I'M afraid I'll be out of action until September. I'll be having an operation on my left shoulder on Wednesday because there's only about ten per cent of the rotator cuff left.

It's been unstable for a while and the shoulder popped out when I dived in the field during Surrey's second innings at the Oval. Surgery is the only option, but as we have five championship games from August 28 my target is to be ready for those.

If the team is going well it will be tough to get back in, but I'd like to be available for the business end of the season.

It was a great win at the Oval. To have a good season you have to capitalise when you get into winning positions. It was slightly worrying when we didn't do it against Yorkshire, but to come back and win at Trent Bridge and the Oval has been brilliant for the team's confidence, especially when batting last. We are becoming a more rounded side with the younger batsmen doing the job. Batsmen tend to be at their peak between the ages of 28 and 34 so for some who haven't got there yet to be putting in match-winning performances suggests we should have a strong side over a decent period of time.

Since we were promoted in my first year in 2005 Durham are the only team who have been ever-present in division one. Somerset came up after us and the rest have been relegated at some point. Things like that and winning at the Oval for the first time are a real testament to the side we have built. Things are a little tough financially but the cricket is still in good hands. The team is showing good signs with a lot of players taking responsibility and winning matches.

We like to think we are battle-hardened. We did get a big soft at one stage, but Colly has made a massive difference by putting in place some basic formulas. They are not always easy to do, but he has given people direction and he said from the start it was tough to win four-day games but he wanted us to be very hard to beat. We don't have many stars, but all the players are willing to fight for each other and I don't think we're going to risk upsetting that by bringing in an outsider just because I'm injured.

I see Middlesex, our visitors this week, have signed another Australian, Adam Voges, to replace Chris Rogers when he disappears on Ashes duty. They have the luxury of having the funds to fill a few gaps. They knocked us off the top spot last week and it promises to be an interesting game. They bat well down and have a good seam attack, but we will have Graham Onions back, who is always a handful at Riverside. We have played two spinners in the last two games, but that's not usually necessary on our pitches, especially after rain.

Gareth Breese does strengthen the batting, however, and having an off-spinner to do the holding role in the first innings can be useful before Scott Borthwick comes into it in the second innings. That worked perfectly at the Oval and even if Ryan Buckley hadn't had that sudden rush of wickets at the end of Surrey's first innings he would still have done a good job. It's good for young lads like him and Ryan Pringle to realise they can make the step up and it's refreshing for others in the second team to know they will get a chance.

Mark Stoneman took over the one-day captaincy from me yesterday. Colly would have been happy to do it, but I was keen to see how Rocky would handle it and he made a good start by saying it would be an honour. He now looks like he's good enough to play international cricket, so we are giving him a bit of responsibility. I'd like to see him continue as 40-over captain, but it makes sense to have Colly as the Twenty20 captain because he's won the World Cup.

Rocky is a solid and intelligent guy who has the respect of the players. He's a good learner and he has had a few experienced men around him to learn from. He's always willing to ask, which is much better than thinking you know everything.

I'll certainly miss playing, but I'll be sticking around and just hope we're still in the running for silverware when I get back into action.