ALEX GIDMAN scored 69 on the day he led Gloucestershire for the first time as club captain but a mini collapse saw his side lose grip on a commanding position.

Gidman got his first job right by winning the toss in the County Championship Division Two match against Surrey at The Oval on day one and his decision to bat seemed to be justified as Gloucestershire got off to a great start.

Despite a duck for opener Craig Spearman, Kadeer Ali shared a partnership of 126 with Hamish Marshall (76) and then 121 with Gidman before he was lbw to James Benning, ten runs short of his 100.

Gidman fell soon after also to Benning, this time caught behind by Jonathon Batty and a flurry of wickets saw Gloucestershire go from 247-2 to 283-8. Overseas signing James Franklin made 11 on his second debut for the county before he was caught by Matthew Spriegel, bowled Jade Dernbach.

But Jon Lewis hit an unbeaten 27 off 24 balls and Vikram Banerjee made 16 not out as Gloucestershire ended the day in a decent position of 321-8.

Read an interview with new captain Alex Gidman in this week's Gazette.