris Dent (Captain), George Hankins, Benny Howell, Gareth Roderick, Ian Cockbain, Jack Taylor, Ryan Higgins, Tom Smith, Craig Miles, Matt Taylor, Chris Liddle, Graeme van Buuren, Miles Hammond, David Payne, George Drissell
"David is coming along nicely and better than we thought two weeks ago" Dawson added. "Playing a four day game at this point would be a massive effort because he hasn't done that since last season, but getting through a one day game is a different question, and that's something I have to think about."
Middlesex's hopes of any further involvement in the compeition also depends on a strict combination of results at three other venues AND a big swing in net run rate between them and Essex.
Much may hinge on opener Paul Stirling, who has made two centuries and scored 125 in the corresponding fixture two years ago, while Dawson admitted Gloucestershire's top run scorer George Hankins has given him a reminder of what he can do ahead of the return to Championship action against Kent on Saturday.
"George has done well and from his point of view it's nice to get runs whatever the format. He and Chris Dent have played with an intent to score and given us some good starts in the powerplay."
"The plan was to be braver and not get bogged down and we've tried to implement that. The one thing we could improve on is converting the fifties (there have been 12 of them) into hundreds but hopefully we can take that confidence forward into red ball cricket."
Coverage:
You can follow the match via the live scorecard available on the website, or via Twitter @Gloscricket.
Ball by ball commentary is also available on the BBC Sport website.
