WHATEVER will we do without the Gidmans? This understandable question is accompanied by too much woe, too much hand wringing.

Of course, Alex and Will are going to be hard for Gloucestershire CCC to replace on and off the field but now is the time to look forward.

With the Gidmans going and Ian Saxelby retiring three of the club’s largest earners are off the payroll.

Captain Klinger does not return until June and I expect two squad players to move on. This frees up cash that can be spent on new players. We can freshen up the squad. The search is on.

Michael Klinger, back in Australia, is looking for a fast bowler to be our overseas player during April and May. Much championship cricket is played then in bowler-friendly conditions and finding an appropriate speed merchant is the best way of filling the Klinger gap. Who else will be arriving? It is too early for names yet but perhaps one experienced batsman and if we are really lucky a spin bowler.

Players will approach us, either through agents or individually. Gemaal Hussain who left us after a brilliant first season in 2010, vanished without trace at Somerset and was released in 2013. He is still writing letters to many English counties asking for a trial. Last season he played for several different county 2nd XIs.

John Bracewell and his team will soon be sorting out the wheat from the chaff.

We can, of course, approach players whose contracts are running out. When I was chairman approaches were made to Paul Franks (Notts), Tom Smith (Lancs) and Dawid Malan (Middx). I expect we have some players already identified. There is one problem here. The players can play off one county against another, using interest from Gloucestershire as a bargaining ploy in obtaining a pay rise.

Then there is recruiting from within the county, preferably signing players from our own academy. This is the best way forward and we have some splendid emerging players but many, quite correctly, think about education as well.

Will Tavare took a degree before joining us and some promising 18-year-olds may well do the same but at least Gloucestershire now have some who are almost ready.

Captaincy is the biggest problem. Who replaces Michael for the first two months? Should Michael be captain at all as he is coming for a part of the season? There are no easy answers to this one.

Still looking ahead to next cricket season, but much more locally, three cheers for Chedworth CC. Winning the CDCA title means they are entitled to join the County League and have happily taken up the challenge that others have previously spurned. They deserve all our good wishes.

So do the footballers of Forest Green. On Saturday, they are at home to high-flying Barnet and on the following Tuesday they play second-placed Torquay.

FGR are on a roll again with two wins and a draw from their last three games. If you go to either of these games and it is your first visit of the season you may be surprised.

Rovers’ centre forward Jon Parkin reminds me of Desperate Dan and the whole team are not the soft touches of old.

I found time on Saturday to drop in to Cirencester rugby club’s neat and tidy ground at The Whiteway. There was a large, cheerful crowd for the visit of Stroud.

A spirited match ensued, but my rugby experts concluded it was a very scrappy affair. Cirencester won 12-10. Last time I saw Stroud play was 1957 and their opponents were Bristol. Rugby clubs' fortunes can obviously go up as well as down but Stroud have fallen a long way.

Complete humiliation was the order of the day on Tuesday.

Mrs Light and I travelled to Eastleigh for the game against Forest Green. Being on duty for the SNJ I reported to the gate marked Press. “John Light, Stroud News and Journal” was the accurate way I announced myself.

“Never heard of you, never heard of your paper,” was the blunt reply. I then played what I thought would be my trump card and produced my Wilts and Glos accreditation.

“Never heard of that newspaper either,” was the retort. I eventually was let in and enquired of another steward where the press box was. “I have no idea,” he stated, saying few press representatives attended their games.

I am not surprised. They cannot get in.