Next best was Hamish Marshall with 35 and Phil Weston on 29. Marshall and Weston put on 47 for Gloucestershire's second wicket after opener Steve Adshead – and old Minor Counites adversary of Devon's when he played for Herefordshire – was bowled third ball down from Ian Bishop.

   Weston only faced 20 balls for his 29 and hit 28 of them in boundaries – mostly off Sandford's Trevor Anning, who finally bowled him.

   Marshall had his share of boundaries – he took a liking to Ian Bishop – and there was some bright and breezy stuff from Mark Hardinges and new England cap Jon Lewis.

   Hardinges was a classic case of six and out next ball – Will Murray got him on his Devon debut – while Lewis hit on six through the scorebox window in a brisk 14.

   Tail-ender Martin Ball joined the six-hitting party in the last over when he deposited one huge blow over mid-wicket that landed with an expensive-sounding ‘clang' on a spectator's car.

   Devon misfired at the start of their reply with opener David Lye in and out again for four in just three overs.

   Surviving opener Matt Hunt and Hancock upped the tempo by putting on 71 in nine overs before Hunt was caught and bowled by Windows for 26. Then the fireworks really started as Hancock and David Court flogged Gloucestershire's bowlers for another 84 at a breakneck pace in just five overs.

   Hancock (pictured, right), who moved to his 50 in just 28 deliveries, also hit five successive sixes, in his case two at the end of an over from Windows and three when he got on strike in the next one from Chris Taylor.

   Taylor was battered all over the ground by Hancock, whose tally of nine sixes included five off Taylor, two off Windows and one each off Mike Smith and Martin Ball.

   The partnership ended when Court tried to hit Ball for a third six in a row and was caught by a diving Marshall at deep mid-wicket for 32 off 13 balls.   Hancock had reached his ton earlier in the same over, 17 balls after raising his bat to acknowledge his 50. He was unbeaten on 104 when Devon captain Bob Dawson hit the winning runs with 10 balls to go.

   Gloucestershire Gladiators 183-8 (W P C Weston 29, H J H Marshall 35, M G N Windows 44; W B R Murray 2-24, R I Dawson 2-29), Devon Lions 187-4 (N D Hancock 104no, D G Court 32, M P Hunt 29) Devon bt Gloucestershire by 6 wkts.