TO lose in the manner like we did against Kent in the County Championship was extremely frustrating and disappointing.

We had a really bad half a session and just couldn’t get back into things after that.

It was awful and none of us want to be associated with games and defeats like that.

But all teams suffer setbacks throughout the season and it’s how you react to them that matters most.

We’re playing Kent again twice in quick succession, starting with the T20 clash tonight and we see them as big rivals so we want to be winning.

We will be using the County Championship defeat as an extra incentive and make sure we get back to playing at a good level.

The one day team is in good form and will come into the Kent game on the back of a resounding win against Middlesex.

I also think having a break from the four day game right now will do us good and we’ve been preparing well for the shorter formats.

We were in on Wednesday setting our sights and smashing a few white cricket balls around and I think we’ve actually played better when under pressure so hopefully that will be case against Kent.

We know it’s a big game because of everything that surrounds the competition and we want to seal our place in the last eight with a good performance and result.

That would also be the perfect way to bounce back from what happened earlier on in the week.

IT'S TOUGH ON GARY BALLANCE TO BE DROPPED FOR ENGLAND

I THINK it’s tough on Gary Ballance has been left out of the third Test Match in the Ashes series because I do feel as though he’s a class act.

It again goes to show the scrutiny the players are under at the very top and that just a few bad innings can result in losing your place.

I’m sure Gary will come back from this but it was encouraging for us at Essex to see Jonny Bairstow called up from the County Championship to play.

I know Jonny has been selected before and already has a few international appearances under his belt but it does go to show that if you score runs you will get noticed.

That’s good news for not just me but everyone else at Essex, especially Nick Browne who has been batting brilliantly and scoring a lot of runs.

But I’m certainly not thinking about playing for England at the moment.

My focus is very much on doing well for Essex and making sure we get the results we need, starting with this evening.