The unveiling of the plaque on the scoreboard to commemorate Umer and Burhan Rashid on Saturday morning brought back a range of emotion for everyone who was there.

It was lovely to see the Rashid family again but also a sad reminder of a family broken by disaster.

It is amazing to think it has been a year and a half since that tragic day in Grenada. I hope it was a source of comfort for the Rashid family to see so many familiar faces and to know that Sussex County Cricket Club will remember their sons forever.

It was fitting that the ceremony should happen during our game against Middlesex, which was Umer's first club.

It was a stark reminder to us, at a time when all the talk is of winning trophies, that there is so much more to life than cricket.

It did mean it was very hard to concentrate on the match and it can be no coincidence that we found ourselves in considerable trouble two hours later having lost five wickets with less than 100 on the Rashid scoreboard.

To bat well you have to have an uncluttered mind. They say the best batsmen are a bit simple - why else do you think the Aussies score so many runs?

Sure intelligence can be a help but it can be a hindrance too. You can have thought up all the ingenious theories on batting in the world but unless you are thinking about just one thing, watching the ball, you will be in trouble at the crease. I can't speak for the others but I found myself contemplating other things that morning.

I remember thinking that if this were a couple of years ago I would now be batting with Umer. I used to enjoy batting with him more than anyone.

His relaxed attitude to life and batting wore off on you and helped to calm you down at the crease. How he would have relished getting Sussex out of the hole they were in. If we do go on to lift the championship trophy, and I'm not tempting fate here, I know all the players will be thinking of Umer and in particular how he would have been the life and soul of our celebrations.

It was only after lunch when the dressing room had a visit from Umer's father that the spirit lifted. To see a man coping so well with life after the death of his two eldest sons was very inspiring.

Being a devout Muslim, no doubt the foundation for his courage, he asked where he could go and pray.

Twenty minutes later he came back and with a twinkle in his eye, said "don't worry guys the batting will be ok, I've just had an extra ten minutes on it with Allah!"

Three hours later we were celebrating being back on top of the match with Matt Prior and Mark Davis having played arguably the innings of the season.

Now if that's not divine intervention then I don't know what is!