Ground: Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol
Captain: TBC
2023 results: 8/8; ODC: Semi-finalists; T20: 7/9 South Group
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Bottom of Division One in 2022, Gloucestershire’s precipitous descent down the rankings hit the bottom last September when they collected the wooden spoon at the end of another chastening season. The club have gone back to the boot room in appointing Mark Alleyne to replace Dale Benkenstein as head coach and try to revive a team that has won two of its last 28 Championship matches. There were strokes of bad luck last season – Marchant de Lange was crocked for most of the season, Marcus Harris left for the Ashes and wasn’t seen again – but the seam attack, in particular, appears to lack an identity, with David Payne now sticking to white-ball cricket. The young Price brothers continue to show promise but Gloucestershire badly miss the all-round inspiration of Ryan Higgins, now at Middlesex. Spinner Zafar Gohar took more wickets than anyone else but they cost nearly 50 apiece. The batting is less of a concern, now boosted by the return of Cameron Bancroft to Bristol on the back of topping the run charts in the Sheffield Shield. Second on that list was Beau Webster, the 6ft 6in Tasmanian allrounder who has been signed for the Blast and two Championship matches in June.
After a season where it was hard to tell if it was yet more rain falling to the ground or Gloucestershire supporters’ tears, cautious optimism seems to have returned with the club handing the reins back to one of its greats in Mark Alleyne, and announcing the signing of one of the best overseas options on the market in Cameron Bancroft for the whole season. A developing group of young players is emerging, but for the squad to have better success it will need a return to form from some of its more experienced campaigners. Leading run-scorer and wicket-taker is hard to pick, but I’ll plump for Bancroft and Zafar Gohar respectively, as I imagine there will be a fair amount of rotation with the seamers.
TWO TO LOOK OUT FOR
Whilst 2022 saw the breakthrough of his elder brother Tom, 2023 was the year for younger brother Ollie, as the Prices remain at the heart of the county’s hopes. After a succession of composed hundreds to end last season, a winter Lions call-up already shows the regard Ollie Price is held in, and it’s clear there’s even more to unlock. Joe Phillips is another young batting prospect worth keeping an eye out for over the next couple of seasons, and whilst he only received four appearances last year, he already gave glimpses of his talent.
