Simon Katich reckons he is adjusting to English conditions quicker than he did at Durham three years ago, writes SIMON WALTER.

Katich was out four runs short of what would have been his 17th first class 50 yesterday and admitted: "It was disappointing not to cash in and get three figures but I dragged one on trying to hit the left-armer a long way.

"It wasn't a great shot, I just didn't execute it properly. It was a nice wicket to bat on, a little bit slow, but good once you get through the new ball and the sun came out it was good out there.

"It was one of those days where I managed to hit a few in the middle, it was a good partnership with John, we rotated the strike well."

Katich has only had one other championship innings for Hampshire - he made 17 against Yorkshire a fortnight ago.

"It took a while to used to the wickets at Durham but I'm used to the wickets a bit more now, so it's not as big a culture shock as it was the first time," added Katich, an Ashes tourist in 2001.

"I would have liked to have got more than the three 100s I got for Durham, it's just a matter of going out there and doing it.

"I've never played against Gloucestershire before, I had only seen the bowlers before in the warm-ups and that helped me to be switched on.

"Hopefully now we can get a score of 400-plus. If we do that, bowl well and take our chances, you never know."

Katich made his first big runs for Hampshire within 24 hours of Australia's shock defeat against the Windies. "I followed the score on the Ceefax but I didn't realise we'd lost until training," he added.