By Martin Gough

For all but those in the know at Gloucestershire, the appointment of Chris Taylor as County Championship captain for 2004 came as a bolt from the blue.

Taylor played just four Championship matches in 2003

Even Taylor himself did not expect to get the job after new player-coach Mark Alleyne decided his back could not take regular appearances in the four-day game.

Taylor, whose moment in the spotlight came four years ago when he scored a century on debut at Lord's, spent most of last summer in the second XI.

Meanwhile former New Zealand opener Craig Spearman regularly deputised for Alleyne as Gloucestershire clinched promotion from Championship Division Two for the first time.

"Mark struggled through injury to play day after day in the Championship and Craig took over on those days," Taylor told BBC Sport.

"When the captaincy was up for grabs I assumed Craig would take over."

However, Alleyne, who once described Taylor as having "the right balance between being self-assured and arrogant", had other ideas.

"We were having an indoor net and Mark came over and said, 'How do you fancy captaining the team this year?" Taylor recalls.

"I immediately said yes. When I got home that evening I got a bit daunted about it. It just took a while to settle in."

We want to be competitive in one-dayers but also build on the confidence of last year in the Championship Chris Taylor

Taylor will take the helm on weekdays, although his predecessor is still available, back trouble permitting.

But Alleyne will take over again in the one-day game, continuing a leadership that has brought six limited-overs trophies in the last five years.

The side that claimed the C&G Trophy at Lord's last season - 27-year-old Taylor included - had an average age of 33, which has up- and down-sides.

"There's a lot of experience around the club and I expect it to be a learning curve," Taylor says of his new role.

"I'm going to be looking to tap into those of players as much as I can to gain the experience."

Shabbir is a strike bowler and hopefully he can take a bit of the pressure off Mike Smith and Jon Lewis Chris Taylor

He acknowledges his appointment is a nod to the future but struggles to pinpoint where the rest of the new blood will come from.

"Alex Gidman is very exciting - he's fit again after breaking his finger - and we've got a number of players ready to step up when required," he goes on.

"I'm sure we'll see some new faces throughout the year."

A fluent middle-order batsman and agile fielder, Taylor's similarity to Jonty Rhodes counted against him when the South African spent last season at Nevil Road.

He managed just four Championship matches in 2003, all as injury cover.

This year's overseas pair, Pakistanis Shoaib Malik and Shabbir Ahmed, fill different roles, although Taylor is sad to see the back of Australian all-rounder Ian Harvey.

He says: "Ian was a very exciting player, a match-winner and it's disappointing that he's left but the two new guys bring something slightly different.

"Shabbir is a strike bowler and hopefully he can take a bit of the pressure off Mike Smith and Jon Lewis.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE 2004 Coach/one-day captain: Mark Alleyne County Championship captain: Chris Taylor Overseas players: Shabbir Ahmed, Shoaib Malik Players in: Shoaib Malik, Shabbir Ahmed, Steve Adshead Players out: Ian Harvey, Jonty Rhodes, Stephen Pope

"And Shoaib is a good all-rounder, a good batter and an unorthodox spinner."

Whatever Gloucestershire's past achievements in the one-day arena, Taylor insists they will not focus on one form of the game.

"It's important for us to play in the First Division of every competition so at a minimum we're looking to maintain that status," he insists.

"If we could win another one-day trophy that would be great.

"In terms of the Championship, if we can build on last season hopefully we will be pushing for the top three places."

Few observers would predict it, but Taylor must be used to that.