THE STEVE RHODES COLUMN

WE'VE worked particularly hard this pre-season on our general fitness and fielding and that was really in evidence in the C&G game against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge.

Two wickets came from quality run-outs and we fielded well throughout the game, so I was pleased to see that.

We could possibly have finished them off earlier, but we would have taken a target of 161 at the start of the game and were happy to keep them to that.

Mark Ealham had a good game for them. He batted well at the end to boost their total, then bowled fantastically to pick up three wickets by swinging the ball around a bit.

We did make quite hard work of getting over the line, but a win is a win at the end of the day. Looking back, the batsmen did well to stick together and they showed good discipline.

I thought Zaheer Khan and Ray Price were excellent on a wicket that offered both turn and seam movement. Zaheer and Matt Mason bowled excellently at the start and Zaheer continued where he left off when he came back for his second spell. He is a clever bowler and it was an impressive debut performance.

Price bowled a lovely spell too, including a great ball to get Chris Read out. He is a dangerous player who has scored two hundreds already this season, so to pick him up cheaply was a big boost. However, it was the team effort that won us the game and it was that I was most pleased with at the end.

I also think Gareth Batty did a good job as captain and the lads seemed clear as to what he wanted from them. Everyone knew what was expected and Gareth led from the front.

I reckon Nottinghamshire will be around mid-table in one-day competitions this year -- they are better suited to four-day cricket. But it was vital to get off to a winning start with the new format of the C&G Trophy.

If we can have a good six games before Phil Jaques gets here it would be just what the doctor ordered. He is just one player in the 11, but if we could be on a winning run when he arrives, it would be great.

Next up in the C&G we've got Lancashire at home on Monday and I think they will be one of the best teams in the competition. With the size and quality of squad they have got at their disposal, they are like the Chelsea of English cricket.

Even though they will be without 'Freddie' Flintoff and Jimmy Anderson, they still have plenty of top class players to call upon. But we will be concentrating on perfecting our game rather than worrying about what they can do.

The game will be in front of the Sky cameras, but that won't distract us.

As a player you notice the cameras are there before the game, but once out in the middle, you are too involved in the game to be put off by that.