It’s 2012, resplendent in blue pyjamas the County’s cricket pros led by Captain ‘Giddo’ Gidman call themselves ‘Gladiators’, and hope springs eternal.

Although touching on the prime Gloucestershire CCC years of the artful old toad W.G., Wally Hammond, and R.C. ‘Jack’ Russell MBE while skipping over a fair share of tears and doldrums, be warned this book is not a club history.

Drawn from chats with a motley assortment of former players both professional and amateur, club officials, broadcast commentators, die-hard spectators and competitive tea ladies, the content herein shouldn’t be taken too seriously because it’s often hilarious.

The tales are legion. Take as examples the cricketing ‘spirit’ upon Sheepscombe’s Laurie Lee Field, or those Pratt Cup cricketers changing into whites in the billiard room of a North Nibley mansion overshadowed by Breakheart Hill. Neither should one overlook the parrot that squawked ‘GLAWSTER!’ nor the bizarre connections embedded as far afield as the islands of Nevis and Corfu.

Taken as a whole, I've unearthed a worldwide passion for Gloucestershire cricket that’s alive and well, and full to the brim with eccentricity and odd statistics.

A tome to be enjoyed by every lover of the ‘summer game’.

Let yourself be surprised. Bats Pads & Gladiators written and illustrated by Charles Wood was published by Halsgrove on 21st September 2012 and was featured on BBC Radio Gloucestershire on 9th October 2012.