THERE is no hiding from the fact we must win our last two matches of the season if we are to remain in Division One of the LV= County Championship.

Our penultimate four-day match against Durham, starting today at the Riverside, is a cup final and everyone in our squad believes we can pull off a positive result.

We have got a united dressing room at New Road.

Everyone was pretty down after our defeat against Sussex in such an important game but you have to move on and it’s now all about the Durham game.

Whatever happens in this match, it's important for the club to keep their best players and I am delighted Tom Fell has signed a three-year deal.

Tom is our leading run-scorer in the Championship with more than 800 runs. He got off to a good start with 114 against Yorkshire in the opening game - against probably the best bowling attack in the country.

That kicked him off and he’s been consistent throughout the season. It's a pretty good effort from a 21-year-old in his maiden season playing Division One cricket. We’re looking forward to many more runs and many more hundreds from Tom in the next three years at least.

Tom is a relaxed character who is not fazed by much. It wouldn’t bother him if he was facing Shane Warne or any other spinner in the world. He just gets on with what he does. Tom also plays pace bowling very well and he doesn’t worry about reputations. He plays every ball on its merit and tries to stay calm.

He’s batted at number three for the majority of the year when Moeen Ali has not been around. We’ve had a few problems at the top of the batting order and he’s been called to the wicket very early on a number of occasions and weathered storms from opening bowlers.

Brett D'Oliveira has also penned a three-year deal and I am really pleased for him. Dolly's has forced his way into the four-day side a little more this season.

He’s been a prominent fixture in our one-day side for a couple of year and he’s earned his place in the longer format through some fine performances in the seconds. He has improved a lot with the bat and hopefully he can get a big scores for the first team and kick on in the next few games. Dolly was probably our best bowler in the T20 Blast this year and made a couple of important cameos with the bat. He is a decent striker of the ball. Dolly's a fantastic all-round cricketer and I believe him and Ross Whiteley are the best two fielders at the club.

With Richie Oliver going out of the side due to a lack of form there was a spot available at the top of the order. Dolly has done very well opening the batting in the second team and, without having a natural opener in the squad, he was the player who got the opportunity in the first team.

I know from experience how difficult it is to bat against the new ball on fresh pitches and against fresh bowlers but I think it’s the best place to be in the order.