At a glance
- Gloucestershire County Cricket Club endure disastrous Championship start with back to back defeats
- Mark Alleyne admits poor form but backs squad to respond quickly
- Confidence issues and squad changes key factors behind early season struggles
Gloucestershire’s difficult opening to the County Championship season has drawn a frank assessment from head coach Mark Alleyne, who admits results have fallen well below expectations but insists there is no sense of panic within the camp.
Gloucestershire’s disastrous Championship start raises early alarm bells
Two heavy defeats have left the side rooted to the bottom of Division Two without a point. An innings loss away to Middlesex County Cricket Club was followed by another setback on home soil against Durham County Cricket Club, leaving Gloucestershire searching for answers ahead of their next fixture against Lancashire County Cricket Club.
View all of the upcoming County Championship fixtures here.
Alleyne delivers honest verdict on performances
Speaking to BBC Radio Gloucestershire, Alleyne did not attempt to disguise the scale of the disappointment.
“It has been a disastrous start, I don’t think there’s any looking past that,” he said. “Whether you look at the amount of points we’ve accumulated or the manner of the defeats, whichever way you look at it, it isn’t good enough and we know that.”
Despite the blunt assessment, the former club captain struck a composed tone when addressing the early setback.
“I’m not panicking but we need to turn it round very quickly.”
Confidence takes early hit in the dressing room
Now in his third season in charge, Alleyne has already overseen a memorable white ball triumph with the club’s T20 Blast success in 2024. Red ball form, however, has proved harder to stabilise, with Gloucestershire managing only two Championship wins in each of the past two campaigns.
The early losses this season have inevitably affected morale, something Alleyne acknowledged as he pointed to a collective dip rather than individual shortcomings.
“It’s a collective thing, I don’t think it’s one person getting it wrong it’s everyone just slightly off and confidence does play a big part,” he explained. “Initially we’ve got to rebuild that confidence then we’ve got to get them back to executing like we know they can.”
Squad changes and new roles under scrutiny
Changes to the bowling unit over the winter have also shaped the early weeks of the campaign. The departures of Zaman Akhter and Ajeet Singh Dale prompted the arrivals of Will Williams and Craig Miles, along with overseas signing Gabe Bell. Alleyne remains confident the current group is capable, though he accepts the process of building a consistent wicket taking attack will take time.
In the opening matches, that transition has been evident, with players occasionally stepping outside their usual roles in search of breakthroughs.
“People have for good reason tried to do things that maybe they weren’t here to do,” Alleyne said. “Will Williams being an enforcer for instance on day one with his bouncer plan, that is not a role really we had in line for him but it was a needs must at the time, we weren’t getting any wickets, we had to try something.”
He added that expectations have weighed on some within the group.
“Gabe I think is feeling the pressure of trying to be a strike bowler as the overseas player but we also know that’s not his strength.”
Can Gloucestershire respond after disastrous championship start?
For Alleyne, the solution lies in rediscovering clarity and confidence.
“Some guys have just come out of character a little bit, so we just need to rebuild that.”
With Lancashire next up, Gloucestershire have an immediate chance to respond and begin reshaping their season, with their head coach confident that improvement is not far away.
Stay up to date with all the latest County Championship news at ReadCricket.com
