Fitness, ageism and American cricket dominates my thoughts this week.

I strongly believe that age should not be an issue in sport especially cricket.

There have been calls for Steve Waugh to call it a day and to stand aside in order to let younger Australians into the side.

My response to that is 'why'. Steve has been fantastic for his country and if he's still performing then why should he be shunted aside.

Questions should be asked if you are not producing but too much emphasis is put on age.

In football, Paul Ince and Denis Irwin have shown this year that you don't stop performing to a high level simply because you have reached your mid-thirties.

There's a lot of talk in the media about football being a faster game now and the need for players to be super fit.

Cricket is seen by some as a slower, less rigorous game but it's nonsense to suggest that you don't have to be both physically and mentally fit.

As a fast bowler for example, you have to maintain speed and accuracy during a match and fielding requires you to stay sharp mentally.

You have to know when you can switch on and off. If you're not a fit cricketer then you'll struggle to make a living.

There are a lot of games to be played during a long season and you have to be able to cope.

Back to Gloucestershire matters and after our win over Leicestershire at the weekend, we are looking forward to this week's clash with Northamptonshire.

They haven't had the best of starts and we are confident of getting a result. We're not taking things for granted though.