Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, founded in 1870, is one of 18 first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Gloucestershire. The team played its first senior match in 1870, under the captaincy of W. G. Grace.
Beginning with Grace, and his brothers E. M. and Fred, many great players have represented Gloucestershire, including Gilbert Jessop, Charlie Parker, Tom Goddard, Wally Hammond, Tom Graveney, Zaheer Abbas, Mike Procter, Jack Russell, Courtney Walsh, and Muttiah Muralitharan. The club has had two notable periods of success: in the 1870s, when it was unofficially acclaimed as the Champion County on at least three occasions; and from 1999 to 2006, when it won seven limited overs trophies, notably a 'double double' in 1999 and 2000 (the Benson and Hedges Cup and the C&G Trophy in both seasons), and the Sunday League in 2000.
