Croft ascendant

Robert Croft, the captain, is having a great season with his side in the hunt for honours in both the Championship and one-day league. Croft is the country's leading English spinner with 30 wickets at 31 apiece. Add to that 399 runs at 30.69, including a big hundred against Leicestershire, and the skipper is clearly leading from the front.

"If I can double that in the second half I'll be really pleased," he says. "One of the factors is that our batsmen got off to a flying start, just as we planned, and runs on the board always help spinners whereas, if the batters fail, you're always under the pump."

With promotion to the top Championship division beckoning, Croft offers a word of caution. "You don't win tournaments halfway through and we've all seen sides come unstuck in the past. We've got to keep up to our work and everyone has got to make a contribution. The lower order did well for us in the early games and the bowling has been backed up with tremendous fielding. I rate Dean Cosker the best ground fielder in the country with immense pace towards the ball and that's the sort of thing that wins one-day games in particular."

Croft pays further tribute to Cosker as his `spin twin': "He's a more attacking bowler now he's grown older and wiser and he's still got plenty to offer."

Moment of the month Croft's 138 against Leicestershire