Eyes opened to Twenty20 vision (From Gazette Series)

Eyes opened to Twenty20 vision

IT'S 'derby day' tonight for Gloucestershire Gladiators as the team take on Somerset Sabres in their opening home game in the Twenty20 Cup.

The limited overs competition, English cricket's most enthralling new addition, began last Friday as one-day sides up and down the country re-acquainted themselves with the quickfire format.

But, in a suitably dramatic opening joust, Gloucestershire began the tournament with a tragic defeat at the hands of arch rivals Worcestershire Royals, who were victorious by just one run in a thriller at New Road. Having come close in the first match of a derby double-header, the Gladiators will now look to get it right in tonight's tie at the County Ground against the Sabres.

The match, which begins at 5.30pm, should provide the club with a bumper crowd, with fans keen to see the 20-overs-a-side format in action. Last year, Gloucestershire enjoyed huge support at the County Ground throughout the competition, and chief executive Tom Richardson is hoping that this season those numbers will be surpassed.

"We got an average of around 4,000 people attending games last season," said Richardson. "We were especially pleased with the number of female supporters and children who came to see these matches, with many attending cricket for the first time, and we are hoping to attract many new fans this year, especially because of the convenient time the matches are played at."

All eyes tonight will be on wicketkeeper Stephen Adshead, the winter capture from Worcestershire who scored a hugely impressive 81 against his old club in last Friday's Twenty20 opener. Batting at number two, Adshead helped to wipe out the memory of Australian Ian Harvey, the club's hero in last year's competition who is now at Yorkshire.

With legendary gloveman Jack Russell now retired, the emergence of Adshead as both batsman and wicketkeeper is crucial to the team's progression, and there have been no complaints so far over his form.

The region's cricket fans should welcome the return of Twenty20 games to Bristol, with the timing of the matches a big pulling factor. The games start at 5.30pm and finish at 8.15pm. As Richardson said: "People can come straight from work and families can attend without worrying about late nights for their children."

Gloucestershire are represented in the Mid/Wales/West Zone in the competition's initial group stage and, after tonight's tie, will face Northamptonshire Steelbacks (July 8, away), Glamorgan Dragons (July 14, away) and Warwickshire Bears (July 15, home) as they attempt to make it to the knockout stages. This year's competition sees new dimensions with the addition of a quarter-finals stage on June 19.

The top two teams in the competition's three regional groups plus the two best placed third teams will progress to the quarter-finals, which will be played a week after the main group stages have concluded.

The semi-finals and final will once again take place on the same day in a spectacular 'finals day' at Edgbaston on Saturday, August 7.