GLOUCESTERSHIRE star Alex Gidman was the hero on Monday as England A claimed a five-wicket win over Sri Lanka A in a tour match in Colombo, writes Nathan Woolford.

The young all-rounder, tipped to be the county's next star name, struck an unbeaten 29 off 20 balls to help the national academy side to an impressive victory.

But he was not alone in his celebrations, with Gloucestershire team-mate and star seamer Jon Lewis taking the bowling honours after grabbing the prize wicket of former Sri Lanka Test batsman Russel Arnold.

Lewis, who broke into the full England Test squad during the winter tour of South Africa, had Arnold caught by A team skipper Ian Bell for 71 on the way to claiming two for 32 from 10 overs.

Lewis and Gidman then combined to dismiss home skipper Jehan Mubarak, who was caught by Gidman for four as England took control of the game.

The youngster, who has cemented his place in the Gloucestershire side over the past two years, then struck 1-36 in a five-over spell as the hosts made a fair 248-8 from their 50 overs.

However, in the reply Gidman proved his worth once more, excelling with the bat as he hit five fours in six deliveries to seal the win, sharing in a 62-run partnership with Surrey's England one-day star Rikki Clarke.

Lewis was easily the pick of the England bowlers in what was a fine day for two of Gloucestershire's most exciting stars.

L There was bad news for Gloucestershire this week following the announcement that new overseas signing Upul Chandana will miss the start of the season.

The leg-spinner will miss the first two County Championship and Totesport League games of the forthcoming season after Sri Lanka confirmed that they will be conducting a one-day tour of India in April and May.

On top of this, Sri Lanka also have a two-Test series with the West Indies in July and a triangular one-day series with the West Indies and India in August, and Chandana seems certain to be a part of his national squad for both series.

He is now preparing for a forthcoming two-Test series in New Zealand, which was rescheduled in the wake of the tsunami disaster.