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We Have To Sharpen Up Tonight - Hamish

21 June 2012

Hamish Marshall is calling on his Gloucestershire team to show a marked improvement in tonight’s Friends Life t20 clash with Northamptonshire at Bristol.

The skipper was unhappy with a sloppy fielding display at Worcester last Sunday when several catches went down and run out opportunities were missed.

The response to that has been some concentrated training stints, which Hamish believes will lead to a sharper display this evening.

He told this website: “We have had some good sessions this week to work on our skills, but in the end it boils down to the attitude we take onto the field.

“The lads are fired up to show a big improvement against Northants and we will be looking to buzz around the pitch, taking catches and effecting run outs, so we give ourselves a good chance of winning.

“It was our first T20 game of the season at Worcester and the guys were probably a bit on edge. It is high pressure cricket and that can affect players, but I can’t fault them for the way they have trained and hopefully that will pay dividends from now on.”

The game at New Road was Hamish’s first since being appointed skipper for this season’s T20 competition.

“I enjoyed the captaincy experience,” he said. “It’s something I have done a lot and there is a lot to think about in a short space of time.

“In four-day cricket a bad session can cost you, but in T20 a bad over can make all the difference because it is all about momentum.

“We must look to create big overs with bat and ball and that is something I am very aware of as skipper.”

While it is still early days in the competition, Hamish is under no illusions about the importance of beating Northants.

He added: “It’s a big game because we need to get our campaign on the road. We have one point from the Somerset match being abandoned, but we want to get ourselves into contention in the group and not have to play catch-up.

“That means posting some victories early on. I still believe we have what it takes to qualify from our division, but we have to start proving that on the park.”

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