NO JON LEWIS, no Chris Taylor. It will be a different Gloucestershire side that takes the field for the first County Championship match of the season - a season that is just seven weeks away.

I have picked my side. Here it is in approximate batting order: C Dent, D Housego, H Marshall, A Gidman (capt), I Cockbain, W Gidman, I Coughtrie or J Batty (WK), E Young, I Saxelby, D Payne, L Norwell. 12th man J Taylor.

If an overseas player is signed, Norwell will drop out. Yes, it is a young side; yes, it will be tough, but this determined group of Gloucestershire-grown players have the capacity to thrill and excite.

Jon Lewis deserves the financial reward his Surrey contract gives him. He refused countless lucrative offers to leave Gloucestershire and stayed loyal as captain and senior player. I valued his support of me and the club when I was chairman and truly wish him well.

The Chris Taylor situation is sad. Chris has graced the cricket fields of England with fine strokeplay and magnificent fielding. There is still time for reconciliation and a new contract.

I expected Glamorgan or Worcestershire to have signed Chris by now but this has not happened. Watch this space.

Irishman Kevin O'Brien is not returning for the 20/20 campaign. This means the club save the combined employment costs of the departing three players, a sum well in excess of £200,000. I believe the financial situation means the cricket budget has been cut by £300,000 so these departures account for 70 per cent of that amount.

I have picked Ed Young ahead of Jack Taylor. We have yet to see the best of Ed who is my player to watch.

The experiment with the wretched Tiflex ball has thankfully been scrapped.

In addition, county chairman have rejected the muddled Morgan report and thrown it back to the ECB. Is it too late to hope for common sense? Four-day cricket midweek, and one-day matches at weekends solves many problems so why complicate matters?

Saturday brought soccer success, Cheltenham and Swindon won handsomely and my day out at the New Lawn was a delight.

Pre-match lunch of soup and Hobbs House bread followed by tea and cake at half-time made the meat ban a distant irrelevance.

The football was pretty good, too. Gateshead were a busy, skilful side beaten only by a resolute and resilient FGR team.

FGR boss Dave Hockaday was outstanding on Saturday. Some variable refereeing had upset the crowd. When the press proffered their microphones in the post-match conference the first questions to the manager invited and expected comments about dodgy officials. Headlines were already written. "No-one comes here to make mistakes," said Dave. "They did not make those decisions on purpose," adding that a soccer team has to get on and deal with whatever is thrown at them. Indeed it does, but how often do you hear managers talking such sense?

I showed similar wisdom last Tuesday, which was, of course, Valentine's Day, but in so doing prevented Mrs Light from achieving a unique double. I had taken her to Swindon on our honeymoon and had it not been for my dislike of Crawley's lump, thump and jump style of play I would have taken her to Swindon Town that evening. No other bride would have matched the doubtful distinction of Swindon as a destination on those two most romantic of occasions. I realised that there is a limit to Cotswold charm and it was lobster in Nailsworth instead. One of my better decisions.

I have been moving in golfing circles of late, and on Friday I was at the Wentworth Club, a few miles beyond Ascot. I now have three top sporting venues, Wentworth joining Lords and Cheltenham racecourse.

Every aspect inside and out was faultless without being ostentatious. It was a joy to be there. Mrs Light, who knows about such things, will not allow me to add Ascot racecourse to my list, feeling the new stand has spoilt the venue she enjoyed visiting in her youth.

I remain with golf and close with a golfing question. Which Gloucestershire golf course does not have a single bunker?