GLOUCESTERSHIRE are on a T20 Blast roll this season but their star Australian Michael Klinger realises how huge their derby clash with Somerset on Friday will be in both competition and prestige terms.

The two South West counties go head-to-head at the County Ground, Bristol, at 5.30pm with Gloucestershire in the box seat having won four of their seven matches so far and sitting on top of the table.

But Gloucestershire's joint captain said Somerset will be out to burst their balloon in front of a sell-out eight thousand capacity crowd on what is expected to a balmy and tension-packed evening of cricket.

Klinger, who hit a T20 career best 126 not out against Essex this season, said: “Mostly, it is an important game for where both teams are in the competition.

“They are a game-and-a-half behind us with a game in hand, so they are desperate to win to stay in contention with the top four and we are desperate to win to keep our position among the top couple of teams and keep the pressure on.

“Firstly, it is a huge game for that but I have played in a couple of these games before  either here (Bristol) or at Taunton and the crowds are great and we have eight thousand fans here so it is something the players look forward to.

“We don’t often have a chance to play in front of huge crowds. I have been lucky enough to play in the Big Bash (Australia’s T20 Blast) in front of forty-odd thousand people, so that has been fantastic and some of these guys don’t have the opportunity to do that very often.”

Somerset’s added incentive is that they have not won for the last two T20 Blast games. They lost to Welsh county Glamorgan in Cardiff last week and had their home clash with Surrey a week ago rained off.

Gloucestershire beat Middlesex at Old Deer Park, Richmond, London, on Sunday but went down to the Welshmen in rain-affected conditions at home last Friday.

Klinger added: “Somerset had a really good win on Wednesday in the four dayer (County Championships) so I am sure those players who were in that game will come here full of confidence.

“They have actually beaten us in the last couple of years so I would like to be on a side that beats them now!”