I WAS extremely proud of the way we played against Hampshire to record a vital win by an innings and 33 runs at New Road in the LV= County Championship Division One.

We now need to take the confidence forward for the remainder of the season to make sure we get the wins which should keep us in the top flight of the County Championship.

We travel to play Yorkshire at Scarborough in our next Championship fixture, on July 19, and we need to believe we can get another win.

It will be another tough match against Yorkshire but when we played them at New Road at the start of the season, we showed we were capable of matching them for long periods.

I was delighted to score an unbeaten 206 against Hampshire and play a significant role in our win because there have been some tough times this season.

One of the strongest aspects of my batting is when I do get myself in, my conversion rates into large scores are pretty good.

It was rewarding scoring the double century in a win, because when I got my first double century it was in a boring draw at Somerset in 2009.

It was looking pretty worrying when Hampshire reduced us to 25-3 but to recover from that start and to get up to 478 all out was a great effort.

Joe Clarke was brilliant and offered fantastic support. He came in at a vital stage and batted without any fear in his 70 and showed maturity beyond his years.

That fourth-wicket stand was probably the most crucial part of the game. Had we lost another wicket then, we could have been facing an uphill struggle but he helped to take the score to 167.

Joe Leach turned the screw with his 59, while Jack Shantry and Saeed Ajmal all made valuable contributions with the bat.

To dismiss Hampshire for 183 in their first innings on that pitch was a terrific effort. Joe Leach got the ball to reverse swing as he claimed 4-75, while Saeed’s accuracy was tremendous as he took 5-28 from 17 overs.

I had no hesitation in asking Hampshire to follow on. While Joe took the plaudits in the first innings, Shants got his rewards in the second as we dismissed Hampshire for 262.

He took a brilliant 5-51 and to get five wickets on that pitch was something special. There was nothing in the surface for Shants. Jack is a very smart bowler and it’s a pleasure to captain him.

Saeed, who took three wickets in the second innings, is coming back to the level he showed last year. He spun the ball both ways and his confidence is growing.