Gloucestershire v Worcestershire, Day 4

Waiting for the rain to end the misery the rival coaches of Gloucestershire and Worcestershire shared one view - every point this season is going to be vital at the final count.

Worcester took two points from the Bristol wash-out to keep up the challenge with Warwickshire for top spot in division two but the one they denied their hosts - who finished with six points - really pleased their coach Bill Athey.

"They were just one run from a batting point when we bowled them out and from the joy in the field you'd have thought we had taken a point rather than keeping one from them" he said. "In a way we had, for every point, come September, will count, for things are that tight with three teams going up."

Gloucestershire's New Zealand coach John Bracewell agrees players are now full aware of the demands caused by the new bonus system offering up to five batting points in the first innings with three for bowling.

"It's a question of attitude", he argued. "When I came here two years ago players would assess a game on the last day and more or less decide whether they had a chance of winning or whether they could head off early down the motorway or whatever.

"Yet in a recent game at Cardiff we batted all day just to save the game. The records showed the Championship goes to the side which loses the least number of games.

"With that must go a determination to pick up every point possible. The changes will be good for English cricket.

"If a player doesn't want to win every match and doesn't see himself as a possible for national side he might as well go off and play for a village team."

Underneath Bristol's big new covers the pitch was dry but the outfield had taken as much water as it could. It was evident from early morning when the stewards were told not to bother to come in that the chances of play, were at the best, remote, but umpires Trevor Jesty and George Sharp took lunch before finally calling it off.

No one was more frustrated than Worcester's Vikram Solanki. He was stuck on his overnight 161 - 112 of his runs coming in boundaries - needing just eleven runs more to set up a fresh career-best.

"I'm sure he would have got them if he could have got out there and we would have been nicely positioned to win", claimed Athey.