It looked as though Gloucestershire were going to have a season to forget last term after really struggling because of the weather at Bristol in red ball cricket and not really offering anything in the One Day Cup but the Vitality Blast came along at the right time and a talented Gloucestershire side shocked the other three at finals day to win the trophy and salvage their season.
Last Season
County Championship: Seventh in Division 2
One Day Cup: Group Stage
Vitality Blast: Winners
Club
Captain: Cameron Bancroft
Overseas Player(s): Cameron Bancroft, Cameron Green
Ins: N/A
Outs: Zafar Gohar
One to watch: Zaman Akhter – the young seamer has been in the Gloucestershire set up for a while but expectations are heightened after a winter England Lions pick
Championship Odds: 22/1 Betfred
Strengths
Gloucestershire have a very deep bowling unit which should be able to transform their skills to red ball cricket having impressed with the white ball last season and you would imagine the addition of Cameron Green for the opening half of the campaign will certainly help the Bristol based outfit. If the likes of Ajeet Singh Dale and Zaman Akhter can come on again then Gloucestershire could rip through some sides when the pitches are at their hardest.
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Weaknesses
I guess if you was being picky then Gloucestershire might lack a top drawer opener to go alongside Cameron Bancroft but if the Australian performs like he can do then that weakness will be covered. One or two players have a bit to prove in the middle order where the red ball is concerned as well but if they perform like they can then there is definitely scope to turn a weakness if not into a strength then certainly into a competence.
Trophy Prospects
Gloucestershire will be wanting to push for promotion in the County Championship but certainly Lancashire and Kent would appear to have them covered going into the season. The Hundred is going to decimate Gloucestershire when it comes to their 50 over prospects so the best chance of silverware at Bristol this term might be a successful defence of their T20 title. They tick a lot of boxes in that competition so a tilt at it again wouldn’t be a complete surprise.
England Duty
David Payne is now a regular on the franchise circuit so it would certainly be no surprise if England, who are desperately crying out for quality death bowlers, take him away at some point in the summer. The fact that Zaman Akhter was given a call up to the England Lions suggests that he is on the radar of the selectors, although whether he gets blooded in a Test series against India remains to be seen but if England suffer injuries they could come calling.
Predicted Championship Finishing Position: 5th
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