PREPARATION for this weekend’s game at home to Middlesex has been hampered with my abdominal tear injury.

I have been doing a lot of rehab in the last week, but I haven’t played much cricket as a result.

My first session was back yesterday but I wasn’t bowling.

Hopefully I will do a couple of fitness tests before Sunday and then I should be able to play as a batsman but I won’t be able to bowl.

With an injury like this so early in the season I think you have just got to be clever and manage it.

I probably could bowl in this game but it is an injury I need to get right because it is in a funny area and I don’t want to push it at this stage of the season.

If it was the last month of the season then I would probably play through it and risk it but as it is so early in the campaign there is no point in risking it.

There is probably a little bit more pressure on you when you haven’t got that opportunity to bowl.

When you play a batsman it is your job is to score runs.

Normally, if I am not scoring runs then I would like to think I can contribute with some wickets.

I am a genuine all-rounder so I would like to think I would get in the team as a batsman or a bowler so it is pleasing to be able to play as a batsman and try and score some runs.

The start to our season has been brilliant so far. The way we started last year was pretty poor, I think we lost the first two games.

So to draw the first two games against two very good sides is pleasing and to pick up a few bonus points along the way.

The way the weather is I think there are going to be a lot of draws again in the next round of games.

There are no teams that have picked up a couple of wins yet and the table is pretty close after the first three weeks of the season.

Last year, we were out of the hunt with two or three months of the season to go.

I think that is something we have really focused on, to stay in the competition as long as we can.

We have got a lot of injuries at the moment and as long as we are not losing games, when we have all the players back then we can really start to kick on.