THE sunshine has brought the batsmen out.

All around the country there seem to be big runs being scored on decent pitches.

Good, that's how it should be, and that's not just a batsman talking. Sussex have notched up 500 against Division Two leaders Hampshire shortly after getting soundly beaten by Warwickshire.

The cricket is competitive with no sense of being second rate nor any clear favourites at this stage.

So Worcestershire go to Horsham this week knowing that it will be a tough five days against a team without big names but who battle hard.

Two years ago the rain saved the County at the same venue after Lewry and Kirtley had bowled Sussex to the verge of victory. A left-hand, right-hand combination they provide the same threat as Alamgir Sheriyar and Andy Bichel are doing for Worcestershire, the left-hander looking primarily to swing the ball into the right-handed batsman whilst the right handers take it away

Sometimes the wind does blow straight down the ground - ask Dominic Cork about Old Trafford - but generally in this country, to some degree, it is across.

It is then you feel the true benefit of having a left and right hand combination: no arguments about choice of end and the wind helps the swing of each bowler.

Sheriyar's returning form and confidence have been a major plus this season. There was a sense last year that he was overshadowed by the excellence of Glenn McGrath.

There were other factors as well no doubt, but the signs have been good from the start this year with some surprisingly economical one-day returns and the partnership with Bichel is beginning to flourish.

Stuart Lampitt's first innings five-for against Gloucestershire confirmed his enduring qualities, but there remains the feeling that we're a seamer light of a fully balanced attack with David Leatherdale as the fourth seamer.

Bichel's form with the bat raises the possibility of playing an extra bowler at the expense of a batsman to get that all-important balance. Something which England also lack without Craig White. With Kabir Ali returning to fitness, himself no mug with the bat, there could be some healthy competition for that bowling spot if selection goes down this route.

Graeme Hick scored a hundred on the last visit to Horsham, his eighth against Sussex including the two in one match which took him to a hundred hundreds.

Such fond memories might be welcome at a time which has seen some low scores coincide with his exclusion from the England one day squad.

I observed last week that his exclusion might at least spare him from adverse Press comment. Not so. The decision not to enforce the follow-on against Gloucestershire was roundly condemned in the national papers.

The speed with which his fresh bowlers cut through the Gloucestershire top order in the second innings seemed to more than justify the decision and an excellent win ensued.

That win was based in no small measure on two excellent innings from Phil Weston.