Richard Dawson is demanding “big runs” from his Gloucestershire batsmen over the remainder of the Specsavers County Championship season.

And the head coach admits that anything less will give him plenty to ponder over when looking ahead to next summer.

Gloucestershire take on bottom club Leicestershire at Grace Road next Tuesday, having won only one of their last eight Second Division fixtures.

The latest resulted in a thumping 189-run defeat by Worcestershire this week and Dawson admits it was down to all-too-familiar shortcomings.

“We made some silly errors when batting, even when some of our players seemed to have got themselves in, and it has to stop,” he said.

“Scores of 30 and 40 are not good enough. I am looking for hundreds from batsmen in our top six, starting against Leicestershire.

“We have four games left before I sit down and start thinking about next summer. That is a lot of cricket, but we have to start posting scores that put the opposition under pressure.

“We are not a rich club and I always seek to develop the talent we have, rather than looking outside for answers.

“But we need our batsmen to spend more time at the crease. We actually played Ravichandran Ashwin well at Worcester when he was expected to be the main danger, only to make mistakes against the other bowlers.”

David Payne missed the Worcestershire game, having suffered a reaction to a hernia operation he underwent earlier this summer.

Dawson says it is too early to predict whether the left-arm seamer will be fit to face Leicestershire.

But Liam Norwell, who suffered a badly dislocated finger at New Road, was able to bowl after visiting hospital to have it put back in place and should be fit to retain his place in the side.

Norwell took his wicket-tally for the season to 46 with seven victims against Worcestershire, despite having played in only eight games. That is 19 more than any other Gloucestershire bowler.

Tom Smith finished with six wickets at New Road on his first Championship appearance of the season and bowled really well, according the Dawson.

With Graeme van Buuren still nursing a wrist injury, left-arm spinner Smith can expect a place in the squad to face Leicestershire, but the head coach is contemplating changes.

Benny Howell, who scored a century for the second XI this week, may well make his first four-day appearance of the season.