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Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, founded in 1870, is one of 18 first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Gloucestershire. The team played its first senior match in 1870, under the captaincy of W. G. Grace.

Beginning with Grace, and his brothers E. M. and Fred, many great players have represented Gloucestershire, including Gilbert Jessop, Charlie Parker, Tom Goddard, Wally Hammond, Tom Graveney, Zaheer Abbas, Mike Procter, Jack Russell, Courtney Walsh, and Muttiah Muralitharan. The club has had two notable periods of success: in the 1870s, when it was unofficially acclaimed as the Champion County on at least three occasions; and from 1999 to 2006, when it won seven limited overs trophies, notably a 'double double' in 1999 and 2000 (the Benson and Hedges Cup and the C&G Trophy in both seasons), and the Sunday League in 2000.

Most of Gloucestershire's home games are played at the Bristol County Ground in the Bishopston area of north Bristol. Traditionally, the county has staged cricket festivals in Cheltenham and Gloucester, these matches being played at the College Ground in Cheltenham, and on Archdeacon Meadow at the King's School in Gloucester.

Honours

First XI honours

  • Champion County (3) – 1874, 1876, 1877, shared (1) – 1873
  • County Championship (0)

:Runners-up (6): 1930, 1931, 1947, 1959, 1969, 1986

  • Royal London/Metro Bank One-Day Cup (1) – 2015

:Semi-finalists (1): 2023

  • Sunday/National League/Pro40 (1) – 2000

:Runners-up (2): 1988, 2003

:Division Two (2): 2002, 2006

  • Gillette/NatWest/C&G Trophy (5) – 1973, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004,

:Semi-finalists (5): 1968, 1971, 1975, 1987, 2009

  • Benson & Hedges Cup (3) – 1977, 1999, 2000

:Finalists (1): 2001

:Semi-finalists (1): 1972

  • Twenty20 Cup (1) - 2024

:Finalists (1): 2007

:Semi-finalists (2): 2003, 2020

Second XI honours

  • Second XI Championship (1) – 1959

Earliest cricket

Cricket probably reached Gloucestershire by the end of the 17th century. It is known that the related sport of "Stow-Ball" aka "Stob-Ball" was played in the county during the 16th century. In this game, the bat was called a "stave". See Alice Gomme: The Traditional Games of England, Scotland and Ireland.

A game in Gloucester on 22 September 1729 is the earliest definite reference to cricket in the county. From then until the founding of the county club, very little has been found outside parish cricket.

Origin of club

In the early 1840s, Dr Henry Grace and his brother-in-law Alfred Pocock founded the Mangotsfield Cricket Club which merged in 1846 with the West Gloucestershire Cricket Club, whose name was adopted until 1867, after which it became the Gloucestershire County Cricket Club. Grace hoped that Gloucestershire would join the first-class county clubs but the situation was complicated in 1863 by the formation of a rival club called the Cheltenham and Gloucestershire Cricket Club. Gloucestershire joined the (unofficial) County Championship at this time but the existence of the Cheltenham club seems to have forestalled the installation of its "constitutional trappings". His figures in the first innings were 3–68, including a wicket in his first over in Test cricket, and he was widely praised for his debut performance.

Following the retirement of several key players, such as "Jack" Russell and Mark Alleyne, Gloucestershire's fortunes declined. The club subsequently stripped back its playing budget as it looked to finance the redevelopment of the Bristol County Ground in order to maintain Category B status and secure future international games at their home ground. Performances suffered and despite reaching the final of the 2007 Twenty20 Cup, losing narrowly to Kent, the club failed to win any major trophies for a decade.

In 2013 Gloucestershire stopped using 'Gloucestershire Gladiators' as its limited-overs name.

Gloucestershire won their first major silverware for 11 years in 2015, overcoming favoured Surrey to win the Royal London One-Day Cup in the final at Lord's. Captain Michael Klinger, who flew back from Australia to play in the semi-final win over Yorkshire, was named the tournament's MVP scoring 531 runs at an average of over 106.

In 2024 Gloucestershire broke their T20 Blast duck, winning it for the first time with wins over Sussex in the semi final and West Country rivals Somerset in the final. The Shire became the first county to take 20 wickets on a single Finals Day, while David Payne became the leading pace bowling wicket taker in the history of the T20 Blast after picking up three wickets in the final.

