We’ve got a big week coming up in 40-over cricket.

On Thursday we play Sussex in Hove before it’s off to Scarborough again for a match with Unicorns on Sunday.

The two games are going to be really important for us because we saw last year that you’ve got to get your wins on board early. If you can, then you can afford a slip up later on in the competition.

If you lose too many early on, it’s very difficult to get back in.

It was really good to extend our unbeaten start in the LV= County Championship against Hampshire.

It was the story of the season really though. Weather interruptions made a result very hard because it could have been a very interesting final day. The hour we lost because of the rain in the morning was critical.

There were a couple of discussions between the captains but they couldn’t agree on anything. Unfortunately, it petered out into a bit of a boring draw. It’s not good when it’s like that because there’s nothing on the match and you’re just waiting for time to finish. That’s the negative side of cricket.

At Bristol we set something up, and that’s why we got such an exciting finish. But with the overs we lost last week, it made doing the same thing very difficult.

We’ve now got three more games in the Championship until the start of Twenty20. If we can pick up a couple more wins, we’ll be in a great position. It’s important we just keep totting up the points.

On a personal note, the match was a really enjoyable one.

My century was a big innings, and I was really pleased to get to three figures. As I’ve said before I’ve felt really good this season, and I knew if I could get into the side, it would only be a matter of time before I started scoring runs.

Batting at six or seven is a new challenge for me. It’s something I’m not really used to as I’ve batted up the order for most of my career. I just want to be in the side though.

One of the good things is that when I’m batting lower down, I tend to face the second new ball. Facing the new ball is something I’ve got a lot of experience.

It’s just a matter of focusing the mind to whatever role you’re given. Ultimately, you’ve still got to get runs. Hopefully I can keep contributing with both bat and ball as the season continues.