TO COME out of our championship game against Hampshire with only seven points was hard to believe considering we were the only side who looked capable of winning the match.

Despite the fact we could only draw, there was a lot to be positive about. Having been bowled out cheaply in our first innings we didn't drop our heads, we kept fighting and fought our way back into a pretty dominant position.

We had the better of the match in the end, but came away with fewer points than them, which is pretty disappointing.

Things didn't go our way because we dropped a few chances. The mystery is that we have some high quality catchers in the slip cordon and in the last couple of years the likes of Martin van Jaarsveld and Andrew Hall have caught everything.

But although we didn't win, there was much to be happy with. Joe Denly's hundred in the first innings led our fight back and was a magnificent innings.

It was also good to see Darren Stevens get three figures on the board for the first time this summer and for Rob Key to continue the form he showed up in Durham.

He's proved himself to be a sharp captain and he's getting better and better as a leader. I'm very encouraged by his leadership. It's also important for him that he's now leading from the front by scoring some runs.