GLOUCESTERSHIRE skipper Alex Gidman sees the Cheltenham Cricket Festival as a "great opportunity" for his side to step up their bid for glory this season.

The county start with a CB40 clash against unbeaten Group B leaders Yorkshire tomorrow (Thursday, 1.45pm), and then face County Championship promotion rivals Glamorgan in a four-day match starting Friday, 11am.

They have a day's break before a Championship derby against Worcestershire, starting next Wednesday, and bring the curtain down on the Festival with a CB40 game against Middlesex on Sunday, August 8.

Gloucestershire are currently third in both competitions but a good 11 days at Cheltenham could propel them into pole position to reach the CB40 semi-finals and for promotion from the County Championship.

Gidman said: "In previous years it's needed to go well so we can catch up on the opposition but this is a great opportunity to go ahead of teams.

"It's defining in the fact that we can push ahead but if it doesn't go well it's not the end of the season.

"Cheltenham is always an enjoyable part of the year but this year we're probably more excited because if it goes well we'll be in a good position in both forms of the game.

"In the CB40, Yorkshire had a very good start. It is a great opportunity to give those guys a good run for their money but we've got a lot more cricket after that.

"Glamorgan have had the upper hand in the last couple of meetings against us and they're a very strong outfit, but it would be nice to beat our main competitors because we haven't played good cricket against those teams."

Gidman also believes the Cheltenham crowd can play a key role.

He said: "We like to play in an exciting atmosphere and the crowd at Cheltenham create that.

"It is a great crowd, they give us a good buzz and helping hand so we're looking forward to seeing them again.

"It's nice to come down and play in front of supporters North in the county, you see familiar faces every year and those people you don't come across very often so we'll try our very best to put on a good show."

Gidman is hoping to see the long wait for a Gloucestershire batsman to hit a century in the County Championship this season end at Cheltenham.

James Franklin has been dismissed three times in the nervous 90s, Dent fell two runs short of a maiden first class ton at Derby in May, while Gidman himself has come agonisingly close with scores of 97 and 99.

"We want more runs as a unit and if that means picking up big 100s to get to 400 plus then it gets quite important," he said.

"We have batted okay this year and chipped in throughout but it would be nice if the stats change and we can start banging out 100s.

"As batsmen it's not affecting us yet, but hopefully we can change it around soon."