THE spirit in the camp remains very high as we take on Somerset at New Road in our third LV= County Championship Division One fixture of the season.

We have had time to reflect on the performance and the result in our last Championship outing against Sussex and it has been nice to have time off and recharge our batteries.

We have now completed two Championship games and can take positives from both of those defeats but we have to make sure we learn from our mistakes.

The squad and coaching staff were very disappointed not to chase down the runs needed against Sussex because we were confident of getting the win heading into the final day.

I felt we played some good cricket and there were encouraging displays over the four days but we paid the price for a poor session with the bat in the second innings.

I have been very impressed with the attitude of our Sri Lankan overseas player Sachithra Senanayake who has settled into life at Worcester and is a positive influence in the dressing room.

It must have been a shock for him when he first arrived in the UK ahead of the Yorkshire game because he had been playing a lot of Twenty20 matches in hot conditions and been bowling with a white Kookaburra ball.

He is now getting to grips with the red Dukes ball we use in the Championship and I thought he bowled very well without much luck against Yorkshire. He deservedly took four wickets in the second innings at Sussex and he is an experienced player who adds knowledge to the dressing room. We made the most of a week’s break from competitive action to play a couple of Twenty20 matches against Somerset Seconds at Taunton Vale.

I was pleased to score a few runs and spend time in the middle and everyone played in at least one of the two Twenty20 matches. The games were played on Somerset’s second team ground which has a good wicket and a very fast outfield. I got 40-odd runs from 30 balls and Alex Gidman made a half-century after a quick start from Richard Oliver. I spent time watching us in one of the games and we bowled and fielded excellently.

It was positive to see the likes of Brett D’Oliveira, Joe Leach and Ross Whiteley all make contributions and stake their claims for places.

Away from New Road, it was sad to see my old club Bretforton withdraw from the Premier Division of the Cotswold Hills League on the eve of the new season. That’s where it all began for me. I played at Bretforton on a Saturday between the age of 13 and 16 and I hope to be back there one day.

The first team were hit badly by several retirements but the club has a strong junior section and I am sure they will bounce back.