JOHN Bracewell insists back-to-back away games against Middlesex and Surrey offer Gloucestershire's struggling batsmen a much-needed opportunity to find some form away from Bristol.

Gloucestershire have crashed to heavy defeats at the hands of Division Two rivals Northants and Sussex in Championship matches at the County Ground this season, surrendering 40 wickets at 14.55 apiece.

Having seen his side bowled out for 86, 119, 128 and 249, director of cricket Bracewell attributes the team's shortcomings with the bat to a combination of a swinging Tiflex ball and recently-introduced England and Wales Cricket Board regulations governing the use of the heavy roller.

No matter what the reason, Gloucestershire's batsmen are suffering from lost confidence and will welcome an opportunity to escape Bristol and play at Lord's and The Oval. Middlesex provide the opposition at the home of cricket today and Bracewell admitted: "Playing away from Bristol is probably a good thing right now.

"We've had problems with the conditions for the last two games and it's something we are going to have to try and come to terms with as the season progresses.

"In the meantime, the batsmen need to start making some runs and building some confidence and there is more chance of that happening at Lord's and The Oval.

"Both are Test match grounds, so you would think the absence of the heavy roller would not make quite so much difference to the surface." Gloucestershire staged a team meeting immediately after losing to Sussex by 205 runs in side three days and Bracewell said: "I've told them to forget what has happened and be positive.

"These two away games are an opportunity for the guys to spend time at the crease and find some form.We may have lost our first two games, and that is not ideal, but the season is still in its infancy and there is plenty of time to turn things around."

Skipper Alex Gidman sounded a similarly upbeat note when he said: "As a batsman, you always feel a big score is just around the corner.

"None of us could stay out in the middle for long enough in Bristol find out whether we were in good form and these two away games are coming at the right time for us.

"Conditions should be better for batting at Lord's and The Oval and, hopefully, we can build some partnerships and one or two guys can score hundreds. It could take just one innings to get us going and then the runs will start coming.

"What we must avoid doing is to panic."