The club has decided not to offer the 29-year-old a new contract following behind the scenes problems.

"This has been a difficult decision about a player who has performed very well for GCCC and achieved a lot of success in the four years he has been with us.

"However, his relationship with the cricket management over the past 18 months has been very poor and has reached the stage where we believe it is unlikely to improve," said a club statement.

Snape moved to Bristol in 1999 after six seasons with Northamptonshire.

He was a member of the Gloucestershire side which dominated one-day cricket in 1999-2000, winning back-to-back Lord's finals in both the B&H Cup and C&G Trophy.

It earned him an England call-up for a five-match series in Zimbabwe last year and he was named Man of the Match after his debut in Harare.

He has been a virtual ever present in the one-day squad since then, but only made one appearance during the home NatWest Series against India and Sri Lanka.

Snape has so far taken 13 wickets in 10 limited overs internationals and scored 118 runs.

Gloucestershire made a poor start to the 2002 season amid reports of dressing room unrest. but recovered to win promotion back to Division One of the Norwich Union League.

This summer has seen the emergence of talented young all-rounder like Alex Gidman and Roger Sillence and the club says this has also been a factor in their decision.

"We feel opportunities for Jeremy Snape, particularly in the four-day game, could well be limited and, accordingly, cannot justify the sort of salary he would be entitled to," the statement added.