A seven wicket victory got Gloucestershire's one-day season off to the perfect start as they continued their impressive record against Sussex.
It is now 13 years since the south-east county registered a victory at Bristol, as they were bowled out for 227 and then saw Craig Spearman make an unbeaten 69, as Glos won with 22 balls to spare.
Spearman's innings was the first of note since his horrific injury at Milton Keynes last summer. Supporters that day will recall the horrendous sight of Spearman injuries, but warmly cheered the return to success for the New Zealander, who shared a partnership of 122 with Chris Taylor (68 not out) to steer the shire home.
The Gloucestershire chase was well-paced and comfortable. After losing Kadir Ali for a duck, Hamish Marshall's 27 and Alex Giman's 43 set a good platform. The key was to keep wickets in hand and build the innings - Spearman and Taylor achieved this wonderfully, as patient batting was required with a slow outfield and big boundaries.
Earlier in the day, the Gloucestershire of old had returned in the field, as disciplined bowling and energetic fielding created the pressure that saw wickets fall at regular intervals.
Steve Kirby (1-43), Jon Lewis (2-34) and Gidman (2-38) did the early damage before Vikram Banerjee - making the most of his early season opportunities - took the useful wicket of Matt Prior (50) on his way to 3-47.
Alex Gidman called for his team to do the simple things well before this match, and the performance certainly answered the captain's call; a very pleasing victory for the shire in a tournament where getting victories on the board early is a great step towards qualification - as last year proved. And seeing off a useful Sussex side will be a big morale boost ahead of the visit of Surrey next Sunday.
Official report: www.gloscricket.co.uk
An encouraging start to the season, today against Essex being an exception. Hopefully we can buld on this as the season progresses.
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