Gidman gees up Gloucestershire for Somerset derby

Alex Gidman is urging his Gloucestershire team to stay on a roll against arch-rivals Somerset at Bristol tonight.

The Gladiators have an excellent record in one-day cricket against the Sabres and have already won at Taunton twice this summer in a 50-over pre-season friendly and a Twenty20 Cup group match.

This evening's return game in the Midlands/Wales/West Group is more important to Somerset as they can still reach the quarter-finals.

But, although Gloucestershire CCC are already certain of elimination, they beat group leaders Northants on Tuesday night and Gidman is confident of another powerful display against their neighbours.

The skipper, who misses the game himself after suffering a setback with a back problem, said: "Somerset seem to bring out the best in us and we always enjoy playing against them because they are a good set of lads.

"They have some quality players with a lot of experience so it is always a big test. But we seem to rise to the challenge and hopefully that will be the case again.

"We played really good cricket to win the Twenty20 game at Taunton, executing our plans very well on the night and thoroughly deserving our victory.

"Things haven't gone well for us in the competition as a whole, but that performance showed what we are capable of."

Despite beating Northants to record only their second win in eight group matches, Gloucestershire will make team changes this evening.

"We decided at the beginning of the week to select from 17 for each match and make sure every player in the squad was given at least two games," said Gidman.

"Whatever happens against Somerset, there will be more changes for our final group match against Glamorgan."

Gloucestershire and Somerset will be hoping for good luck with the weather tonight. Three of the five previous Twenty20 games between the sides at Bristol have been abandoned as a draw due to rain.

● Gloucestershire are expecting a large crowd for the match this evening with tickets costing £19 for adults and £9 for under-16s.

Advance priced tickets for Sunday's match against the Glamorgan Dragons are still available at a £5 discount on adult tickets before close of play today.