Surrey will look to make it three wins from three after the break as they head down the M4 to face Gloucestershire in Bristol on Saturday night
The fixture is the Three Feathers’ away match against an opposition outside of the South Group, after they beat Lancashire in the opening fixture of the season.
Surrey have won five of their eight matches, and sit in second place in the South Group. Points acquired from the out of group match still count towards Surrey’s South Group tally.
HOW CAN I KEEP UP WITH PLAY?
The match is being broadcast on Sky Sports, so there will not be a live stream on YouTube. Highlights and a written report will be available at the end of play. Surrey’s social media channels will provide regular updates and video clips live from Bristol.
SURREY SQUAD
Sean Abbott returns to the squad in place of Matt Fisher.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
The Glosters sit second in the Central and West Group. Like Surrey, they have also won five of their eight matches.
Previewed by Richard Latham, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
Captain: Jack Taylor
Overseas players: D’Arcy Short (Australia, all), Liam Scott (Australia, five group matches), Cameron Bancroft (Australia, all)
Finals Day appearances: Four (2003, 2007, 2020, 2024)
Titles: One (2024)
2025 finish: 7th in South Group
2025 leading run-scorer: D’Arcy Short (515)
2025 leading wicket-taker: David Payne (17)
Key winter moves: News that D’Arcy Short would return for the 2026 Blast came as a huge
boost after the Australian’s impact on the competition last season. After a slow start, Short scored five half-centuries, with a top score of 83 off just 48 balls against Middlesex at Bristol. His tally of 515 runs was 239 more than Gloucestershire’s next highest scorer.
The big question: How will Gloucestershire’s bowling attack fare following the loss of Josh Shaw, Ajeet Singh Dale and Zaman Akhter to rival counties and the retirement of left-arm spinner Tom Smith, now on the coaching staff? They will also be without overseas signing Liam Scott for the first six group games following his selection for Australia’s ODI tours of Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Wildcard watch: Ben Charlesworth. The 25-year-old left-hander, who began the season by announcing his intention to leave Gloucestershire at the end of it, had a disappointing Blast campaign last year, registering eight scores below 20 in 13 innings. But he has the power and talent to mark his last T20 campaign at Bristol with a much better return.
Final thought: Momentum is a powerful force in Blast cricket and Gloucestershire’s last campaign was a perfect illustration. As reigning champions, they made a disastrous start, losing their first five group matches. Four successive victories were then chalked up before hopes of qualifying from the group were dashed by four defeats in the last five games. A good start this season would build confidence and could make the team the force they were in 2024.
