Defeat at Warwickshire last weekend would have been catastrophic for Capel's promotion hopes, but the boys battled hard, securing yet another rain-affected draw, with the coach taking his unbeaten run in the first class game to 11 matches.

But they have lost seven one-dayers in the same amount of games.

It's ironic really, that a squad assembled to perform in the Twenty20 has done the exact opposite and revelled in the championship.

The proper cricket really matters to the County's most loyal patriot, and he's not giving an inch in the championship.

We have controlled and dominated most of those games and have been unlucky with the weather.

The coach may have his negative points, but you have to love that pride for the first-class game.

Northants' first innings seemed to mirror the Pro40 card the day before with Stephen Peters, Rob White and Riki Wessels all scoring half-centuries, the men clearly in form.

The relentless world-class run machine that is Lance Klusener is always in form, chipping in with yet another 50 to secure the bulk of the batting points in that critical middle-order spot for a specialist batting light team – it's what he has been doing all season.

Zulu has now scored a half-century or more in every single championship match he has played this year, which is all but one.

I rarely beg, but we really need you on a batting deal for next year dude! That to me is a guy who cares about his cricket.

It was also great to see young Mark Nelson given a go, with 44 runs off the middle of the bat satisfying for him.

Alas, his bowling also seems to hit the middle of the opposition's bat every time!

The Academy of Spin is rapidly becoming the Academy of All-rounders at Wantage Road as nearly every Northants player is expected to bat and bowl a bit these days.

I think Nelson is a batter, coach, and that's where there's definitely a vacancy!

The successful tweak of the order from the previous match at Chesterfield (399 all out) secured the final batting point at 407 for eight declared at Edgbaston.

One thing you can't level at Northants this season is being short of runs in the championship.

In fact, we have scored more than 300-plus in 80 per cent of our first innings scores in the LVC games so far, only the predictable green track at Worcester blemishing that record of late.

Weather yet again sneaked into proceedings by Friday night to deny Northants' continual dominance, the Bears at 120 for three after two days and with work to do for the follow on by the close, the wicket agreeing with our slower bowlers.

With Saturday washed out, Sunday was purely about getting as many bonus points as possible, so second and third place could squeeze up on Worcestershire.

But the bowlers couldn't do enough and Warwickshire ground out the day between the showers to secure more of the spoils – yet again H2O was the winner.

We will probably have to win three of the four remaining championship games to go up now, and the guys will have this week off to think about that equation.

Three of those four games are against the bottom three teams.

We should have Monty Panesar at our disposal for most of them, and as we have three straight home matches to finish the season, we can prepare him the pitches he likes, which are not this year's Test match ones.

And if the ECB are not going to nail Durham for their poor pitch at the weekend, then let's go for it!

But boy do we have some big gaps for home cricket this season!

Giving up on the Pro40
Just as South Africa stepped off the gas to hand the final Test to new captain Kevin Pietersen, the Steelboks have long since given up on the Pro40, with defeat under the Edgbaston floodlights leaving us zero and three.

The way the Bears creamed 271 off their 40 overs it looked like one or two of the bowlers felt the now defunct tournament was beneath them, earning a grimace or two from the watching Steelboks fans.

Andrew Hall looks increasingly unfit and his bowling figures against the Bears reflected that with three for 69 from seven overs not becoming of the man.

He may be carrying a niggle but he's also carrying something else...

So why play him if he's injured in a dead tournament?

I was hoping Hall's survival spirit – it was 10 years ago he was gunned down at a cashpoint in South Africa, the surgeon picking three slugs out of his torso – would drive us on to silverware this year, the missing ingredient from a team that needed to win something around him.

He had a great Twenty20 in India and here, but the fitness just isn't there for the three-year contract he has been handed.

And with Hall often coming in at eight, he doesn't get the opportunity to correct things with the bat in matches.

But ultimately, it was Klusener's predictably ragged two overs for 22 runs that would cost us the game, two overs he didn't need to bowl but Boje threw him the ball again.

The Steelboks batted well in response to the big ask ahead, Peters scoring at a healthy lick for him with a 50 off 69 balls.

Some people have said he's too slow for one-day cricket, but he offers stability early on in a team that really needs it, and I would have played him from April at number one to hold that fragile first five together, even in the Twenty20.

This guy doesn't get out easily.

Rob White pressed the gas with a quickfire 50 at a run a ball to try and draw parity on the D/L as rain closed in, a brilliant brutal fifty by Rikki Wessels off just 30 balls putting us right back in the game.

But we had left it too late as Zulu and Van der Wath tried desperately to swipe the winning runs from the last six overs in the increasing damp, falling those five runs short in a thrilling encounter.

Although it was brilliant batting effort and buried the shame from Southend, the bowling wasn't good enough to say we deserved anything out of this.

With the talent we have that's not good news for Capel as the Brasso goes back in the draw and the repairs are halted on the trophy cabinet.

I put it down to being spoilt for choice with one too many all-rounders on the books, Capel perhaps feeling he has to play the Saffers and so not enough specialist guys on the starting team.

All season everyone has been trying to score too fast too early, and that means the loss of critical wickets in the power plays.

The Pro40 now has to be about trying new faces and resting up those players critical for the championship push.