Anthony McGrath column

It was more of the same last week against Derbyshire sadly because the time we lost to the weather really did cost us again.

If we’d had the full four days, I think we would have got a result and it would have been a positive one.

I think from now on we’ll need two wins in the Championship, maybe three, to go up from our final three games.

We’re playing some good cricket at the moment though, so if we can keep up the same level of performance then hopefully that will be good enough.

Personally, it was nice to bat up the order at five as it gave me a bit more time to get in and play an innings. I’ve been happy with my form all season so it was great to grab my opportunity and score some runs.

I’ve also been told that my century puts me ahead of Brian Close in the all-time list and level with John Hampshire.

I don’t really look too closely at stats but it’s probably something I’ll look back on when I eventually finish and be really proud off.

They’re great players of the past and so to be mentioned in the same circles as them is really nice.

I was impressed with Andrew Hodd last week on his debut. We’ve played against him a couple of times, so I knew he was a handy cricketer, but I thought he played really well with the bat under pressure and then got six or seven catches behind the stumps. It’s a great start for him.

We were all delighted to see Jonny (Bairstow) do so well for England and, with Kevin Pietersen away from the England set-up, I guess there might be an opportunity for someone next season.

If we sign Andrew then I think it would be a great addition to our squad.

This week is obviously a big one with Twenty20 finals day and I’ll be down there watching. Hopefully the lads can keep up the same level of performance and first of all win the semi-final before going into the final.

We’ve played some excellent cricket in the competition so far and so we’ll be going down to Cardiff with plenty of confidence.