WORCESTERSHIRE'S focus has to be very clearly on their final three games.

It is not a good time to be losing players to England call-ups, but again that is irrelevant. I don't suppose Lancashire would be where they are if they had had Flintoff and Anderson all summer. It's no time for excuses, just total concentration.

It is currently Warwickshire, going for the Championship title and having it almost within their grasp on the back of some outstanding batting led by the latest successful English debutant, Ian Bell.

Back in 1994 Warwickshire won the championship again on the strength of their batting. Then Brian Lara supplied a large proportion of their runs: this time it has been very much a team effort. Currently, they have six batsmen in the top 22 of the Frizzell first division averages. All six average more than Worcestershire's second highest standing batsman.

Statistics are not everything, but sometimes they don't lie. Worcestershire's top order batsmen have scored plenty of runs, but they have had more innings. Indifferent first innings scores have offered too many chances of second innings solace. Glorious and heroic though these rearguards have been, even yielding a win at Cheltenham, the batting points have gone and, normally, the game with them.

By contrast, Warwickshire's bowling has been woeful with Dougie Brown their highest wicket taker with 28 at an average of 37. Five of Worcestershire's bowlers average better.

You might think this would cancel out the batting imbalance, but no. With five batting points available as against three for bowling, and four points for a draw, the competition is weighted in favour of the high scoring sides.

Crucially, Warwickshire have not lost a single game whereas Worcestershire have lost six. Other than Surrey who have lost five, no other team at this stage has lost more than three.

This is what has really caused Worcestershire's lowly position and comes back again to not putting enough runs on the board in the crucial first innings of matches.

Back at Edgbaston at the end of May, Worcestershire were 350 for 5 approaching the end of day one on a dubious pitch. However, the opportunity to dominate was squandered with both bat and ball. Warwickshire marched on and Worcestershire continued to almost play very well.

How small can be the difference between success and failure. By one run and with one wicket from the unlikely source of Stephen Moore last week's Totesport league game against Scotland was rescued. Rain then washed out the difficult game away to Notts and suddenly promotion was all but assured thanks to the team's outstanding net run rate.

In the circumstances it would be churlish to complain at Middlesex's winning of the league by the statistic of number of wins when we have beaten them twice. Nevertheless, a win in the final game at home this Sunday against Leicestershire would be a very satisfying conclusion even if the best it could achieve would be second place.