We're all looking forward to what should be a good game of cricket with Nottinghamshire in the Friends Provident Trophy quarter-finals on Tuesday.

We've had to practice for the game in Bath, because the County Ground is out of bounds to us at the moment due to the Elton John concert being staged there tomorrow.

I believe the stage is being set up opposite the press box and that there will be seats across the outfield and square.

Hopefully, rain will stay away because there could be issues with the pitch and square if it doesn't.

Notts are a very good side, but I still back us to beat anyone at the County Ground in 50-over cricket.

We know what we're doing on our own ground, we've got a lot of experience and we know teams don't like coming to play in Bristol.

We don't know at this stage whether Notts will be able to include Stuart Broad, Ryan Sidebottom and Graeme Swann, who are all playing for England in the Twenty20 World Cup.

England's last Super Eight game is on Monday and, obviously, that means they could be available to Notts if Paul Collingwood's side don't make it through to the semi-finals.

I can't see England releasing Broad to play as he is one I think they will want to wrap up in cotton wool ahead of the Ashes.

Sidebottom might be released if he doesn't play regularly in the Super Eights, while I don't think Swann is centrally contracted and, as spinners generally like to bowl as many overs as they can, he might be available to Notts.

It would obviously strengthen Notts to have three internationals coming back into the side.

That said, it is hard coming out of international cricket and going straight back into a county match.

It's something I've done quite a few times and you have to be very mentally strong and very professional to do it well.

I wouldn't say it's a come down as such, but it's not the same buzz as playing international cricket.

There can be some complacency at dropping down a level and it's a tricky thing to do.

It can disrupt the preparation of the team if you're not around prior to the game, and it can disrupt the team structures. Sometimes, it can also work against you, because you look to the international player to produce something special and over-rely on him.

Whatever happens, Notts have a big squad and will have a strong side. They've got a lot of guys who hit the ball hard, such as Samit Patel, Ali Brown and Adam Voges. The straight boundaries are quite short at Bristol, so we'll have to think about our bowling plans.

The Twenty20 World Cup will also affect our selection for the game. James Franklin will definitely be unavailable because New Zealand's last Super Eight game is on Tuesday, but Will Porterfield might be able to play if Ireland don't reach the semi-finals.

Will played well in the group stages for us and he might be full of confidence if he gets some good scores in the Super Eights. But it would still be a hard thing for him to step back into the team.

Franklin's absence affects the balance of the side, because he is a quality bowler who is also capable of batting at six.

It will be interesting to see how the management go with their selection and a prime factor will be how the wicket is shaping up after the concert.

After the Notts game, we have a Championship match against Middlesex in Bristol.

Our game at Chesterfield was badly affected by rain and it was no surprise it ended in a draw, but it was quite a nice performance from us and we got almost a full haul of bonus points to keep us at the top of the table.

When you start the season well, you look to consolidate your position, which is something we did against Derbyshire.

When you don't start the season well, you are forever chasing wins and that puts a lot of pressure on you to catch up with other teams.

It can be hard switching from one form of the game to another, especially after the helter-skelter of Twenty20, but I felt we got back into the rhythm of playing four-day cricket.

Some of the guys bowled a lot of overs and others spent a lot of time at the crease, particularly Alex (Gidman) and Hamish (Marshall), and I'm confident that we're in a good place with our Championship cricket.

Interview: Mark Easterbrook