Cockbain cuts loose to ease last year’s pain
IAN Cockbain looked on at Lord’s with a rueful smile last season – and now he is intent on leaving Edgbaston ecstatic after bouncing back from the injury that cruelly denied him a shot at silverware.
Gloucestershire had not won a trophy since their golden days of the early Noughties before hoisting the One-Day Cup aloft on a dramatic day at the expense of Surrey.
Cockbain however watched on as a spectator after a wrist injury – just a week after succeeding Geraint Jones as County Championship skipper – scuppered the second half of his season.
Take one look at the 29-year-old’s Blast statistics this year and you’d think he was on a one-man mission to rectify the past, his average of 65 comfortably ahead of any other batsman to have played more than four innings.
He admittedly has a couple of oldguard openers, Michael Klinger and Hamish Marshall, to thank for some extremely swift starts that have already helped ensure Gloucestershire will be hosting a quarter-final.
But there is no one more desperate than Cockbain to reach Finals Day.
“It was a big blow to miss out and I took it quite hard, I found myself in a bad place,” he said. “I had to get my head around the fact that I’d miss the whole 50-over tournament and to see the team do so well was fantastic, but pretty bittersweet personally.
“It’s been really nice to come back, get the runs and keep it going in every game, it’s just having that clear plan in your mind and knowing how to react in every situation.
“It’s fantastic to have Maxy (Klinger) in the team, he’s an unbelievable player and then we’ve got another old boy in Hamish Marshall who will always get a few.
“But this year we’ve got contributions down the order, with someone of the quality of Chris Dent coming in at No.4, and Benny Howell has been our finisher.
“Everyone’s got a lot of clarity over their roles. Last year there was a little bit of indecision about bowling at the death, and how hard to go with the bat, so we ended up losing a lot of closer games.
“It worked the other way in the 50over competition because we won them, and that’s also given us the confidence to perform in both formats this year.”
Another captain has experienced misfortune this year as current County Championship skipper Gareth Roderick is now sidelined with a finger injury which will keep him out for six weeks.
Gloucestershire have moved fast to bring in Phil Mustard on loan, who is set to leave Durham in the winter but will be ineligible for the knockout stages.
It means their white-ball hopes could rest in the gloves of rookie teenage wicket-keeper Patrick Grieshaber – not that Cockbain is worried.
“Phil is an excellent player, a firstclass replacement for Gareth – and I know what he’s going through because I’ve been there,” he added. “But Patrick made his one-day debut against Sussex and did really well coming in down the order and getting us up to a winning total. He’s an excellent keeper too.”
Gloucestershire have won eight previous Blast matches against tonight’s opponents Middlesex, who have also qualified, while Essex Eagles will also look to preserve the same record over confirmed quarter-finalists Glamorgan.
Surrey will be wary of Darren Stevens – who scored 90 runs and took 4-39 when Kent Spitfires last visited The Oval – while Sean Ervine will top 3,000 T20 runs with a knock of seven or more in Hampshire’s clash with Somerset.