Whatever happens between now and September 20, I can guarantee everyone associated with Sussex cricket something of a rollercoaster ride.

While we sat back and enjoyed our few days at the top of the table this week, Surrey were involved in what was shaping up to be a titanic struggle with third-placed Lancashire. Obviously a draw would suit us because it would keep Surrey's lead going into the last three games down to a handful of points but it would also knock Lancashire out of contention and reduce it to a two-horse title race.

I must admit I was amazed with the way Leicestershire fought back after following on to draw with Surrey. It looked like being a routine win for Surrey at one stage, but credit to the way guys like Maunders and Sadler dug in to score big hundreds. If we are cracking open the champagne at the end of the season we may reflect on events at Grace Road last weekend as the turning point and raise a glass or two to those two guys.

The good thing as far as we are concerned is that we more or less know what we need to achieve from our remaining matches if we are to make history and bring the Championship back to Sussex for the first time.

Two wins and a draw should do it and while that is easier said than done there is no doubt the lads will approach the remaining matches confident in their ability to pull it off. Let's just hope that the fantastic weather we have been enjoying this summer continues for a bit longer and we manage to get all our walking wounded back on the park against Middlesex next week.

That confidence and self belief was so evident at Colchester last week against Essex. We had great support up there and many of you commented afterwards that you could not remember such a clinical performance from a Sussex side.

You never know what to expect when you play at outgrounds except that, more often than not, the pitch produces a result. It was a good toss to win and once we had scored 161-0 at lunch on the first day I don't think there was any doubt that we would go on to win our eighth game and achieve our second objective of the season (staying up was the first) by going through the 200-point barrier.

Funnily enough, we weren't at our best bowling-wise in their first innings. With so many runs on the board and time on our side there is sometimes the temptation to go too hard for wickets. But we still managed to bowl them out for less than 300 and on the third day we applied such pressure on their batsmen that it was inevitable that they would crumble sooner or later.

Billy Taylor has done an outstanding job in the absence of James Kirtley and he is going to have an important role in the run-in. The same, inevitably I suppose, applies to Mushy, who will surely get 100 wickets now which is a phenomenal achievement.

When you have someone of Mushy's brilliance you always feel you can drag a side back. His spell on the third day at Colchester was among the best he has bowled for us this season. He didn't get six or seven wickets, but the stranglehold he exerted forced batsmen into mistakes.

What a pity England couldn't build on their achievement in levelling the Test series.

The attack came in for some stick but I would not include our own James Kirtley in the criticism. No one has a better strike rate on either side and although James is an experienced county bowler he is still learning at Test level and, believe me, it's a massive step up.