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ON FRIDAY, I signed a two-year contract with Middlesex and, in doing so, committed myself to the club for the rest of my playing career.

This, I can honestly say, I was delighted to do, even though it was something I did not expect to be doing as I walked off the field at Derby following the last game of the 1998 season.

The decision took a while to make but in the end became quite an easy one following talks with my family and close friends. In Australia, unexpectedly, I also had the chance to think things through and with time my feelings and frustrations of last summer began to soften and the events that happened didn't seem so bad.

On my travels, I did speak to individuals from other counties about the possibility of signing with them should I decide to leave Middlesex. Their interest was reassuring and the prospect of playing for perhaps Worcestershire, Hampshire or Kent was a proposition I seriously entertained. However, the more I thought about it, the clearer it became to me that after 15 mostly successful and enjoyable years at Middlesex, my heart was still there and I wished to remain.

In some ways, the easiest option may have been to leave, take the money and in the immediate future have a greater chance of winning a trophy. But when you have been at a place that contains good friends for so long, you do care about what is going on and want to help if you can, not just walk away.

There were other factors, too, that affected my decision, the main one being that I seem to have been constantly on the go for the last two years. In 1997 it was my benefit year and this was followed by the demands of playing for England in a hectic 1998.

Moving counties would almost certainly mean spending even less time at home than I currently do. Even though this is an idea my wife seemed to be warming to having spent the last three weeks being driven mad by me (apparently, I mess up her routine), I think deep down, though, she misses me and would rather I spend more time with her and the children.

Middlesex, like most clubs, have had their problems in convincing people to accept that the game has got to change, but as a result of what happened last year at Lord's, I believe we are now hopefully a united club moving in the right direction.

You never know, in years to come we may look back at the events of 1998 and think of them as a blessing in disguise. Until then, you had the feeling the club believed the good times would last forever, we would automatically win trophies and produce top players. There is no reason why we can't return to those days. However, what has happened has happened and we must move forward, there is a lot of work that needs to be done but, hopefully, we will have learned from these mistakes.

On the back of these facts, once Middlesex made an offer I was happy with, the deal was as good as done. The young men who, along with me, occupy the seats in the No 1 dressing room at Lord's have a wonderful challenge - to take us back to the days when winning something was expected rather than hoped for.

To get there, though, will take a lot of hard work from everyone in the club. When I landed back at Heathrow on Jan 9, everything seemed up in the air. Following this week, I am happy and relieved to have sorted one headache out.

Hopefully, through helping Middlesex with their rehabilitation, I can get rid of another and win back my England place.