GLOUCESTERSHIRE will begin their 2017 season with an away trip to Kent in the Specsavers County Championship Division Two on Friday April 7.

The fixtures for the new season were announced in two parts on Thursday evening, with the main draw revealed at midnight.

Gloucestershire have three back-to-back home fixtures in April with visits in the County Championship from Leicester and Durham before the new format for the season will mean the Royal London One-Day Cup begins.

That will see Gloucestershire entertain Glamorgan at the Brightside Ground before trips to Middlesex, Essex and Hampshire. They return to Bristol on May 10 to face Kent, play a derby against Somerset on May 12 at the Brightside Ground and tackle Surrey at home – with a trip to Sussex after the Somerset match.

The Cheltenham Festival will get underway on July 3 with a County Championship match against Glamorgan before the T20 Blast series kicks in with games against Middlesex, Kent and Sussex. Cheltenham will also host the derby with Worcestershire in the County Championship.

They will also be taking part in the new day-night County Championship experiment in June.

There are international matches scheduled for the season as well with England taking on Ireland on May 5 in a One Day International while, on September 14, England return to Bristol to play an ODI against the West Indies, plus a hosting a semi-final of the Women’s World Cup in June.

Gloucestershire will also play Somerset in the T20 Blast at the Brightside Ground on August 4 and finish off their season on September 25 with a County Championship home clash with Derbyshire.

Gloucestershire Cricket chief executive Will Brown said: ““2017 is set to be another fantastic year for Gloucestershire cricket with a packed season ahead.

“The season has a slightly different look and feel this year which should work well for all supporters of the game including a NatWest T20 Blast tournament played predominantly in the school summer holidays and a Royal London One-Day Cup tournament which sees the return of the mid-summer Lord’s final.

“For lovers of the Cheltenham Festival, 2017 is set to be another superb event with two local rivals in Glamorgan and Worcestershire visiting in the Specsavers County Championship and a further three NatWest T20 Blast fixtures featuring some of the most exciting teams in the tournament.

“The Specsavers County Championship proudly runs throughout the season once more and with a continually improving squad Gloucestershire has high hopes for table-topping performances across all formats.

“Back at Bristol there is yet more International cricket to look forward to with two men’s internationals in England vs Ireland and England vs West Indies as well as the high profile ICC Women’s World Cup which Bristol will host throughout late June and July including a prestigious semi-final.

“We look forward to welcoming all our supporters and visiting fans to the Brightside Ground, Bristol and the ever beautiful Cheltenham College in 2017 for what should be a cracking year of cricket.”

A full list of Gloucestershire fixtures are on www.gloscricket.co.uk