A frustrating first week has seen us win a respectable six points in the Championship game at a soggy Worcester, followed by a narrow loss at Kidderminster.

Not the storming start to the season we had all hoped for, but there have been many encouraging signs. It was exciting to watch our new overseas player bat for the first time and the way Murray Goodwin played against a good bowling attack in the 'four'-day match showed what a fine player he obviously is.

Matt Prior also distinguished himself with the bat when he made 25 not out to guide us to an extra batting point. He also kept tidily and looks an exciting prospect.

We came very close to winning the Norwich Union League game on Sunday on a very difficult pitch for batting. It was great to see our Dutchman making runs and he was ably helped by Michael Yardy who looks to be improving as an all-rounder.

We bowled and fielded very respectably too before a wonderful innings by a certain G.Hick which proved the most telling contribution to their effort.

His was a masterly, patient knock that held together their otherwise fragile batting line-up. It always astounds me that he hasn't scored more heavily for England when I watch him bat in the county game with such ease and style.

It's yet another reminder for the young England hopefuls among us of the giant leap between county and Test cricket.

We were lucky to play cricket at all at Worcester. A huge area of the outfield at the picturesque New Road ground had been re-laid because of damage caused by record flooding there during the winter.

Some of you will have seen pictures of the water level reaching halfway up to the pavilion and there are tell-tale brown lines halfway up the walls of the musty dressing room.

The re-laid turf was literally floating on the earth when we arrived and it needed a lot of sun and a drying wind to make it acceptable conditions for a first-class game. Having said that, both teams and the umpires took a lot of persuading to get the game underway.

It mirrored the start of last season when three of the four days at Bristol were abandoned because of a wet outfield.

Alternative arrangements had to be made to keep a bunch of hyperactive cricketers happy. Last year we found a David Lloyd Centre where various games of tennis and squash revealed what a competitive and argumentative bunch of guys we are and how bad we are at tennis and squash.

This year we had to resort to games of touch rugby and two-touch football. After each game a trophy is awarded for the LVP (least valuable player).

This has been a tradition for some time but this year we have been donated a huge metallic stag courtesy of Michael Bevan who, quite unbeknownst to him, won this horrific, almost life sized monster of a trophy for one of his match-winning centuries.

So if you see a cricketer sheepishly lugging a huge steel male deer around the ground you will know that he hasn't gone mad, he's just missed three open goals or dropped the ball just as he was going to score a try.