IT was a very difficult decision for me to go and ask Worcestershire if I could speak to other counties.

I firmly believe that you only get one shot in life and you have to make the most of what you are given.

It would have been easy for me to stay in my comfort zone and take the money, but that is not the issue for me.

Since I spoke to Mark Newton about speaking to other clubs I have had quite a bit of interest from other counties, some that have already been reported and others that haven’t.

It was a little upsetting that all this has been made public in the way it has, it was never my intention to tout myself about through the press. I felt I wanted to explore my options and see what is available to me.

Worcestershire have been very good in allowing me to see what is out there, they have always said that if a player is potentially looking to leave, they would not stand in their way.

I had an open and honest talk with the club about my reasons and they will remain private. But what I can promise is that this is not a situation that will drag on and on.

I feel I have given eight good years service to Worcestershire and it will be hard to leave, but I feel I have to give myself the best opportunity to make the most of the skill that I was given.

Everyone knows that my form has dipped in the Championship and whatever I decide to do I’ll be giving my all.

It is good to be back in the first team squad as we head down to Hove today to face Sussex in the Championship. No-one likes to miss games and not being in the team against Warwickshire was quite strange and tough for me, so it is good to be back.

Until it is statistically impossible for us to stay up we are going to be fighting for survival. We have to approach each of our games individually targeting areas we can expose that can get us that first win.

Hove has traditionally offered a bit of spin so that is something that I’ll be trying to expose if I’m in the starting XI.

Mehraj Ahmed has been handed his first chance this season and is a player who will give his all.

It is good to see youngsters getting their chance in the first team and I’m sure that he’ll have plenty of energy and will be raring to go.

The match at Durham was disappointing, we were outplayed in every department.

Once you are chasing a score of more than a run-a-ball it is always going to be difficult.

Durham are one of the best counties in the country and they got off to a fantastic start.

With the score they got we had to go after it. There were only ever going to be two outcomes — success or a big failure.