Royal London One-Day Cup: Six names set to star in 2016
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Sunday 5 June 2016 17:39, UK
The Royal London One-Day Cup is back.
Sunday signals the return of domestic 50-over cricket to the calendar as Somerset host defending champions, Gloucestershire, live on Sky Sports 2 from 10.55am.
Live Royal London One-Day Cup Cricket
Who are the form men heading into the competition? Who is looking to pick up where they left off last year? And who might just take us by surprise? Here are six to watch out for...
Michael Klinger
An obvious choice, due to his sensational success in 2015 as Gloucestershire won the competition. Klinger was top-scorer with 531 runs across his eight matches - notching three hundreds and two fifties - at an astonishing average of 106.20. All the more astonishing as Klinger was out for a duck in the final, but Gloucestershire won regardless, beating Surrey by six runs in a thrilling finish at Lord's.
The 35-year-old is in the form of his life, having also hit three hundreds and averaged 81.75 for Gloucestershire in the 2015 NatWest T20 Blast, while he also has two first-class tons to his name in his first three Specsavers County Championship appearances for the Bristol-based county this summer.
Chris Nash
Talk about being in top form, you've got to be in fairly decent nick to outshine Chris Gayle in T20 cricket, and that's just what Nash did on Gayle's opening night for Somerset this season. With the Sky cameras circling, it was Nash who starred, smashing a maiden T20 ton (112no off 64 balls) in an emphatic win - Gayle managing just five.
It was a knock indicative of Nash's super start to the 2016 season with Sussex. He has 523 runs, two hundreds and two fifties to his name already, at an average of 65.37. A consistent performer in white-ball cricket over the years for the seaside county, Nash struggled in 2015 with only 49 runs across his four RL One-Day Cup matches, but looks set for a resurgence this year.
Brett D'Oliveira
Another in-form opener also makes our list, though 24-year-old D'Oliveira is a greater all-round threat with his ability to bowl leg-spin. It's with the willow, however, that D'Oliveira - grandson of the late, great Basil - has truly come of age, cracking a maiden first-class double-hundred for Worcestershire against Glamorgan earlier this year.
D'Oliveira is also another to impress on Sky and in front of our travelling pod, smashing an unbeaten 62 off 38 balls to beat help the Rapids beat the Birmingham Bears in the T20 Blast - one of three wins in their opening three fixtures. He is one of a number of impressive youngsters at New Road - also keep an eye out for Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who hit a maiden T20 ton in the win over Durham Jets.
Dan Christian
How can you possibly not include a man responsible for hitting a six onto the roof of The Gabba? Sure it was in a different format, as Christian played for Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash over the winter, but Christian was hugely impressive when playing for Nottinghamshire in the 2015 One-Day Cup.
The Australian smacked three fifties in five innings, averaging 62.75 at a strike rate of 135.67 and he was equally destructive with the ball, taking nine wickets at an average of 19.77 last year. Christian is set to wreak havoc once again with bat and ball, re-joining Notts for this year's competition as well as the T20 Blast.
Gareth Batty
The evergreen Batty is well worth watching out for, mainly for his heart-on-the-sleeve captaincy for Surrey - twitching, grimacing, ranting away after most deliveries. But the 38-year old off-spinner is also still a wily performer with ball in hand, as his 7-32 in Surrey's recent County Championship defeat to Somerset proved.
Batty's 2015 RL stats don't exactly jump off the page, but his 11 wickets across 10 games at an average of 36.36 were just two fewer than the leading spinners in the competition, Samit Patel and Scott Borthwick. Those 11 strikes as skipper very nearly saw his side lift the trophy before their heart-breaking collapse at Lord's.
Kyle Jarvis
Arguably the most in-form bowler in county cricket right now. In fact, the joint-most, as Jarvis shares top spot in the County Championship leading wicket-taker table with Lancashire team-mate, Neil Wagner - 28 strikes each. Jarvis has best figures of 6-70 this summer, and a match best of 11-119 made against Surrey.
His average per wicket is 23.10, and while Wagner is equal to or better than Jarvis in all those categories, this will be the New Zealander's first exposure to the white ball in county cricket, so we've plumped for Jarvis, who took seven wickets in the tournament in 2015 at 26.28.
Watch the Royal London One-Day Cup on Sky Sports, starting with Somerset versus Gloucestershire from 10.55am, Sunday, Sky Sports 2.
Live Royal London One-Day Cup Cricket
Live Royal London One-Day Cup Cricket
