The way the schedule of the county season pans out, there are periods in the fixture list which are extremely congested.

So I think that any point where you get some time off and a bit of a rest, as we had in the week leading up to the Warwickshire game, has to be a good thing.

It gives you time to train and work on your skills without the pressure of preparing specifically for a match. Everyone feels refreshed and you should come back strong and motivated to do well.

As I write, we’re holding our own against Warwickshire and I think we prepared well for the game. The bowlers had their workloads and we did a lot of stuff to try and simulate what a day in the field would be like.

Whatever the outcome against Warwickshire – and we really need it to be a draw at worst – we have another massive game at Lord’s next week, against Durham, and two more after that.

Durham’s performance against Nottinghamshire has proved again how strong this league is. Most teams have beaten most other teams and that’s why the table is so tight.

With two wins, you can get right up the table and change the whole complexion of your season.

Unfortunately Sam Robson didn’t get many runs in his first innings back with us, but it’s good that he’s settled straight into the team again after being with England for most of the summer.

It’s not quite the same, but I found it easy when I came back to Middlesex after playing for England Lions – after playing that standard of cricket I found I had a renewed sense of confidence.

With Sam he doesn’t even need that – he’s already an established first-class cricketer and I think he’s on his way to establishing himself in the Test team as well.

He had a good summer for England, played well and I’m pretty confident he’ll make a big difference to the rest of our season.