Rivalries

Gloucestershire contest one of English cricket's fiercest rivalries, the West Country derby against Somerset, which usually draws the biggest crowd of the season for either team. Traditionally, the boundary between the counties is drawn by the River Avon. Although Gloucestershire CCC's home ground is in Bristol, which straddles the Avon (and has been a county in its own right since 1373), many people from south Bristol favour Somerset CCC despite the fact the club plays its home games much further away in Taunton. In the past, Somerset played first-class matches at venues in the south of Bristol.

Grounds

thumbnail|The [[Bristol County Ground]]

thumbnail|A tablet of W. G. Grace at the Grace Gates of the Bristol County Ground

The club's debut home match in first-class cricket was played at Durdham Down in the Clifton district of Bristol. This was the only time the county used this venue for a match. The following year Gloucestershire began to play matches at the Clifton College Close Ground in the grounds of Clifton College in the same part of the city, and this remained a regular venue for the county until the 1930s, hosting nearly 100 first-class matches. In 1872 the county used a venue outside Bristol for the first time when they played at the College Ground in the grounds of Cheltenham College. This venue has continued to be used regularly for the county's annual "Cheltenham festival" event, which in the modern era incorporates additional charity events and off-field entertainment. In 1889 Gloucestershire began to play matches at the Bristol County Ground in Bristol, which has subsequently served as the club's main headquarters and hosted the majority of the county's matches. It was here that the club played its first List A match in 1963 against Middlesex, and its first Twenty20 match forty years later against Worcestershire. Somerset have played first-class matches at other venues in the city. but ultimately this did not occur. In 1993, the club moved its base in Gloucester to Archdeacon Meadow, a ground owned by The King's School. This venue was only used for first-class matches until 2008 but was used for four Twenty20 matches in 2010 and 2011, the most recent county games to take place in the city. All subsequent matches have taken place in either Bristol or Cheltenham.

Players

Current squad

  • No. denotes the player's squad number, as worn on the back of their shirt.
  • denotes players with international caps.

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! No.

! Name

! Nat

! Birth date

! Batting style

! Bowling style

! Notes

|-

! colspan="7"| Batters

|-

|style="text-align:center"|1|| Cameron Bancroft&nbsp; || || || Right-handed || — || Club captain; <br/>Overseas player

|-

|style="text-align:center"|10|| Jack Taylor || || || Right-handed || Right-arm leg break || Captain (List A & T20)

|-

|style="text-align:center"|23|| Dawid Malan&nbsp; || || || Left-handed || Right-arm leg break || White ball contract

|-

|style="text-align:center"|24|| Joe Phillips || || || Right-handed || Right-arm off break ||

|-

|style="text-align:center"|62|| D'Arcy Short&nbsp; || || || Left-handed || Slow left-arm unorthodox || Overseas player (T20 only)

|-

|style="text-align:center"|71|| Tommy Boorman || || || Right-handed || Right-arm off break ||

|-

|style="text-align:center"|73|| Kamran Dhariwal || || || Right-handed || — ||

|-

|style="text-align:center"|88|| Miles Hammond || || || Left-handed || Right-arm off break ||

|-

! colspan="7"| All-rounders

|-

|style="text-align:center"|6|| Liam Scott || || || Right-handed || Right-arm fast-medium || Overseas player

|-

|style="text-align:center"|12|| Graeme van Buuren || || || Right-handed || Slow left-arm orthodox || UK Passport

|-

|style="text-align:center"|55|| Ed Middleton || || || Right-handed || Right-arm leg break ||

|-

|style="text-align:center"|64|| Ben Charlesworth || || || Left-handed || Right-arm fast-medium ||

|-

|style="text-align:center"|67|| Ollie Price || || || Right-handed || Right-arm off break ||

|-

! colspan="7"| Wicket-keepers

|-

|style="text-align:center"|25|| James Bracey&nbsp; || || || Left-handed || — ||

|-

! colspan="7"| Bowlers

|-

|style="text-align:center"|5|| Gabe Bell || || || Right-handed || Right-arm fast-medium || Overseas player

