Not quite the 30 years of hurt Baddiel and Skinner once sung about, but I have waited a very long time to get one over Surrey in a Championship match.

I made my Championship debut for Derbyshire in 1988 and last Sunday's win over them was the first I had experienced.

I hope the youngsters in our team grasp the enormity of what they helped achieve over four pulsating days and I certainly hope it's not 14 more years before I'm on the winning side against them again.

Full credit to our guys. Getting that first innings lead, even though it was a small one, was a big boost and what a great time for Mark Davis to return his career-best. Batting was very tense on Sunday, but Murray (Goodwin) and I decided to go on the offensive after lunch and we took the game away from them.

It has left us needing probably one more win for Division One survival, but we are looking to finish the season with a top three finish which would be some achievement, particularly as we didn't win a game until the middle of June. Since then everyone has made a contribution at some stage and the resilience and fighting spirit which we have tried to foster has really come to the fore.

It's Lancashire at Hove next week and the TV coverage of their Roses Match over the past few days has allowed us to pick up one or two useful tips about their players. When we played at Old Trafford in May I was particularly impressed with Kyle Hogg, whom I subsequently recommended to David Graveney, the chairman of selectors. But it seems that he isn't the only fast bowler they have nurtured recently. Against Yorkshire this week I have really been impressed with James Anderson who looks genuinely quick. It should all make for a decent four days next week preceded by another day-nighter on Tuesday which we have to win if we are to have any chance of climbing out of the bottom four.

The news that Harbhajan Singh had turned us down and opted to sign for Lancashire was obviously disappointing. From a personal point of view I worked hard to try and set the deal up and Harbhajan's representatives seemed quite keen that he joined Sussex instead of heading for the north-west. But apparently he has friends in the Manchester area and felt the wickets at OT would suit him. It's a shame he turned us down, but it's back to the drawing board as we try and add the experienced player which I think will improve our squad even more for next season.

A spinner to compliment Mark Davis is the priority, but if we don't find a slow bowler who fits the bill then we won't sign one, it's as simple as that. The alternative would be to go for another batsman or seamer. There is room in the squad for another experienced player and we will be searching hard over the next few weeks to find him.

Some good news on Friday was James Kirtley's call-up for the Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka next month. It wasn't a big surprise that they turned to Ambi after Darren Gough pulled out through injury. If he hadn't broken his hand halfway through the Nat West Series I think he would have been in the original squad anyway. The only thing is that James will miss our last Championship game against Warwickshire, I'm sure he will be striving hard in the three remaining games to produce the performances that will make sure we are in Division One again next season.

Finally, on a personal note, I'm glad to report that my knee is fine after a week's rest and I'm raring to go against Lancashire. Injuries are frustrating, but to have a clean bill of health as we approach the most important part of the season is a real confidence boost.

Saturday August 17