Decent opening day for Glos/Franklin set to stay

DAY 1 Close: Gloucestershire 21-0 v Kent 264 (PTS: Glos 3, Kent 2)
LIVE ball-by-ball commentary on http://www.gloscricketradio.co.uk/

Gloucestershire will be pleased with their efforts on day one of the final county championship match against Kent, as they bowled their visitors out for 264 and closed on a solid 21-0.

On a green pitch, it was a good toss to win but Rob Key & Geraint Jones played well, but Jon Lewis found some extra movement to get a breakthrough and the wickets then tumbled. Lewis swung his way to four wickets, and James Franklin also exploited useful conditions to claim 5-30.

The tiflex ball again worked it's 30-over trick, and Lewis found some extra bounce off a length to catch Rob Key's glove on the way through to Steve Adshead, before Darren Stevens and James Hockley were both out LBW to Franklin shouldering arms.

At 139-6, Glos would have fancied rolling the champions for an extremely low score, but Alex Blake played some beautiful strokes for 47 and Simon Cook thrashed his way to 60 not out from just 39 balls to push Kent to a respectable score.

The boundaries are extremely small & runs can come very quickly, therefore Kent's 264 is only a par one, & Glos will see over 300 tomorrow as a realistic target; they desperately need three batting points.

• James Franklin looks set to return as overseas player next season after Tom Richardson declared talks were taking place and the New Zealander is keen to stay.

The all-rounder's signature will scupper the hopes of many for a world class opening batsmen; however, few will be available due to the IPL and Franklin's contributions this season cannot be disputed. It will a dabble into the domestic transfer market to attract two batsmen that this squad certainly needs.

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Official report: www.gloscricket.co.uk