IT WAS disappointing to lose the game against Essex last week but the mood in the squad is still upbeat, writes Benny Howell.

In all the games we have lost this season we have been only five to 10 runs short with bat or ball. That was the case again on Friday and it is frustrating to come out on the wrong side of results by such small margins.

It is always difficult bowling at someone like Ravi Bopara (who made 66 not out off 39 balls) especially towards the end of the innings.

You know if you don’t get your lengths right he is going to hit you out of the park because his timing is ridiculously good.

You do feel the pressure a bit more but you just try to concentrate on bowling to your strengths and stop him playing the way he wants to. There was a short boundary on one side so the idea was to bowl the right lines to stop him hitting to it.

We have had a few days off this week which has been nice after such a hectic schedule lately. It’s not just the matches, we have done a lot of travelling in the last few weeks and you do feel it.

I am a big football fan so it has been great to watch a bit of the World Cup. Although I try to watch the matches as a fan you find yourself thinking about the situation the players are in and wondering what it would be like.

When they play a bad pass and the crowd gets on their back for example you wonder what they must be thinking and how you would react in that situation.

We have a few guys in the squad who fancy themselves as footballers. Dan Housego played for Oxford United Reserves when he was 15 but ended up choosing cricket – he is our best footballer.

The worst would have to be one of our New Zealanders or Jack Taylor who thinks he is Robin Van Persie but is more like Emile Heskey in front of goal!

Our next T20 match is against Hampshire at the Rose Bowl on Friday. It is always a great ground to play at and it will be a tough game.

With Jimmy Adams, Michael Carberry, James Vince and Glenn Maxwell we know they will go very hard upfront. We need to be aggressive ourselves and if we can get early wickets then their middle order is definitely not as strong.