Saturday, October 6, 2001 Two good results for England today! I've only just found out the football score as we went straight into a selection meeting. It was 1-0 to Greece as we came off the pitch, then 1-1 when we reached the hotel – we searched high and low for a TV but we couldn't find one, which was a bit disappointing. But still…!

I thought we played a much tidier game today. If Wednesday's win was a 6 out of 10, then I'd give this one 8 – we had 20 minutes in the field when some of the throwing wasn't very special, but we did hold some important catches, and overall we were a lot sharper.

We had the match sewn up on Wednesday as well, but on that occasion I thought we took our foot off the gas a bit – this time we were keen to get on with things and win inside 35 overs, as that type of target breeds good habits. To win by eight wickets was a bonus; we certainly wouldn't have been concerned if we'd lost a couple more while pushing the run-rate. We had a plan to use the first 15 overs to create a platform, and with 90 for 1 today, and 80-odd on Wednesday, we're obviously very pleased with that area of the game.

Marcus Trescothick got us off to a flyer, and I must say that he's been a breath of fresh air since he's come into the side. He's had a couple of low scores on the tour so far, but I wouldn't say he's been out of form. He is such a clean striker of the ball, and he takes the attack to the bowling with such composure and power, he almost reminds me of a left-handed Graham Gooch.

The batting though is clearly our strongest suit, so I'm really pleased with the way Kirtley and Hoggard have stepped up. Kirtley has had two good games now, and with all the talk that's been going on around him, that just goes to show what a strong character he is. We have heard nothing from the match referee, nothing at all, so he and I had a quiet chat beforehand, and he went out and got on with the job.

Matthew Hoggard at the other end, well, I already knew what a great white-ball bowler he is. I remember him destroying Surrey in a National League match last year, and he did the business again today. All this is great for England's future – with Gough and Caddick waiting back home, there is going to be some healthy competition for places next year, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Ben [Hollioake] and Fred [Andy Flintoff] were the first to put their hands up and acknowledge that they'd been below par on Wednesday, but they both came to the party today. I suggested Ben used more slower balls and cutters, as that type of delivery is bound to be effective on these pitches, while Freddie and his extra pace did a good job at the death. But as I say, we are really just getting by with the bowling on this tour – for instance we are using Ramps as the sixth bowler.

I think it is fair to say we'll be making one or two changes for tomorrow's game. Nothing wholesale mind you – we have just come off a losing streak of 11 matches, so we can't afford to be too cute with the game, but it is important that we give some other contenders a chance.

Nasser Hussain [in the bath] was talking to Andrew Miller. Captain Calling will appear exclusively at Wisden.com after each game in the Zimbabwe-England series. More from Nasser Hussain
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