Alleyne's army is marching on (From Gazette Series)

Alleyne's army is marching on

GLOUCESTERSHIRE CCC can look back on the 2004 season with much pride, having salvaged a campaign that had looked to heading towards disaster at one point.

Instead, under new head coach Mark Alleyne and four-day captain Chris Taylor, the County Ground side rallied impressively to produce a host of sterling displays that kept their legions of fans highly entertained.

In doing so, the club preserved their status in both the Frizzell County Championship Division One and the first division of the Totesport League and, of course, the year also saw them retain the C&G Trophy for a second successive year.

Gloucestershire's form in the Championship was particularly impressive considering that they were a promoted team, losing just three of their 16 games and finishing sixth out of the nine teams. This run had followed a shaky start, in which Gloucestershire had had to wait until early June before claiming their first Championship win as Surrey were beaten in Bristol on matchday six of the four-day league.

In the Totesport League, in which the side had finished as runners-up last year, Gloucestershire claimed just one win in their first six matches and looked in danger of relegation for long periods of the season before a winning run throughout August saw them climb well clear of any danger.

The season was perhaps most memorable for the swashbuckling form of opening batsman Craig Spearman, who this year broke the club's scoring record with a historic treble century in July.

Spearman's 341 in a Championship tie against Middlesex was the highest ever score by a Gloucestershire player in a first-class match. When the New Zealander reached 319 in the game at Gloucester, he beat the record of WG Grace, who had made 318 not out against Yorkshire at Cheltenham way back in 1876.

Both Spearman and skipper Chris Taylor surpassed 1,000 first-class runs for the season, while opener Phil Weston narrowly missed the landmark by 39 runs. In the bowling stakes, seamer Jon Lewis was easily the club's leading wicket-taker with 57 for the season at 25 runs apiece.

However, Gloucestershire's greatest achievement this year arguably lies within their collective ability to prove their doubters wrong.

Following the loss of key players Jonty Rhodes and Ian Harvey and legendary head coach John Bracewell, not to mention the early-season retirement of Jack Russell, many within the game had come to doubt the team's credentials, despite their awesome one-day record over the past ten years.

Electing inspirational captain Alleyne as the new head coach, it seemed that this season may be one of trial and error, and perhaps not a continuation of the recent glory years.

However, following the capture of yet another one-day trophy this season coupled with the team's progress in the four-day game, the golden age looks set to continue as a new era graces the County Ground. L