A HARD week's cricket has brought mixed results for Hampshire with a disappointing defeat in the Championship followed by a quite remarkable win in the C&G against Essex.

Sussex was always going to be a hard game for us, but having bowled them out for 211 on the first day we again didn't bat very well. We conceded a first innings deficit of 43, which at the Rose Bowl is always important. We hauled ourselves back into it again and at one stage they were only 185 ahead with four wickets left. But poor bowling and a great knock of 91 from Robin Martin-Jenkins took their lead to 305.

We felt the best way to approach our run chase was to be as positive as possible and at 145 for 3 we were going nicely. But Mushtaq had other ideas, and wove his leg spin and googlies to great effect. Aided by some bad shots he ended up with 7 for 64 and brought Sussex a win.

We exchanged some strong views in the dressing room after the match. As captain, I felt we were a little slow in picking out the key moments in the game and not reacting accordingly to them.

Everyone had an opinion (which was good) and we had a good net session on Sunday to iron out a few things.

Warney arrived on Sunday afternoon and within half-an- hour of landing was on the phone to me, asking me who was playing well, who wasn't, etc. It was clear that his enthusiasm for the club hadn't drained away in the winter - not that I ever thought it would!

KP to the rescue

On Monday it was so good to see both Warney and Kevin Pietersen on the pitch for us against Essex. It was a bad toss to lose, and Darren Gough took advantage of the damp conditions to get some sideways movement. He and Andre Adams reduced us to 12 for 4 in the seventh over, but Goughie suffered a hamstring strain and had to withdraw. Lucky for us!

KP then played an unbelievable innings of 98 from 73 balls to quite literally take the game away from Essex. He strikes the ball like no-one I have ever played with and is an awesome talent. It's a pity for us and our supporters that with his England commitments he's unlikely to play much for us this summer.

Michael Carberry, Dimi, Warney and myself all made 20 and above to take us to 257 - a target we hadn't imagined after seven overs!

Good bowling from all of us saw Essex always slightly behind the clock and victory was ours by eight runs when I caught James Foster on the boundary.

Dominic Thornely nicked three wickets at the death with his medium pace, and looks to be a really good all-round acquisition. Shane and myself took two wickets apiece, while Billy Taylor bowled a really tight ten overs for just 31 runs to help set us up for the finish.

Taylor hat-trick

We're presently playing Middlesex in the Championship and Billy again stole the show on the first day, taking 6 for 32, including a hat-trick, as we skittled out Middlesex for 98 at the Rose Bowl after they chose to bat first.

Billy is certainly making an impression at present and we're all delighted for him.

Hoping for the call

Test selection is this weekend and I'm hoping and praying that my decent start to the season has nudged things my way. There's been a lot of newspaper talk and it's clear that it's between myself and Monty Panesar for the spinner's slot with, hopefully, my batting giving me the edge over him.

The Lord's Test begins next week. Six months ago who would have thought I had a chance of playing in it? Certainly not me. Funny old world isn't it!