FRIENDS PROVIDENT TROPHY GROUP C, Bristol
Gloucestershire 228-3 beat Sussex 227 by seven wickets (Glos 2pts, Sussx 0pts)

Half-centuries from Craig Spearman and Chris Taylor took Gloucestershire to a seven-wicket FP Trophy win at Bristol.

Michael Yardy top-scored for Sussex with 58 while Matt Prior made 50 and Luke Wright 40 in their side's 227.

But, with home captain Alex Gidman (43) also making a sizeable contribution, Gloucestershire looked comfortable.

And when Spearman (69) was joined by ex-captain Taylor, they put on 122 for the unbroken fourth wicket as Sussex were beaten with 22 balls to spare.

For Spearman, his 69 from 100 balls was his first half-century - in four innings - since he suffered a depressed fracture of the cheekbone and damaged eye socket in a Twenty20 Cup game against Northamptonshire at Milton Keynes last June.

Earlier, Sussex had been restricted chiefly by Gloucestershire left-arm spinner Vikram Banerjee (3-47) and Jon Lewis (2-34).

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