Gloucestershire v Sussex

After the Sussex batsmen filled their boots at Fenner's last week the serious stuff gets underway today with a Friends Provident Trophy tussle against Gloucestershire Gladiators.

First things first. This is an interactive service so if you want to ask anything about the cricket then leave your comments below and I will endeavour to help.

Nothing wrong with the weather here in Bristol. The Nevil Ground is bathed in spring sunshine and we should get a full match in without any hold-ups. Play is due to start at 12 noon.

Toss and teams shortly, but Joe Gatting and Damien Wright are both making their Sussex debuts and leggie Will Beer is also in the side.

Gloucestershire have won the toss and put Sussex into bat.

Teams - Gloucestershire: Spearman, Kadeer Ali, Taylor, Marshall, Gidman (capt), Lewis, Franklin, Brown, Bannerjee, Kirby, Adshead.

Sussex: Gatting, Joyce, Prior (wk), Goodwin, Yardy (capt), L.Wright, Hamilton-Brown, Martin-Jenkins, D.Wright, Beer, Kirtley.

The umpires are Richard Kettleborough and Tim Robinson. Headline team news is one-day debuts for four Sussex players: Joe Gatting, Ed Joyce, Will Beer and Damien Wright, who is also making his county bow. Beer has been bowling his leggies well in pre-season and deserves a chance. Looking forward to my first look at the new overseas Damien Wright and to Joe Gatting, whose performances in the friendlies are attracting a lot of interest in the media. We'll be underway here at 12 noon.

Sussex 10-0 (5) Gatting has been the more aggressive so far. He got off the mark with three into the offside courtesy of a mis-field at mid-off and then sliced Franklin over the slips and Bannerjee pushed it over the rope at third man for four. He is 8 and Joyce 2. Looks a good pitch, if a little slow.

WICKET - Sussex 13-1 (6) Gatting gone for 9. Lewis drew him forward to a ball which just did enough off the seam to take the edge and Steve Adshead snapped it up. Joyce is 4 but struggling to time it and Matt Prior has just joined him. Overheads are fine but there is definitely a bit of early-season juice in the pitch and the outfield, re-laid in the winter, is slow.

Sussex 23-1 (10) Joyce is 11 and starting to find his touch and Prior 2. Lewis off after 4-1-3-1 in his first spell to be replaced by Steve Kirby at the pavilion end. Sign of the times in our industry here in the press box. Only two journalists: myself and my oppo from the Bristol papers. None of the nationals represented. The Telegraph told their freelances who have been covering county cricket for years that their work will be cut back this season so their coverage is going to suffer. Times say they are committed to county coverage so I suppose space must be a problem tomorrow with so much other sport going on. Just seen a punter with a Vancouver Canucks shirt on - first I've spotted this season.

Sussex 29-1 (12) Lewis has switched ends and conceded just a wide off the first over of his new spell. Joyce is 15 and Prior 3 but the bowlers are on top. Good toss to win but we shouldn't be surprised. Glos only lost the toss twice in 16 Champo games last season.

Sussex 50-1 (19) Let-off for Prior on 10 as he is dropped by Adshead off Kirby. Next ball Prior drills Kirby over mid off for four. Alex Gidman has just bowled his first over at the pavilion end to allow Kirby to switch ends. Sussex are picking up the tempo a bit and I cannot stress how slow the outfield is. It is also uneven in spots and there have been a couple of bad mis-fields, most recently by Kirby down at fine leg. Prior 21, Joyce 19.

WICKET: Sussex 52-2 (19) Joyce gone for a fairly circumspect 19, caught behind in Kirby's first over of his new spell looking to drive a fairly fullish length ball through the off side. Prior on 22 and Murray Goodwin's now with him.

WICKET: Sussex 65-3 (21) Goodwin's gone for 7. He mis-timed a pull at Gidman and the ball looped high off his bat to Bannerjee at mid on who took an easy catch. Luke Wright's in now with Prior, who is 30. Wright is looking forward to a run at No.5 after being up and down the order in one-day cricket for England in the last year. If he's going to get back in the side for the T20 World Cup and the one-dayers against West Indies he needs runs in this competition for the Sharks. Spin now with Banerjee coming on his left-arm twirl.

Sussex 90-3 (26) Franklin back for a second spell from the pavilion end. Prior on 42 having played a lovely flip over short fine-leg's head in Gidman's last over which just about dribbled over the rope. Wright (L) looking quite good too, he's onto 11 and no alarms for either batsman since they came together. Just looking through the county scores one fact has emerged: counties have been given the choice as to when they start these 50 overs games. Glos, entirely understandably, opted for noon having been at the H'Oval until 6ish last night. Caught out a few spectators though. I got here at 10.20am (and I knew it was a noon start) and there were already a hundred or so punters in the ground wondering why the players were only just going out to warm up.

WICKET: Sussex 105-4 (28) Prior's got to 50 - and then got out next ball. He reached his half-century with a lovely off-driven four off Bannerjee but next ball he tried to clear short extra-cover and was caught above his head by Chris Taylor. 64 balls and 4 fours for Prior but he'll be steaming at getting out in such tame fashion. Luke Wright is 15 and skipper Mike Yardy is with him now.

SUSSEX 132-4 (33) Wright's taken up the mantle from Prior, striking David Brown through mid off for four and hitting the medium-pacer's next offering back over his head for six. He's now onto 37 and Yardy 7. Sussex have still got their batting powerplay to take. Gloucs took theirs straight after the mandatory ten overs at the start of Sussex's innings.

