County Championship 2021: Gloucestershire preview

Captain

Chris Dent

Last year

5/6 Central Group

Player movements

In: Jared Warner (Yorks), Dan Worrall (Aus), Kraigg Brathwaite (WI)

Out: Gareth Roderick (Worcs), George Drissell (released), Stuart Whittingham (retired)

Key player

Ryan Higgins – the Zimbabwe-born, former Middlesex all-rounder has become Gloucestershire’s talisman since joining the club in 2018, averaging 21 with the ball and 37 with the bat and delivering a series of match-winning performances in their stirring 2019 campaign.

Bolter

Ben Charlesworth – an old-school opener in the Alastair Cook mould, the willowy left-hander’s record hardly jumps off the page (averaging just 21 from 15 first-class matches) but his composed innings of 82 against Australia at last year’s Under 19 World Cup showed why he is widely regarded as the standout English batsman of his age group.

County Championship 2021: Warwickshire Fixtures

Gloucestershire v Surrey, Thursday April 8, County Ground

Somerset v Gloucestershire, Thursday April 15, Cooper Associates County Ground

Hampshire v Gloucestershire, Thursday April 22, Rose Bowl

Gloucestershire v Leicestershire, Thursday April 29, County Ground

Middlesex vs Gloucestershire, Thursday May 6, Lord’s

Gloucestershire v Somerset, Thursday May 20, County Ground

Surrey v Gloucestershire, Thursday May 27, Woodbridge Road

Leicestershire v Gloucestershire, Thursday June 3, Grace Road

Gloucestershire v Middlesex, Sunday July 4, College Ground

Gloucestershire v Hampshire, Sunday July 11, College Ground

Wisden says

After Gloucestershire’s against-the-odds promotion in 2019 was rendered largely meaningless by Covid, the club suffered more bad news on the eve of the new season with the departure of Richard Dawson, their impressive head coach. The former England spinner, who has become the ECB’s elite performance pathway coach, has been replaced on an interim basis by Ian Harvey, the ex-Australia all-rounder who had previously been Dawson’s deputy. Harvey’s main concern will be the batting department – no one registered a century or averaged more than 30 last season and the skipper Chris Dent carries a heavy burden. The seam attack looks sprightlier, with the left-armer David Payne (14 wickets at 14 last summer) getting better with age, and Aussie paceman Dan Worrall returning after a promising stint in 2018.

Prediction

2nd in Division 3