ALL cricketing roads will lead to Bristol on Bank Holiday Monday. As so often happened in the past Somerset will be the opposition - and just as often it was a game for two of the county also rans.

Not now. The two teams will be playing for the leadership of the YB40 competition - with a semi-final place for the winners.

In addition there is the official opening of the new pavilion. For those of us travelling from Cirencester there will be another chance to see how beautiful the flowers are in Tetbury. This is a bittersweet experience. There is generous appeciation for the work of citizens of the woolsack town, but anguish that our own town, apart from a few notable exceptions is wretchedly drab.

The victory over Glamorgan on Sunday was anything but drab. They batted well against Gloucestershire bowling that was no more than steady, making an above par score on a slow Bristol pitch.

We, however, have Captain Klinger. He led the successful run chase and victory was achieved off the penultimate ball. The Australian national side need experienced quality batsmen. They should look no further than Bristol as we have certainly got one.

Our captain's father was watching on Sunday. He has so many reasons to be proud of the impact his son has made this season.

Our cricketers now head for Canterbury for a vital championship game. They need to win and are determined to do so. The captain does not want a stalemate realising that in order to win he may have to risk losing. "A draw is no good," says Captain Michael. "If this looks like being the case I may have to gamble." Watch this space! Mrs Light and I will of course be watching the game.

Cricket during the day, and consuming copious quantities of creatures of the deep in the evening. It is a hard life!

Over the hill but not far away my beloved Sheepscombe could survive in Division 4 of the County League. An early season meeting put the club back on the road, and determined leadership is paying off.

In sport and of course life nothing happens by accident, appropriate effort has to be put in before success can follow. Well done to all at the hilltop ground.

One person who played there remembers it well. That was Guardian journalist Frank Keating. In his early days Frank watched cricket at Cheltenham and played both cricket and rugby in the Cotswold valleys and hills. Frank knew that sport was more than winning - it was a chance to display character, courage, but above all to maintain values while at the same time enjoying yourself. "There is a magic in living on Cotswold," wrote one of the young Frank's cricketing opponents. That magic could be found in everything he wrote.