Ryan ten Doeschate / Ryan ten doeschate / 15 September 2009 / Leave a comment

His county remain in the promotion race but Ryan ten Doeschate may miss crucial games through injury. Here, the all-rounder discusses the battle to reach Division one and tips his cap to a former-team-mate.

"If we can get a victory in our penultimate fxiture we could be ahead of our rivals going into the last game. Both will be played on result wickets so if we are switched on we have a very good chance of getting promotion."

Essex have a massive game over the next four days but I am not sure I will be involved.

I bumped my calf in the last Pro 40 game I played and it has not got much better since then. It has not been hurting but, at the same time, cannot take much of my weight.

I had a scan the night before our crucial game with Northants at Chelmsford and was going to see if I could run properly on the morning of the game. Fingers crossed.

To be honest our County Championship Division Two promotion chances nearly ended at Cardiff on Sunday. We were cruising to a draw on a tough pitch but lost five wickets in 40 minutes late on Day Four. We hung on but had we lost it would have been too much for us to stay in the race.

As it stands, we are 12 points behind second-place Northants with two matches left so this is a must-win game for us. If we can get a victory we could be ahead going into the last game. Both will be played on result wickets so if we are switched on we have a very good chance of getting promotion.

If you are ever looking for a result at Chelmsford then the best way is to produce a turning a wicket. We have leant on Danish Kaneria, our leg-spinner, heavily in the last six weeks. Really he remains our main method of attack. But he must be backed up by Tim Phillips and the batters need to be diligent in order to give them something to bowl at.

It is going to be a massive game for us. However while Essex have some highly-competitive cricket going on England are playing out their ODI series with Australia. Having lost the first four games, the last three have little riding on them.

Without being too critical, I think England have always been a little off the pace in one-day cricket. Whether it's the wickets they have produced for county cricket or the focus on Tests, they have never looked a dominant team in that form of the game. A score of 4-0 in this series shows that. But if you also look at the way they have approached their batting as opposed to other teams, you never quite feel under threat. They start slowly, they don't attack enough in the middle and have never quite mastered the powerplay.

I am sure Andy Flower and Andy Strauss want to kick-on from the Ashes but this is hardly an ideal start. If they want to progress better than they did from the last Ashes victory then they need to get their one-day form right. I am not sure quite how they should do that but they need to make some drastic changes in their approach.

Staying with England, the announcement of the central contracts has thrown up a number of talking points. Giving an incremental deal to Andrew Flintoff was maybe about loyalty and a reward for what he has done in the past. But also I think there is maybe a desire to keep him involved.

And it was interesting to see him talking this week about becoming a freelance cricketer. This sort of thing may come into play for those older individuals who don't have a central deal, especially when there is so much other money to earn these days.

In modern cricket, the big cash is in one-dayers and not always the competitions that fall within the usual international calendar. If Flintoff does go this route, it will be interesting to see how it impacts on other players. Obviously playing for your country is still the ultimate aim of all cricketers and you can't put a price on that. But for guys further on in their career it is a financial decision.

Elsewhere, the fact that Graeme Swann got a contract and Monty Panesar did not probably tells you where England feel their spinners are right now. It is going to be tough for the latter to get back in the mix now. We have not seen a central contract for a wicketkeeper in a while but Matt Prior deserved his. He has been one of the more reliable players in the team and is firmly the No. 1 in his position.

Elsewhere, Graham Onions getting a contract (and Steve Harmison not getting one) also shows you something on the bowling front. The latter will have to produce more but the secret for England seems to be to get as much out of the paceman as Durham do.

Finally my old team-mate Jonathan Trott got an incremental contract. That is certainly 'a reward' as well. After all, the guy came in for a major Test then contributed a 40 and a century. But the contract goes much deeper for me. Don't be surprised if he is involved in English cricket for the next five years in both forms of the game.

Tags: Australia cricket, County Cricket Betting, England cricket, Essex CCC, Graeme Swann, Jonathan Trott, Matt Prior, Northants CCC, The Ashes