Lively Liam is in the mood but Keaton has faith in Durham spirit
GLOUCESTERSHIRE set an incredibly high bar when they thrashed Leicestershire last week and in-form bowler Liam Norwell has challenged his team to match that standard against Durham.
Gloucestershire’s fortunes have fluctuated wildly in their two matches so far this season, as they shrugged off a 334-run hiding from Kent in their opening fixture by defeating Leicestershire by an innings and six runs.
It was a memorable match for Norwell in particular, with the 25year-old seamer claiming the second ten-wicket match haul of his career by taking 5-66 and 5-33 in the match.
You would be forgiven for wondering which Gloucestershire side will turn up against Durham at Bristol today, but Norwell has urged what they produced in their last game to become the rule, rather than the exception.
He said: “We’ve taken a lot of confidence out of the Leicestershire game and we’re hoping for another very good cricket wicket from the ground staff.
“If we play against Durham like we did earlier in the week, then there’s no reason why we can’t turn them over.”
On his 10-99 that helped Gloucestershire win inside three days against Leicestershire, Norwell added: “It does feel special, but I’m just happy that we bounced back from Kent.
“It’s all about the team and we’ve bounced back strongly from last week which, if we’re being honest, was embarrassing, so hopefully we can kick on from here and have a strong season.”
Durham were given a rough introduction to life in Division Two after they were hammered by nine wickets against Nottinghamshire at the Riverside in their first match at this level since 2005.
There was the highlight of Keaton Jennings carrying his bat with an unbeaten 102 in their second innings against the promotion favourites, but very little else lifted the mood after what was a distressing winter.
Jennings feels, however, that facing such a strong side so early in the season could help to sharpen them up in the months ahead.
“We couldn’t win the Championship in April after one game anyway, the guys need to play good cricket over the course of six months,” said Jennings.
“Hopefully, come September, we can put ourselves in a position where we’re somewhere near the top and hopefully we can win it.
“Notts are a quality side from number one all the way through to 11, so it was a good challenge and it’s brilliant to play against that quality of team at this early stage.”