By Richard Latham

RICHARD Dawson can’t wait to sample his first really big night as Gloucestershire head coach when arch-rivals Somerset visit Bristol in the NatWest T20 Blast tomorrow.

The South Group showdown is a sell-out and Dawson knows the occasion and the opposition will provide a terrific test of his improving young side.

He said: “It will be a full house and an electric atmosphere. The times you get to play in front of 8,000 people in a season don’t happen every week, so the lads will be relishing it.

“As a coach you feel the same way. Somerset have some very experienced players, but we are up for the challenge.”

Dawson believes his side can go into the match in confident mood after returning to winning ways in T20 cricket against Middlesex at Richmond last Sunday, a result that put Gloucestershire top of the South Group.

He said: “It was brilliant to come off the back of two losses and put in a performance like that.

“Against Essex and Glamorgan we lost wickets through the middle order and were never really in a position to increase our run rate towards the back end of the innings, purely because we didn’t have any wickets in hand.

“The great thing against Middlesex was that we paced the innings brilliantly. Benny Howell and Ian Cockbain did a great job and through those middle of our innings we scored something like 100 for one in nine overs.

“That’s been the case when we’ve played well. We have laid the base to really explode at the end of the innings.”

While Dawson is looking for contributions throughout the team, he acknowledges that a continuation of Michael Klinger’s outstanding form could be pivotal against Somerset “Michael has been exceptional in the way he has played and its gone a bit under radar,” he said.

“It’s not just this season, he’s done it consistently for a number of years both in the Big Bash and over here.

“He’s an exceptional thinker out in the middle. It’s not just about whacking the ball out of the ground, he manipulates fields and works out bowlers. He’s the all-round package as a batsman.”

Cockbain, who captained Gloucestershire in the competition until Klinger returned from Australia, reckons the time is right to turn around a recent poor record against Somerset in one-day fixtures.

He said: "We feel the gap is narrowing. We are on the up and are a better one-day side now than when we last played them.”