Match Preview: Gloucestershire v Kent, LV= CC, 10 – 13 July

Gloucestershire v Kent

LV= County Championship Division Two

10^th to 13^th July – 11.00am start

College Ground, Cheltenham

Kent return to LV= County Championship action on Wednesday as they take on Gloucestershire in the picturesque setting of Cheltenham College.

The team:

Kent have named a 12-man team for the trip to Cheltenham. Brendan Nash returns from injury while Daniel Bell-Drummond, Calum Haggett and Charlie Shreck are included after not being involved in the first round of Friends Life t20 matches.

Kent (from): Tredwell (c), Key, Northeast, Nash, Stevens, Bell-Drummond, Harmison, Jones (w), Philander, Haggett, Riley, Shreck

Players to watch:

Darren Stevens leads the way for Kent in the longest format of the game. From his ten innings, the all-rounder is averaging 56.20 in Championship cricket. Stevens has scored 562 runs, with a highest score of 136, and has hit two centuries. He has also taken 15 wickets with the ball.

The Gidman brothers are the players to watch in the Gloucestershire side. Alex, the former captain, has scored 543 Championship runs from his 11 innings, at an average of 49.36 – including two hundreds. His highest score of the summer is 113. Younger brother will is the stand out bowler. He has taken 19 Championship wickets, at an impressive average of 20.10. His best bowling in an innings this season is 4-39.

Pre-match chat:

Kent captain James Tredwell is looking forward to returning to the longest form of the game. He said: “We've got Championship cricket now and hope to pick up. It would have been nice to have a bit of preparation time because we are now into the back-to-back scenario of a four-day match. But we've played some decent Championship cricket, at times this season, so it will be nice to get back to that form of the game."

The season so far:

Gloucestershire are currently halfway, having recorded two wins from their eight matches. The side from the South West have beaten Leicestershire and Hampshire to accumulate 83 Championship points for the season.

Kent are currently bottom of the table and are yet to win a Championship match this season. James Tredwell’s side have drawn six of their eight matches in the longest form of the game and have 52 points to their name.

Previous meetings:

Both matches last season, between the two sides, ended in draws. At Canterbury, Kent were grateful for the intervention of rain after the visitors had taken control of proceedings at the Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence. The home side made the most of overcast conditions on the first morning to reduce Gloucestershire to 73 for five at lunch – but the visitors then fought back. Firstly Will Gidman and Ed Young posted half-centuries in a total of 255 before Darren Stevens hit a half-century as Kent replied with 150.

Gloucestershire pushed home their advantage on a rain hit third day with captain Alex Gidman (70) and Hamish Marshall (74) in the runs. Three more wickets for Matt Coles took his match haul to seven as Gloucestershire declared on the fourth morning to set Kent a victory target of 363. The home side never looked likely to launch a chase, and, equally, the visitors rarely threatened with the ball as Kent meandered along to 94 for two before the two captains shook hands on a draw.

In the return fixture at Bristol, the game again finished in a draw as only 68 deliveries were sent down across the first three days. The final day was used as batting practice for Kent and Alex Blake, in particular, took full advantage. The left-hander made his highest score of the season (73) in a total of 300 for nine declared. Upon Kent’s declaration, the Gloucestershire openers came out to face one ball before they declared to end proceedings.

In total, there have been 173 matches between the two counties – dating back to 1887. Kent have recorded 72 wins, compared to 50 for Gloucestershire. On away grounds, Kent have recorded 33 wins from the 85 matches played.

Colin Blythe recorded his best bowling analysis (in a match) at Cheltenham. He returned figures of 14-84back in 1911.

Kent’s highest wicket partnerships against Gloucestershire came at Cheltenham, back in 1994, when Trevor Ward (98) and Mark Benson (159) put on 209 for the first wicket. Kent’s highest innings total at Cheltenham is 607-6 declared – achieved back in 1910.

Click here for Gloucestershire v Kent the Match History, supplied by Martin Moseling