Safely back from Sri Lanka and straight back into the championship.

The boys have had mixed fortunes during my absence with a convincing win against Durham only to follow up with a loss to second-placed Sussex. This was our first loss in the championship and a hammer blow at that with Sussex leap-frogging us into first place.

I have been feeling pretty flat since my return especially after the disappointment of our last game in Sri Lanka.

Opposing individuals seem to be making a habit of up-staging us; Lance Klusener and Nicky Boje for South Africa. Heath Streak for Zimbabwe, Russel Arnold for Sri Lanka and, just recently, Virender Shewag for India.

Even with two of these performances we still had several opportunities to qualify for the final but just didn't convert them.

My form in Colombo was patchy, not converting a couple of starts and then having the misfortune of being bed-ridden for five days and missing two games in the process. That left me with 10 days without any cricket and only a little practice which was very annoying as my championship form in England leading up to this tournament had been good.

It wasn't until the last game that I added anything of substance, sharing in a partnership with Nath (Astle) who was in great form after some time off.

So, I return to London very determined to finish off my season well and play my part in getting Middlesex promoted.

Unfortunately, it will have to wait until next week with myself and the team turning in a poor performance losing heavily to John Bracewell's Gloucestershire side. They taught us a lesson on how to do the basics incredibly well.

Even with a day and a half of rain we managed to lose our last wicket with an hour's play still remaining. I didn't put the pads on until the morning of the final day, partly due to rain, but also due to the fact that I was nursing a very bruised left index finger after jamming at catch between the ball and the ground.

I slipped down to six in an attempt to reduce the swelling for the following the day. It recovered pretty well to the treatment and looked forward to a long bat on a pretty flat wicket. In fact, I looked forward to it so much I had two turns and by the end of the day I only had 14 runs to show for it.

My second dismissal was a little freakish being caught in close after hitting a ball hard into the leg side. As the fielder took evasive action the ball got lodged under his arm and stayed there as his team mates enjoyed the moment.

I caught up with a couple of former New Zealand players this week. One was obviously Bracewell who was in town with Gloucester, the other was Geoff Howarth former New Zealand captain. Geoff lives over here and was doing some coaching on the Lord's Nursery Ground. I've always enjoyed his company and it was nice to catch up in a relaxed environment.

Time also allowed a pint with Braces who was in good form continuously stimulating thought about the current international game. His experiences overseas will be very valuable when he feels the time is right to return home.

On the subject of coaches - sad to close the book on Tristy's (David Trist) time with us, a sentiment shared by all during our last night in Colombo. We're not sure where the Grey Fox is headed but we wish Christine and himself every success.

When one chapter ends another begins and we all look forward to working with Denis Aberhart the new New Zealand coach. I have played a lot of cricket with Denis as coach, as have many of the boys over the last few years. That will be a big advantage as his knowledge on players will be extensive.

Contrary to media belief I look forward to working very closely with Abbo and sharing ideas as we continue our work towards the next World Cup.

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