In one of my previous articles I mentioned how frustrating the game can be at first-class level, particularly when the 'Cricketing Gods' aren't smiling upon you and runs and/or wickets aren't flowing as you would like. At the time I had just come off a big championship hundred and was really looking forward to getting stuck into the rest of the season. The sun was finally starting to shine, the wickets seemed to be flattening out and the wise old heads around the club were saying that July and August were traditionally the months for batsmen in England!

Well the only bad thing about making centuries is that eventually they end. Additionally, opposition bowling attacks never seem to respect the fact that you are coming off a hundred and in pretty good nick. In the three weeks since that innings, simply getting to double figures has been a struggle, as I have turned from one disaster to another in search of that rich vein of form to finish off the season.

Our recent trip to Bristol to take on arch-rivals Gloucester in a top-of-the-table clash for me really highlighted the beauties of what can go wrong when the Gods are upset. In chronological order my day went something like this:

a) I arrived at the ground early to get a good look at the pitch and finalise the team and was met by coach Kev Shine with the news that the drug police were in town and that I had been selected, along with Rob Turner, to participate. Shiney's timing could not have been any worse, telling me on the way out of the toilet, just seconds after my first slash outside the off for the day! Whilst I fully appreciate the need for anti-drug regulations, it really is annoying when your number comes up. In my current form I thought I would be the last person they would want to test!

b) I headed out to inspect the pitch and met coaches Shine and Dermott Reeve to discuss the make-up of the side and what to do if I won the toss. In the distance Gloucester player John Lewis was having a net with a few of the Gloucester second eleven players and I am certain all three of us heard the call to look out but for some reason chose to initially ignore it - probably because of the number of times in the past we had all listened and stupidly ducked for cover to see the ball land ten metres away! Well on this occasion we should have listened, as the ball was heading, centimetre perfectly, at a spot straight between Dermott's eyes. Fortunately I caught a last millisecond glance of it and managed to deflect it with the ends of two fingers on my left hand. Great, I have just saved Dermott the humiliation of fronting Channel 4 with two black eyes but now I have to play the game one-handed!

c) Moving to the game itself … after winning the toss (at least that went well!), we elected to bat first and things were going sweetly with England's new pin-up boy, Marcus Trescothick, and his former band member, Mark Lathwell, smashing the ball to all parts. In fact, they were going so well that I decided to promote Ian Blackwell to number three in an attempt to further increase momentum. The result - Blackie 'nicked Mark Alleyne to Jack Russell first ball and I was in on a hat-trick! Oh I love it when a plan comes together!

d) Well the hat-trick was successfully avoided and Marcus and I had started to build our own partnership, when I sent him back as he turned for a second run. Naturally enough, he did not hear me and was easily run out. Good form skipper - running out the form player of English cricket for 50!

e) We recovered the innings well and, thanks mainly to Keith Parsons, finished with a more than competitive 223. It was a total we were very confident of defending under the lights with an attack strengthened by the return of Andy Caddick and against a side more renowned for defending totals than chasing them. It was not to be. The drizzle that ended our batting innings intensified and washed out the rest of the match. A top-of-the-table clash certainly deserved better but who knows: maybe they would have chased well and we should be content with the two points? The thoughts of a man broken by the day's events!

Getting into the car to drive the hour to Taunton down the M5, I remember thinking, "Oh well, one positive is that we should now get home at a decent hour". Again, poor judgement James, as I didn't allow for the three quarters of an hour spent stationary on the M5 waiting for an accident to clear only two junctions from home!

Oh, why did I bother getting out of bed!!

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