WITH the Nottinghamshire game behind us now the old saying that catches win matches still rings very true to my ears.

During the four days we played some really pleasing cricket and should have dominated a whole lot more than we did.

Our batting was impressive with Dexter, van Jaarsveld and Walker making hundreds on a pitch that was a beauty for batting early on.

A score of 600 is always a pleasing result, no matter what the surface, especially against a Nottinghamshire attack that possesses skill and experience.

Unfortunately, having done the hard work with the bat, we let ourselves down with some poor catching.

Our bowlers stuck to their task admirably and did well to create as many chances as they did, but it just turned out to be one of those matches when the dreaded disease sets in amongst the side.

Our catching has been nothing short of brilliant for most of the season, indeed van Jaarsveld, Kemp and Hall form one of the sharpest slip cordons in world cricket.

Unfortunately the absence of Kemp gave our cordon a different appearance, especially when Hall is busy with the ball.

I never like to make excuses, but perhaps conditions did contribute and I will point out that the low bounce and lack of pace in that docile pitch meant the keeper and slips had to stand much closer than they would normally.

The nicks, therefore, come low and very quickly to change the technique of catching. Rather than let the ball come on to them and absorb the energy of the ball with soft hands, our slippers were having to try and scoop the ball up, which is where we struggled.

The lads are very determined to get things right though and are putting in extra work on their catching.