When asked last month, after his innings of 152 not out off 58 balls against Sussex in the Twenty20 Cup, why Graham Napier had not played in the championship side this summer, Paul Grayson, the Essex coach, said half-jokingly that he could not play the red ball game.

But Napier, hitherto seen as one of the many players in county cricket with a bright future behind him, appears to have the wind at his back now regardless of the colour of the ball. Yesterday he took four for 50, his best return in the championship since June 2004, and put his side on top after Gloucestershire had elected to bat. That year, before injuries derailed him, Napier looked to be building an England future as he was named in the 30-man squad for the ICC Champions Trophy.

Napier struck early yesterday as Kadeer Ali was leg-before in the eighth over, driving with his head falling to point. Marcus North, the Western Australia left-hander who made 98 off 125 balls, was the only batsman unhurried by Napier.

With great assurance, North engineered a recovery from 52 for three in the thirteenth over. However, on a pitch that was green in the middle but with dry worn ends, three ill-advised sweep shots undid Gloucestershire as they lost their last six wickets for 81 runs.

Scoreboard

Gloucestershire: First Innings
W T S Porterfield c Foster b Masters 12
Kadeer Ali lbw b Napier 5
H J H Marshall c Foster b Masters 12
M J North c Masters b Kaneria 98
A P R Gidman b Napier 31
C G Taylor lbw b Kaneria 16
S D Snell b Middlebrook 21
M A Hardinges not out 40
V Banerjee c Bopara b Middlebrook 0
*J Lewis c Foster b Napier 12
S P Kirby b Napier 2
Extras (b 4, lb 15, w 1, nb 6) 26

Total (68 overs) 275

Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-27, 3-52, 4-131, 5-194, 6-221, 7-223, 8-245, 9-265.

Bowling: Masters 14-2-51-2; Napier 15-3-50-4; Ten Doeschate 4-0-21-0; Kaneria 18-4-67-2; Bopara 6-0-35-0; Middlebrook 11-2-32-2.

Essex: First Innings
V Chopra not out 43
J E R Gallian not out 23
Extras 0

Total (no wkt, 26 overs) 66

N J Dexter, R S Bopara, *M L Pettini, J S Foster, R N ten Doeschate, J D Middlebrook, G R Napier, D D Masters and Danish Kaneria to bat.

Bowling: Lewis 11-2-38-0; Kirby 7-2-18-0; Banerjee 7-3-7-0; North 1-0-3-0.

Umpires: N G Cowley and I J Gould.