Bouncebackability

Our win against Worcestershire in the Friends Provident Trophy was a fantastic result for us, and one that we very much needed to bounce back from our two previous defeats in this competition.

I thought the guys responded really well and the energy levels from everybody out there on the field were just fantastic.

We had a bit of a setback early on but then a good partnership between Justin Langer and myself set up a good total for us to bowl at.

Justin batted superbly well so I knew that I had to stay out there and get some runs at the other end. In the end the partnership that we shared turned out to be a vital contribution to us winning the match.

Now we have another big match in the Friends Provident when we take on our old rivals Gloucestershire at Bath on Bank Holiday Monday and after they beat us at Bristol in the competition we will be even more determined to get our own back

It was very frustrating not to have beaten Sussex in our county championship match last week because we feel that we outplayed the reigning champions for the whole time in just about all departments of the game.

The Sussex match wasn’t like the game against Hampshire where we had one poor session that cost us most of our bonus points.

It was a very flat wicket and one where it was difficult to get anything for the bowlers, which I think we are trying to look at but at the end of the day we have just got to run in and give 100%, which is what all the boys did in the Sussex game so it is very frustrating that we only got 12 points.

However we did full batting and bowling points for the first time this season. Last year we did this very well and we know that put sides under pressure you have to score big runs in the first innings which is something we managed to do successfully against Sussex.

Sides do feel under pressure when you out 550 runs on the board, which is something we want to keep going and take into the next game against Kent at Tunbridge Wells.

It was great to see Ben Phillips contribute so much with both the bat and ball in the game, especially after he had such a frustrating time last season. His confidence is growing and we are all delighted for him.

Our game at Tunbridge Wells this week is an important one for us because at the moment although we haven’t been beaten yet we are at the bottom of the table, which isn’t a true reflection of how we are playing at the moment.

We have so far played against two very good sides, Lancashire and Sussex, and one not so strong, but we think that Kent are a side that we can beat so we will be going there playing the positive cricket that we have been for the last couple of weeks.

We have got to keep it tight and not get frustrated and if we carry on doing the things that we did in the Sussex game then we will get a result sooner or later. It is just a case of keep on building on the blocks that we have laid and we will get the results we want in the end.
I have never played at Tunbridge Wells before, although I have played against Kent at both Canterbury and Maidstone, but I understand it is a nice little ground so I looking forward to it and hope that we can get a win from our visit.