STEVE RHODES COLUMN

THE win against Gloucestershire was really pleasing and it was a big boost that we managed to turn a losing position into a win.

The two telling points in a game where the ball domintated the bat were in our second innings when Ben Smith forged crucial partnerships with Roger Sillence and Matt Mason.

Ben made 106 which was tremendous and I think it was one of his best hundreds, given the context of the game.

It was a strange type of wicket for this time of year, but with the weather we've had it has been difficult for the groundsman to get moisture into the pitch -- it can be difficult to get the right blend.

The wicket seemed to have a bit of a crust on it which made it difficult to bat on. That is testament to how well Ben batted, not just because of the wicket though, but because the team was under a lot of pressure due to a fine opening spell from Jon Lewis. Ben showed a lot of character and I admire that.

We were effectively 47-6 at one stage and we were staring down the barrell. Lewis certainly proved what a quality bowler he is by exploiting the bowler-friendly conditions.

Matt knew he had to bowl a long spell, but he ran in and hit the pitch hard.

They did have a costly incident when Roger nicked a no-ball to the 'keeper, but the way he batted with Ben -- and Matt's efforts with the bat -- meant we could set them 228, which we were more than happy with.

During our second innings, I asked Vikram (Solanki) what he would want as a total and we agreed on 150, so to get 228 gave us a real bonus.

Then Zaheer Khan and Matt, and the other bowlers, all put in a sterling effort.

Matt knew he had to bowl a long spell, but he ran in and hit the pitch hard.

He made the batsmen play, which is something he has been working on lately

I was pleased with the rain on the third evening, because it gave our bowlers the chance to have a rest and come out fully-charged on the final morning. Generally, the best time to bowl at New Road is in the morning session and it proved to be that way.

The wicket of Phil Weston early on was vital because the new ball was dangerous and he had blunted our attack the night before.

It is pleasing to see that our youngsters have done well recently with wickets and runs in the second team and in the league.

At some stage we may need these guys to step up into the first team, so it is important for them to be playing well now.

Will Gifford has been in the runs lately and so have Daryl Mitchell and Ed Foster. Shaftab Khalid has also been playing well for his club and for the seconds.

Phil Jaques has been in top form back in Australia and hopefully he can keep that up when he returns to Worcester.

He said to me that he thought he had thrown away his wicket the other day when he was out for 60 and 40 in one game, but he came back with 240 and a very quick hundred in the recent match, which is remarkable really.

We are also looking forward to playing the touring West Indies `A' team on Sunday.