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Lancs squad for Gloucs match

Lancashire take a 13-man squad to Cheltenham to face Gloucestershire Gladiators in Sunday's Clydesdale Bank 40 match

Coach Peter Moores says his squad are relishing the prospect of an exciting last two months of the county season, with the prospect of fighting for silverware on all three fronts, including the Clydesdale Bank 40 competition.

Lancashire head to Cheltenham on Sunday for the first of two 40-over clashes with Gloucestershire Gladiators in six days knowing they will have to pull out all the stops to keep their 40-over hopes alive.

The Group C table has a congested look about it, with Lancashire still in the hunt to finish second ahead of Essex, Nottinghamshire, Glamorgan and Gloucester,shire all of whom they have to play in their remaining five matches.

With leaders Somerset four points clear of Lancashire and with a game in hand, the chances of catching Marcus Trescothick’s men are remote.

But, with a game in hand on second placed Essex who still have to visit Old Trafford, the Eagles can still be reined in.

If Lancashire can secure second place in the group they would then have to hope that they have a better record than the other two teams who finish second in Groups A and B to advance to the last four.

It looks as if Lancashire will have to win at least four out of five to stand any chance, and they may yet have to win all five.

But Moores, quite rightly, is refusing to give up hope. He said: “The CB40 is a funny competition in that, the way the results have gone, we’re not completely out of it yet.

“We’re still trying to get through as the best ‘loser’ from the three groups, and we’ll still put out a competitive team to hopefully get a win and build up to the Warwickshire Championship game.”

As has happened right the way through the 40-over campaign, Moores will look to utilise his squad, resting up some of his big guns: “We will see some changes, but it’s a game we want to win,” he confirmed.

Sunday's fixture is the first of four huge matches for Lancashire.

They face third placed Warwickshire in the LV= County Championship at Liverpool on Monday, Gloucestershire again in the CB40 at Old Trafford on Friday night and then Sussex in the Friends Life t20 quarter-finals at Hove a week on Monday.

It could be the nine days that shape their season.

Moores continued: “If you do well in all competitions, the fun part of the season becomes the last part. Sunday will be a great opportunity for us. The Warwickshire game is a big game, as is the quarter-final. But that’s what the lads should want to play in.

“With that quarter-final in the Twenty20 coming up, the lads will want to keep their one-day skills going.”

“I thought we played some really good cricket against the Unicorns last week. We’ve seen other lads come in and take their chance. Simon Kerrigan has come in and started to play again, and I thought he was excellent with the ball.

“We’ve got good competition for all places. Although it’s a small squad, it’s competitive. Luke Procter didn’t play against Notts, and he’s averaging 40 in first-class cricket this year. Oliver Newby’s just got eleven wickets in the seconds.

“It’s really nice to see all the lads pushing hard. We need all those players to be playing well for the back half of the season because we’ve got a lot of cricket. Competition is the best thing to keep people hungry.”

Lancashire squad: Steven Croft (capt), Karl Brown, Steven Cheetham, Jordan Clark, Gareth Cross (wkt), Paul Horton, Simon Kerrigan, Junaid Khan, Stephen Moore, Oliver Newby, Stephen Parry, Luke Procter, Tom Smith

Peter Moores was talking to Graham Hardcastle
Photo (c) Simon Pendrigh