For Old Trafford read Edgbaston

A stranger passing the Leicestershire dressing-room might have assumed that somebody within had been suddenly bestowed with untold riches. Or that, at least, it was not May but September and the occupants had just clinched the County Championship.

There was hollering and hooting and unbridled happiness. This had started on the pitch a few minutes earlier when the players had embraced each other or fallen to the floor in relief. Such behaviour meant a great deal to Warwickshire, for what Leicestershire had in fact achieved last Sunday was to defeat the dominant team in English cricket in an Axa Equity and Law League Match.

In those roistering moments the effect on Warwickshire's team was quite profound. It dawned on us what it has come to mean to beat us, the effort it demands and the joy it brings. There is no doubt that all opponents are now desperately keen to topple Warwickshire, that they raise their game for the occasion and that in some quarters our success has led us to be hated. It is the Manchester United syndrome.

THERE was something of a fuss the other day when Dermot Reeve, our captain, decided to drop his bat several times to avoid giving a pad and bat or pad and glove catch when facing the Hampshire spinner Raj Maru. Perhaps it would not have been so great had it not been either Reeve or Warwickshire. It was suggested that the action was not in the spirit of the game but it takes an abundance of confidence and assurance to attempt. The batsman not only has to think hard of making contact with the ball with his pad but then must swiftly release the bat. A little skill all of its own, I would say, and perhaps not given due credit.

Neither the side nor the skipper are about to collapse under the burden. Our objective, as with all good teams, is to make it harder for the opposition as we demonstrated in the Benson and Hedges Cup quarter-final in Cardiff on Tuesday. From having the match seemingly won, we had it lost. But win we did.

THE TEAM ethic is extremely important. We love cricket, we talk about it constantly, not only on the pitch. Over dinner, at the bar, going for the paper, the talk is cricket. We know what kind of shot each of us might play to a particular ball, our bowlers reckon they know how to get our batsmen out. Attention to detail is paramount. For instance, we like to work out the signals other teams might have for when a slower ball is on its way. Knowing can spare such a lot of trouble. Similarly, when one of our bowlers is about to use such a devilish ploy we like every member of the team to know. We are all involved. Simple things, important things.

WARWICKSHIRE are confident, maybe appear a touch arrogant, but they do not take things for granted. The side have worked especially hard on fitness this season and it will show. The strength in depth of the squad must not be overlooked. Some teams have enough good players to fill the team, we have 15 or 16. This counts. Not that the resources have been especially stretched by calls from the England selectors these immediate past summers.

If this has sometimes rankled, it has also confirmed our support for each other. As much as we relish playing for Warwickshire, as much as it is a wonderful place to work, all of us want to play for England. I played twice last summer and whatever happened or did not happen in the winter that was a wonderful place to work too.

Nick Knight composed his thoughts on Warwickshire while trying hard not to think too much on whether the England selectors would give him a call this morning.