Taylor leads Gloucestershire home

Gloucestershire 204 for 4 (Taylor 66*, Spearman 66) beat Glamorgan 202 for 9 (Wright 60) by six wickets
Scorecard

	Jon Lewis's two wickets helped restrict Glamorgan to 202 © Getty Images

Craig Spearman and Chris Taylor led Gloucestershire to a six-wicket win against Glamorgan in the first match at the new-look Sophia Gardens. The home side struggled with the bat until Ben Wright lifted them over 200, but the stand of 106 between Spearman and Taylor swung it back Gloucestershire's way.

The Glamorgan new-ball bowlers gave their side a chance with three early wickets on a lively pitch that had some uneven bounce. Jason Gillespie had fellow Australian Marcus North caught behind after bowling Alex Gidman in the first over. When David Harrison had Hamish Marshall taken at slip Gloucestershire were struggling on 16 for 3.

But Spearman played his naturally aggressive game and knocked the quick bowlers, especially Harrison, off their length with a series of strong pulls and cuts. He dominated the partnership with Taylor until being trapped lbw by Dean Cosker. However, Gloucestershire had the momentum and the required rate was never a concern. Taylor played with composure while David Brown twice cleared the boundary in his 53-ball 45 as the chase was completed with more than five overs to spare.

Glamorgan were on the back foot for much of their innings and when Mark Hardinges removed Jamie Dalrymple they were 92 for 5. Wright, the former England Under-19 batsman, held the lower order together and added 55 with Alex Wharf. In the end, though, the total wasn't enough to challenge Gloucestershire.

South/West Division

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Pts	Net RR	For	Against
Gloucestershire	4	2	1	0	1	5	+0.929	665/109.4	665/129.3
Somerset	4	2	1	0	1	5	+0.025	713/146.1	728/150.0
Glamorgan	4	1	2	0	1	3	-0.149	608/128.0	592/120.5
Worcestershire	3	1	1	0	1	3	-1.106	407/76.3	407/63.2
Hampshire	3	1	2	0	0	2	-0.161	749/129.3	750/126.1