There are few better feelings as captain than watching young players make progress.
Although this has been a difficult season for Surrey, we are starting to see the development of players who could be key men for the county for years to come — hopefully for England, too.
Ben Foakes has made great strides as a wicketkeeper this summer and has also been in fine form with the bat. He scored a century in our recent win at Hampshire and is definitely a player England will be keeping their eye on.
Dominic Sibley is still only 20 but I have been very impressed with his attitude since he returned to the side. At Hampshire, he made 99 in the first innings but also got through 23 overs of leg-spin in their first innings.
His work in the field cannot be faulted, either - to see both him and Sam Curran diving around on the final afternoon was a sign of how committed they are to this team.
Sam turned 18 only last month but is good enough to take the new ball for us in first-class cricket.
His brother, Tom, is three years older and is playing for England Lions. Both will only get better and are firmly on the international radar.
I should also mention Rory Burns. He’s a bit older at 25 but I have said for some time that I believe he is one of the best opening batsmen in the country.
On a personal note, I was delighted to score an unbeaten century and take eight wickets - but I am not interested in personal achievement unless it helps the team win. I know not everything in the garden is rosy.
We are still fighting against relegation from Division One and we were defeated against Middlesex at Lord’s in the T20 Blast last night though our form in the One-Day Cup has been excellent.
But when you have a strong core of young cricketers, as I believe we do, it makes you optimistic about what the future holds. On a broader point, I hope there will be more opportunities for spinners in this country.
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It was good to see both Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid picked for England for the Second Test. Bowling spin in England can be difficult.
Until recently, you often had to play on seamer-friendly pitches. If England do play two spinners in a home Test again soon, that will be a good sign for all of us.
