Alex Gidman will call on Gloucestershire's players to build on their renewed self-belief in the LV County Championship match against Essex at Bristol, starting today.

The skipper will lead the same side who dominated the rain-affected draw against Surrey at The Oval last week, earning 10 points in the process.

Since then Gloucestershire CCC have kicked off their Friends Provident Trophy campaign with an emphatic victory over Sussex and Gidman believes Essex will face a transformed team from the one which finished last season without a Championship win.

He said: "We always knew we were good cricketers. What we didn't know last season was how to put our potential into actions and performances.

"The two games this season have proved we can actually play as a team and be successful. You can sense that confidence is growing and, while the hunger is there to want to improve further, I can only see things getting better.

"We must be aware, however, that there is a long hard road ahead of us and things don't happen overnight. Yes, we have made a very encouraging start, but we know we can be brought down to earth very quickly.

"Of course it will be a relief to get a first Championship win under our belts after what happened last summer and we will be doing all we can to make it happen against Essex.

"The weather forecast is good and it's a game we are all looking forward to. But you don't get any easy sessions against Essex so we are prepared for a battle."

Gidman has asked for some extra grass to be left on the County Ground pitches this season to assist his pace attack, which now includes overseas signing James Franklin and talented teenager Ian Saxelby as back-up to Jon Lewis and Steve Kirby.

"The heavy roller we used last season had an effect and by leaving a bit more grass on we hope to induce a bit more pace and bounce," said the skipper.

"James is a different player from the one who joined us for a brief spell in 2004. He seems to have developed into a genuine international cricketer over the last couple of years.

"His bowling is particularly strong and he is swinging the ball, which is vital for us. He was one of the top run-scorers in New Zealand cricket last season so we have signed one of the genuine all-rounders in world cricket.

"Ian is still very young and we don't want to put too much pressure on him. But he is very mature for his age and looked very impressive in pre-season."

Essex have Ravi Bopara and Graham Napier away on IPL duty, while leg-spinner Danesh Kaneria is still awaiting international clearance and England opener Alastair Cook is nursing a fractured finger.

"Some of their big players are missing so they will be fighting to get as many points as they can before getting back to full strength," said Gidman.

"However, we feel it also gives us a chance to get under their skins."

Gloucestershire: Kadeer Ali, C.Spearman, H.Marshall, A.Gidman (capt), C.Taylor, J.Franklin, S.Snell (wkt), I.Saxelby, J.Lewis, V.Banerjee, S.Kirby. 12th man D.Brown.