GLENN Maxwell may have been frustrated by his shortage of runs in a Yorkshire shirt so far, but he's still been a hugely positive influence on our squad both on and off the field.

The one thing about him is that he's always in the game because he bats, bowls and fields.

In the Royal London one-day match at Derby last Monday, for example, he took an unbelievable one-handed catch that probably changed the dimension of that game.

He's great to have in the team, and off field, he's great fun and just can't sit still.

He's so talented as a cricketer that he probably frustrates you at times with the bat, but he showed a real sense of maturity at Worcestershire, something we needed from him.

Thankfully, it came together for him with his first hundred for the club.

His frustration is natural I guess as an international player. Hopefully he's beyond that now and can help us get to the quarter-finals and beyond in the one-day competition.

When you sign somebody like that, it's only going to create a positive effect on other players in your squad because they are picking up tips from him.

He's got that X factor. When he's in, people don't know where to bowl at him. That's always good too have in your armoury.

The win over Worcester on Thursday, in which Maxi starred, was probably the template for how we want to play our one-day cricket.

We were clinical with the bat, ball and in the field, and hopefully it has given us the impetus to get on a roll in this competition.

I've spoken a lot about how I'm hitting the ball nicely and keep getting out recently, so it will not surprise you to learn that I've been pleased with a few fifties of late.

I got one against Worcestershire in the Championship at Scarborough, one against Warwickshire in the T20 and then one at Worcester in the one-dayer. Now I want to make a big hundred.

It's been a tough run of form that I've been in, but the way I've gone about my cricket, keeping myself in a good mental frame of mind, has been encouraging for me.

I imagine a few years ago, I'd have been tearing my hair out, but I've been happy to deal with it so well.

When you trust your method and you trust your practice and back yourself as a player, you always come out of the bad spells.

It's a natural part of your development that you have some lean patches and you have some periods that can challenge you mentally. But I will try and use this in the future to help me become a more consistent batsman.

* Pennine Business Partners are skilled and experienced marketing, human resources and health and safety specialists. The focus of our business is your business – we add value to your team and deliver an excellent return on investment, by providing proactive support to help reduce the stresses and pitfalls of running a business. For more information, visit www.penninebusinesspartners.com.