THE drawn game at Surrey was pretty painful for a number of reasons.

I ended up taking a hefty blow to the chest while batting on the last day, bringing an end to the match which was being played out in late afternoon gloom.

I still have the yellow bruise to mark the occasion and the blow forced me to produce what can only be described as some kind of fosbury flop over the stumps to avoid hitting my wicket.

I’d be lying if I said the ball was being bowled at 95mph+ by Surrey’s Tim Linley, but it certainly sent me sprawling.

The match itself had petered out into the tamest of draws and there wasn’t much that could be done about that after we lost a lot of time to the weather.

We dropped a couple of catches in what turned out to be Surrey’s only innings and, had we taken them, the game could have changed, but as it was they showed no intent and batted on until before lunch on the final day.

They were seeking a final batting point, but ended up declaring to stop us getting an extra bowling point and we then just batted out the rest of the day, which was better than being in the field.

There was no discussion about setting up the game to produce a result because of the time we had lost, and also because of the flatness of the wicket, which would have helped Surrey no end, as they would have been chasing a target.

The power went off at the ground, to add another downer to proceedings. We missed the last bit of the Test Match on TV and we were happy to get on the coach and leave the day behind us.

As for Surrey, they are in the process of rebuilding their side. It doesn’t contain the big names it used to – like Alec Stewart, Graham Thorpe, the Hollioake brothers, Ali Brown and Saqlain Mushtaq, who made up a formidable outfit a few years ago.

DON’T be surprised to see the Essex coach chugging along a motorway somewhere in England.

From Guildford in Surrey, we went straight to Gloucestershire for Sunday’s Pro40 match.

Tendo’s innings of 88 off just 43 balls was superb but, having posted 191 from 18 overs, we would back ourselves nine times out of ten to defend such a total.

There is no excuse for our poor bowling, though, and we have now lost our opening two games in the competition.

We said at the start that to win it, we couldn’t lose more than one game so it is looking unlikely now.

From Cheltenham, we went straight to Leicester for the start of the next championship match.

It’s ridiculous – we would have played nine days out of ten (but for the weather) and only a couple of weeks ago we didn’t play at all for nine days and have another nine day break after this match.

It seems like we’re forever on the coach and in the hotel, but I don’t want to sound like I’m moaning.

Coach driver Marc keeps us amused on trips by beeping the horn – which is no ordinary horn, it’s more like an air horn – each time we enter a tunnel. It makes us jump every time!

Marc and Tendo have on-going banter on each journey, as they see who can wind each other up the most. Tendo probably gets the better of Mark to be honest.

So, on to Leicester where, having been here all day Monday, and then not played because of rain on Tuesday, we did nothing but watch films at the cinema and drink coffee.

I had a wander around Leicester where they have built a new shopping centre which is a bonus, but otherwise it has been very frustrating.

THIS year marks the 30th anniversary since Essex ended their wait for some silverware – after more than 100 years!

We are going to have to motor up the tables if we are to mark the occasion with another trophy.

But what a team the county had back in 1979, with the likes of Graham Gooch, Keith Fletcher, John Lever and Ken McEwan.

They really set a benchmark and Essex went from strength-to-strength after finally ending their drought.

I’ve been reading all about them in the book Fletcher’s Aces and Jokers: Essex County Cricket Champions 1979, which tells the tale of that incredible season.

There were some real characters in that team and they certainly knew how to put a smile on people’s faces, as well as play some brilliant cricket.