|-

|style="text-align:center"|8|| Will Williams || || || Right-handed || Right-arm fast-medium || UK Passport

|-

|style="text-align:center"|14|| David Payne&nbsp; || || || Left-handed || Left-arm fast-medium || White ball contract

|-

|style="text-align:center"|19|| Luke Charlesworth || || || Right-handed || Right-arm fast-medium ||

|-

|style="text-align:center"|20|| Ahmed Syed || || || Right-handed || Slow left-arm orthodox ||

|-

|style="text-align:center"|22|| Aman Rao || || || Right-handed || Right-arm fast-medium ||

|-

|style="text-align:center"|34|| Craig Miles || || || Right-handed || Right-arm fast-medium ||

|-

|style="text-align:center"|36|| Matthew Taylor || || || Right-handed || Left-arm fast-medium ||

|-

|style="text-align:center"|54|| Alfie Johnson || || || Left-handed || Right-arm off break ||

|-

|style="text-align:center"|70|| Duan Jansen || || || Right-handed || Left-arm fast-medium || Overseas player (T20 only)

|-

|style="text-align:center"|77|| Daz Ahmed || || || Right-handed || Right-arm fast-medium ||

|-

|style="text-align:center"|90|| Marchant de Lange&nbsp; || || || Right-handed || Right-arm fast || UK Passport; <br/>White ball contract

|-

! colspan="7" | Source: Updated: 28 March 2026

|}

International players

Among the international players who have represented Gloucestershire are:

  • W. G. Grace
  • E. M. Grace
  • Fred Grace
  • Billy Midwinter
  • Gilbert Jessop
  • Charlie Parker
  • Wally Hammond
  • Tom Goddard
  • Sam Cook
  • Tom Graveney
  • Arthur Milton
  • Mike Procter
  • Zaheer Abbas
  • Sadiq Mohammad
  • Courtney Walsh
  • David Lawrence
  • Jack Russell
  • Javagal Srinath
  • Malinga Bandara
  • Marcus North
  • Aaron Redmond
  • Ian Butler
  • Hamish Marshall
  • James Franklin
  • Kane Williamson
  • Rob Nicol
  • Muttiah Muralitharan
  • Ed Cowan
  • Dan Christian
  • Cameron Bancroft
  • Michael Klinger
  • Andrew Tye
  • Peter Handscomb
  • Mark Craig
  • Cheteshwar Pujara
  • Kevin Curran

Club captains

180px|right|thumb|W. G. Grace dominated the club's early history. He made 22,808 runs and took 1,339 wickets for the county.

  • W. G. Grace 1870–1898<br><small>(Longest Serving Captain)</small>
  • W. G. Grace, Walter Troup 1899
  • Gilbert Jessop 1900–1912
  • Cyril Sewell 1913–1914
  • Foster Robinson 1919–1921
  • Philip Williams 1922–1923
  • Douglas Robinson : 1924–1926
  • William Rowlands 1927–1928
  • Bev Lyon 1929–1934
  • Dallas Page 1935–1936
  • Basil Allen 1937–1938
  • Wally Hammond 1939–1946
  • Basil Allen 1947–1950
  • Derrick Bailey 1951–1952
  • Jack Crapp 1953–1954
  • George Emmett 1955–1958
  • Tom Graveney 1959–1960
  • Tom Pugh 1961–1962
  • Ken Graveney 1963–1964
  • John Mortimore 1965–1967
  • Arthur Milton 1968
  • Tony Brown 1969–1976
  • Mike Procter 1977–1981
  • David Graveney 1982–1988
  • Bill Athey 1989
  • Tony Wright 1990–1992
  • Tony Wright, Courtney Walsh 1993
  • Courtney Walsh 1994
  • Jack Russell 1995
  • Courtney Walsh 1996
  • Mark Alleyne 1997–2003
  • Chris Taylor 2004–2005
  • Jon Lewis 2006–2008
  • Alex Gidman 2009–2012
  • Michael Klinger 2013–2014
  • Geraint Jones 2015
  • Gareth Roderick 2016–2017
  • Chris Dent 2018–2021
  • Graeme van Buuren 2022-2024
  • Cameron Bancroft 2025-present

