AS a cricket lover, this is when you want to be in England – county cricket in full flow, the Championship and 40-over tables starting to take shape, and Twenty20 just around the corner, not to forget glorious sun, sun, sun.

The international teams in the Champions Trophy have exploded out of the starting blocks and we are all trying to see their form to know who to back, but it isn’t quite as defined as the 100 metres at the London Olympics, with Usain Bolt as the hot favourite. This field looks full of competition, but the home team has to have an advantage and the performance England produced against New Zealand at Trent Bridge would have sent a shudder down a few opposing coaches’ spines!

They’ll all be analysing Jos Buttler a little longer.

He was sensational, with so many options to score.

However, a Jamaican may be taking centre stage in England again as Chris Gayle has the power to single-handedly destroy an opposing team and his batting has all the attributes his fellow Jamaican, Bolt, shows on the track – power, speed and world records, leaving their opponents demoralised. If Gayle can score 175 in a 20-over match can you imagine if everything comes together for him in 50 overs? OUCH!

I feel like I have been at Alton Towers on their biggest roller-coaster over the past two or three weeks. I was going to have an operation, and when I was told it would have to be delayed because of a virus I became worried my window of being ready for September was closing. So I decided I might as well try to play.

My attempt to be fit for the important game at Somerset was not successful. With advice from our physio, Nigel Kent, I am now giving myself three weeks to try to strengthen all the muscles around the damaged ones and will then try to play again. If this attempt fails there is no other option but to operate, and that will rule me out for the season.

Durham went into the third day in Somerset one good partnership away from putting the pressure back on the home side.

Stoneman and Stokes put on 73, then Collingwood and Richardson added 101, but one of those stands needed to go on to get the lead up above 100. That might have given Somerset a few jitters as they find themselves desperate for a win.

Even though they reached 458 it was not at the rate at which they usually score.

At Taunton they have often made that total at the end of day one, so to make them work half a day longer shows the lack of confidence in their batting and the discipline Durham showed with the ball after losing the toss in trying conditions.

The fact that Somerset score so fast when they are at their best gives them so much time to bowl the opposition out. But the fact that they chose to play on a used pitch made it strange that they selected only one recognised spinner.

I was disappointed to miss Somerset in flaming June, but this is only the beginning – come on England, bring on the Ashes and let the sun continue to shine!