Gloucs stick together

Alex Gidman has helped foster a sense of togetherness within the camp © Getty Images

Hamish Marshall may not wish to hear it, but Gloucestershire captain Alex Gidman is not banking on his overseas player producing a match-winning performance in the Friends Provident Trophy clash with Kent.

Gloucestershire go into the game at Tunbridge Wells needing to win - and other results going their way - if they are to reach the semi-finals.

To do so, Gidman knows his players must demonstrate the team ethic which has carried them this far, rather than relying on New Zealand batsman Marshall to do the work for them.

“That’s not what it’s about for us,” Gidman told ecb.co.uk. “It’s not about your big overseas star making a hundred or taking five wickets.

“It’s about knowing what you bring to the team, having your own job, and being ready to do that job.

“You’re not going to play well every game, so it’s about creating an atmosphere where players want to help their mates out when they might not be doing so well.

“We don’t rely on any particular player - we’ve got a good squad with people prepared to contribute. That’s what cricket is all about, and one-day cricket especially.”

Gloucestershire are one of six teams that have a chance of progressing from the fiercely contested South Conference and, though they boast the worst of the run-rates among them, they go into the game having won their last five completed matches in the competition.

Such a prospect appeared nothing short of fanciful after they were plundered for 496 in 50 overs by Surrey en route to a 257-run defeat in their opening encounter.

“That was not our greatest day,” said Gidman. “I put it down to a freak result.

“We had a tight game against Middlesex after that, which we lost, but we proved to ourselves we weren’t playing that badly.

“We’ve had a few close ones that we’ve won since then, so we’ve just squeezed our way through.

John Bracewell brought huge success to Gloucestershire

“But winning those sort of games is a good sign of character in the team and it’s good for confidence. They’re fun to play in as well - as long as you finish on the right side.”

Gidman and coach Mark Alleyne deserve considerable credit for maintaining the sense of togetherness initially instilled by John Bracewell during his astonishingly successful reign.

Gloucestershire became experts at defending totals as they collected seven one-day trophies between 1999 and 2003, and they are three victories away from adding another piece of silverware to add to the NatWest Pro40 title they won last year.

“When John Bracewell was here he set out a way to win one-day games - he realised what we had and what we needed to do - and that has continued under Mark. There’s not much that has changed.

“When I came into the team that was what it was like - you had your bit to do and you just got on with it. It’s just part of parcel of being a player here.

“But it doesn’t matter where you play - it’s about putting pressure on the opposition.

“When the pressure is on, that one run you save, or the run-out you make, or the catch you take - those are the little things that make the difference. That’s how we win games.”