THORNBURY have picked Gloucestershire all-rounders Will Gidman and Graeme McCarter to play for them this season.

Six teams from the top two divisions of the Wadworth 6X West of England Premier League (WEPL) took part in a draft similar to the system used in American professional sport.

Gidman made six appearances in Premier Two last season for Thornbury.

Irish seam bowler McCarter, 21, was on the fringes of the Gloucestershire side last year, making four LV=County Championship and five Yorkshire Bank 40 appearances.

Thornbury are also able to play batsman Chris Dent and England under-19 off-spinner Tom Shrewsbury, who are classed as homegrown players as they played for the club for a minimum of two years before being contracted with the county.

Frocester have chosen spinners Jack Taylor, cleared to bowl again this summer after having his action reassessed by the ECB, and new Gloucestershire signing Tom Smith.

The draft system was successfully brought in last year to support Gloucestershire teams in maintaining their status in the top two tiers of club cricket.

Gloucestershire professionals were split into three pairs and three groups of three players to ensure that clubs are likely to have one of them available every Saturday.

Where possible players that perform similar roles were paired together.

In addition to the draft, Hamish Marshall will perform an ambassadorial role for the Gloucestershire County Cricket League and Rockhampton, while skipper Michael Klinger will support the Bristol Youth League.