Finishing second in the Vitality Blast North Group, we’d have certainly taken that at the start of the competition. And we can’t wait for the quarter-finals next month.
We were very good at the start of the group. We had a few blips away from home, but that is something we don’t need to dwell on now.
It’s basically three finals from here, and we just have to bring our A game.
The great thing is that we should have some key players back by the time we face Sussex up at Durham in our quarter-final (August 24).
One of the big positives from my point of view is that we’ve had a lot of players missing through injury or international calls and we’ve still managed to play some really good cricket and qualify in second place.
We tried to keep people batting in the same positions and doing the same job with the ball as much as is possible with players coming and going. That has clearly paid off.
The way we fought to stay in Saturday’s final group game against Lancashire at Old Trafford was very important for us even if we didn’t quite manage to get the win.
We saw the scores from Lancashire’s game against Durham on Friday night and potentially thought it was going to be a better pitch than it actually was. We just took a bit too much time to adapt.
We like batting first, putting on big scores and defending it. We stuck to that principle, and it nearly came off.
Had we had 10 or 20 more runs to play with than the 128 we got, it could have been different.
Equally, I’m really disappointed with my first over when I conceded 14 and Finn Allen and Keaton Jennings hit me for three fours.
Had I nailed that, it would have put them on the back foot straightaway. But there were three or four balls which were really poorly executed.
Now it is the Hundred for me with the Northern Superchargers.
It’s a competition I’m really looking forward to.
Whether I play eight games or none at all, as a young player, it’s about getting the most out of this experience as possible.
Although I have to say, I wish this Covid would just disappear!
It’s one of those where you’d love to spend as much time as possible around the group and chat to and learn from the players and coaches we have with us. There is plenty of amazing talent and experience there.
But there are limitations on what we can and can’t do and where we can go for the duration of the Hundred, which is so frustrating.
We’ll still be able to chat and learn at training and at games, but just not as much as we would be able to in normal times.
It’s going to be fascinating to see how the competition goes in terms of the new rules and what works and what doesn’t. I think everyone will be learning on the job.
At the start of T20 in 2003, everyone thought spin would go the distance. But now it’s the most successful option with the ball.
In this, you’d think spin will work and it might not.
One thing is for sure, it will still be a batting dominated game. And the one important thing as a bowler is to keep trying to take wickets.
That is the one thing that slows things down.
I know there is a lot of scepticism flying around about it. But give it a bit of time. Let’s see how this year goes.