WICKET: Sussex 147-5 (36) Wright gone for 40 just when he was looking good. Credit to Gidman who held that one back a fraction and Wright, looking to clear the rope again, was held at long on by Brown. He faced 41 balls and hit two fours and a six. Yardy is 15 and Rory Hamilton-Brown in with him now. Still 13 overs after this so no reason why Sussex can't get to 220-230 which would be competitive. Fancy RMJ to bowl well on this pitch.

WICKET: Sussex 167-7 (40) Two wickets in two balls for Bannerjee, who has bowled tidily enough and now got his reward. RHB was bowled round his legs for 11 sweeping and now Robin Martin-Jenkins has played all over an attempted off drive and been bowled for a duck. Wonder if he's ever dismissed two players with a double-barrelled name in the same game before? Damien Wright has just faced his first ball in Sussex colours and kept it out from Kirby with a defensive bat. Yardy is 23 but Sussex have made a bit of a horlicks of this.

Sussex 174-7 (42) No hat-trick for Bannerjee, whose wicket-taking balls were the last two of his spell. He finished with 3-47 from ten. Yardy on 27 and Wright 1. A lot depending on the skipper now.

WICKET: Sussex 181-8 (44) Short and sweet debut innings by Wright ends as he holes out trying to clear long on to give Franklin his first success of the innings. Wright made 5. Yardy is 31 but the Sharks have lost 4-34 in the last nine overs. Will Beer in now.

Sussex 194-8 (46) Beer's doing a decent job and is onto six and giving Yardy, who is 39, as much of the strike as possible. Just heard a lusty chorus of "Bristol, Bristol" on the wind from the nearby Memorial Ground where the rugby boys are playing Wasps today.

WICKET: Sussex 216-9 (49) Excellent innings by Yardy is over as he drills the first ball of the penultimate over to mid off for 58. Beer is 7 and last man James Kirtley is with him.

SUSSEX 227 all out (49.5) Beer began the final over by flipping Lewis over short third man for four but he's just been yorked by the former England man for 14. At 181-8 with six overs left you'd have bet Sussex would have taken 227. They have given themselves a chance but will still have to bowl well. Back in 20.

Gloucs 2-0 (1) Kadeer Ali and Hamish Marshall opening for the Gladiators and Marshall is off the mark with a single. Kirtley opened at the pavilion end and it's Damien Wright who is taking the new ball with him.

WICKET: Gloucs 6-1 (3) Success for Kirtley as he pins Kadeer for a duck as the batsman tries to work a straightish ball through the leg side. No doubt according to umpire Kettleborough and just the start Sussex needed. Marshall is 5.

Gloucs 40-1 (10) Gidman survived a big appeal from Wright for a caught behind on 11. I was behind the arm and heard a noise, but umpire Tim Robinson kept his hands in his pockets. Gidman now 21 and Marshall 18 and Martin-Jenkins has taken over from Kirtley at the pavilion end. Sussex have taken their bowling powerplay Expect we'll see one Wright replace another soon too. Luke, incidentally, is wearing Damien's shirt (which is No.7) Go figure.

WICKET: Gloucs 52-2 (14) RMJ strikes as he draws Marshall forward, does a little bit off the seam and Prior does the rest. The Kiwi is a goner for 27. Big wicket that for the Sharks and RMJ will be feeling a lot better after an abomination at third man in the last over when he dived all over a ball steered down there by Hamish and it went for four, much to Wright (L)'s chagrin. Apparently Bristol are losing in the rugby but I'm not allowed to mention that anymore. Gidman 22 and he's with another New Zealander, Craig Spearman.

Gloucs 73-2 (19) Five overs from RMJ and it's time for the leg spin of Beer. The batsmen won't have much if any experience of him so it's a test for them as well as young Will. Luke Wright charging in at the other end. He's used the bouncer sparingly but effectively although it's not going through at any great pace.

Gloucs 100-2 (24) Decent spell from Luke Wright - 0-28 from six - but Sussex need a stick and Yardy is hoping he can get it. Spearman 25 and Gidman 38 and neither has offered a chance yet. Gloucs in control at the moment. WICKET: Gloucs 106-3 (25) Gidman gone for 43. Spearman reverse-swept Beer to backward point and sent Gidman back. Trouble was, the skipper was already halfway down the track and although Yardy's throw was not the best, Beer dragged it in and did the rest. Gidman out for 43. Spearman is 25 and has been joined by Chris Taylor. Damien Wright back for a second spell after one over of left-arm twirl from the capitano.

Gloucs 129-3 (32) Taylor's just gone on the front foot to drive Kirtley through the covers for his first boundary, Kirtley having replaced Wright after a three-over spell failed to get a wicket. If Sussex can get Spearman out soon they will feel they have a chance but he's 34 and batting serenely, especially against Beer. Taylor onto 13. We might see Yardy again soon or even Rory H-B.

Gloucs 174-3 (38) This is looking like a lost cause I'm afraid. Spearman took the batting powerplay in the 34th over and 53 from the last 11 overs with Spearman (56) and Taylor (33) looking well set should not be beyond them. RM-J has been Sussex's best bowler - good control of line and length so far... and Taylor has just lofted him over long on for six.

Gloucs 216-3 (44) Sussex haven't quite run up the white flag but Gatting is coming on to bowl his seam-up. Spearman is 63 and Taylor 64. 12 needed.

GLOUCS WON BY 7 WICKETS. 46.2 overs gone and Gloucestershire are home and hosed. Spearman finished on 69 and Taylor 68 and their fourth wicket stand was an unbroken 122. Sussex's best partnership was just 42 and that tells the story. That's it from me. Yardy's reaction will be in the paper and online tomorrow. Join me again, if you're not going, for coverage of the Championship opener against Lancashire on Tuesday.