Records

Most first-class runs for Gloucestershire <br>

Qualification – 20,000 runs [https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Records/England/Firstclass/Gloucestershire/Batting_Records/Most_Career_Runs.html]

{| class="wikitable"

! Player!!Runs

|-

|Wally Hammond|| 33,664

|-

|Arthur Milton|| 30,218

|-

|Alfred Dipper|| 27,948

|-

|Ron Nicholls || 23,607

|-

|Martin Young || 23,400

|-

|W. G. Grace || 22,808

|-

|George Emmett || 22,806

|-

|Jack Crapp || 22,195

|-

|Charlie Barnett || 21,221

|}

Most first-class wickets for Gloucestershire <br>

Qualification – 1,000 wickets [https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Records/England/Firstclass/Gloucestershire/Bowling_Records/Most_Career_Wickets.html]

{| class="wikitable"

! Player!!Wickets

|-

|Charlie Parker|| 3,170

|-

|Tom Goddard|| 2,862

|-

|George Dennett|| 2,082

|-

|Sam Cook || 1,768

|-

|John Mortimore || 1,696

|-

|W. G. Grace || 1,339

|-

|Tony Brown || 1,223

|-

|Reg Sinfield || 1,165

|-

|David Smith || 1,159

|}

thumb|Bristol County Ground before redevelopment

Team totals

  • Highest total for – 706–6 declared v. Leicestershire, Grace Road, Leicester, 2024
  • Highest total against – 774–7 declared by the Australians, Bristol, 1948
  • Lowest total for – 17 v. the Australians, Cheltenham (Spa), 22 August 1896
  • Lowest total against – 12 by Northamptonshire, Gloucester, 1907

Batting

  • Highest score – 341 Craig Spearman v. Middlesex, Gloucester, 2004
  • Most runs in season – 2,860 W. R. Hammond, 1933
  • Most hundreds in career – 113 W. R. Hammond, 1920–1951

Best partnership for each wicket

  • 1st – 395 D. M. Young & R. B. Nicholls v. Oxford University, Oxford, 1962
  • 2nd – 256 C. T. M. Pugh & T. W. Graveney v. Derbyshire, Chesterfield, 1960
  • 3rd – 392 A. P. R. Gidman & G. H. Roderick v. Leicestershire, Bristol, 2014
  • 4th – 321 W. R. Hammond & W. L. Neale v. Leicestershire, Gloucester, 1937
  • 5th – 277 J. R. Bracey & G. L. van Buuren v. Derbyshire, Bristol, 2024
  • 6th – 320 G. L. Jessop & J. H. Board v. Sussex, Hove, 1903
  • 7th – 248 W. G. Grace & E. L. Thomas v. Sussex, Hove, 1896
  • 8th – 239 W. R. Hammond & A. E. Wilson v. Lancashire, Bristol, 1938
  • 9th – 193 W. G. Grace & S. A. P. Kitcat v. Sussex, Bristol, 1896
  • 10th – 137 L. C. Norwell & C. N. Miles v. Worcestershire, Cheltenham, 2014

Bowling

  • Best bowling – 10–40 E. G. Dennett v. Essex, Bristol, 1906
  • Best match bowling – 17–56 C. W. L. Parker v. Essex, Gloucester, 1925
  • Wickets in season – 222 T. W. J. Goddard, 1937 and 1947

See also

  • GCCC in 2004
  • GCCC in 2005
  • GCCC in 2006

References

Bibliography

  • H. S. Altham, A History of Cricket, Volume 1 (to 1914), George Allen & Unwin, 1962
  • Derek Birley, A Social History of English Cricket, Aurum, 1999
  • Rowland Bowen, Cricket: A History of its Growth and Development, Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1970
  • Simon Rae, W G Grace, Faber & Faber, 1998
  • J. R. Webber, The Chronicle Of W.G., The Association Of Cricket Statisticians and Historians, 1998
  • Roy Webber, The Playfair Book of Cricket Records, Playfair Books, 1951
  • Playfair Cricket Annual – various editions
  • Wisden Cricketers' Almanack – various editions
  • Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
  • BBC match reports, interviews and streaming commentary

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