Trips to Derbyshire, Essex, Middlesex, Northants and last year's 50-over opponents Yorkshire are also in stall for Glos following the draw made at Lords. Derbyshire in particular, are pretty unfamiliar to Glos in one-day cricket, but plenty of matches have been played against Northants in recent times.
The format was eventually decided after months of review; each team will play each other home and away with matches predominantly on Sunday afternoon's (one can only assume a standard and sensible start time will be arranged). The final returns to a showcase September slot on Saturday 18th September - an excellent move, with nearly all club league fixtures having been finished by then.
But in a poor move, only semi-finals are scheduled, therefore just the group winners and a best runner-up will qualify, potentially creating countless dead rubbers - why the ECB have not learned from the failed north/south group system in the Friends Provident Trophy is a mystery.
GROUP B
Gloucestershire; Derbyshire; Essex; Middlesex; Netherlands; Northamptonshire; Yorkshire
Official report: www.gloscricket.co.uk
Will GlosCricketRadio be covering the away match versus the Netherlands?
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