THORNBURY Cricket Club have been given the services of two top spin bowlers Tom Smith and Jack Taylor for the season as part of the Gloucestershire Cricket 2015 draft which has just taken place.

And Thornbury have been boosted with the addition of prolific batsman Chris Dent to their ranks as one of three ‘home grown’ players being made available to club cricket around the county.

Smith, 27, has been with Middlesex, Surrey and Sussex during his career and taken 62 first class wickets in 36 matches at an average fo 49.17 runs per wicket.

The slow left arm orthodox, who made his debut for Sussex against Sir Lanka A at Hove in July 2007, is also a decent batsman with a first class best score of 80 and an average of 22.04runs.

His last County Championships match for Gloucestershire in 2014 was in September at Canterbury where he took an impressive four wickets in just over ten overs for 35 runs and finished the second innings on 42 not out which included five fours.

And Banbury-born 23-year-old Taylor has only played his first class cricket with Gloucestershire, having made his first class debut against Derbyshire at Bristol in 2010.

He is a right arm offbreak bowler with 29 first class wickets to his name from 15 matches and 527 runs as a batsman, with a top score of 63 and an average of 23.95.

Dent, Will Tavare and Robbie Montgomery will play for Thornbury, Bristol and Bridgwater respectively as ‘home grown’ players who have played for the clubs they are going back to for two years prior to signing a professional contract.

Dent has scored 3,565 runs in 66 matches for Gloucestershire and represented England Under-19s in the 2010 World Cup in New Zealand.

Only one professional can play for a club each week and the new Gloucestershire coach Richard Dawson is keen that, when they turn out, they put in big performances.

Dawson said: “Gloucestershire CCC is pleased to be supporting local cricket again through the draft system. We hope this will help improve the standard of club cricket and develop our players.

“When they play for their clubs, I want them to be having a big influence on games and putting in match-winning performances.”

Gloucestershire Cricket Board chief executive Steve Silk, who has helped put together the draft, said that having a Gloucestershire county professional should be seen as a bonus rather than a right to clubs.

He added: “Although clubs shouldn’t expect to have a pro each week, the County club are keen that their players play whenever possible. Having a professional in the team is fantastic for club sides as it raises the standard and provides a great role model for young players coming through.”