Weather is now starting to play its part again as we approach the last few weeks of the season.

We've had a pretty strange schedule this season with the early months being very intense, at times playing nine days in a row, having a two-day turnaround before doing it again.

Because we played so much cricket early on we now have long periods with no games. The Sunday League 45-over games break it up a little but, all in all, it's been a fairly slow month.

The weather last weekend was dreadful and the game was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

This has left us without cricket for 10 days which at a vital time of the season is not ideal. The division two table has really closed up and there are now five teams scraping for three promotion spots.

We are still lying second but have a huge game this week with fourth-placed Warwickshire. It's going to be my last game at Lord's for Middlesex and I desperately want to do well. It also looks like we will be without 'the Cat', Phil Tufnell, who has finally got the call up to the England squad to play the last Ashes Test at the Oval.

While it's great for Tuffers to get another call up, it makes the job of beating Warwickshire just that little bit harder.

With the extra days off it gave me a chance to experience Britain's favourite pastime - a football match.

Angus Fraser is a staunch Liverpool supporter so we loaded up the car and made the three-and-a-half-hour trip to Anfield, the home of Liverpool FC. This is a ground with a lot of history and certainly we will never forget the disaster during the semi-final of the FA Cup when over 70 people were crushed as the massive crowd surged forward.

Since then all premiership grounds around the UK have converted their terraces into seated areas to eliminate a repeat of those horrendous scenes.

I continually chipped at Gus about how fanatical this country was about their soccer, he only took so much before comparing New Zealanders' infatuation with rugby. He has a fair point and I guess this week things have been pretty intense after the All Blacks' loss in Dunedin.

The afternoon was great with Liverpool winning 2-1 over West Ham United. The winning goal was scored with only 10 minutes to go, much to the relief of the 45,000 fans. My lasting memory of the day would have to be the singing of the crowd and being involved with the Liverpool club song 'You'll Never Walk Alone'.

I always enjoy watching top athletes perform no matter what sport, on Saturday it was football. Come the next three days I hope it's my Middlesex team mates!

(Editor's note: Stephen Fleming scored his fourth century of the summer for Middlesex today on the first day of the game with Warwickshire)

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