So now the news is out that my time as a contracted player at Sussex is finished and we kick on with the domestic and international business at hand. It was obviously a difficult decision to leave a club that I had grown to call home in England, but in the same breath, it’s been something that needed to happen. Being away from family and friends for the past ten, 11 years, it was just time.

I know I only just signed a contract extension at the end of last season, so it’s not something that has been brewing for a while. But what was always there is you’re living away from everyone. They say things happen for a reason; maybe this might be something good — when one door closes, another one opens. I’m just looking forward to what happens next.

I wish Sussex all the best with coach Paul Farbrace at the helm and continue to follow their results closely. We had no real problems, the coach and I, and as I’ve said before, there was no falling-out. Actually, once he came on board, he filled me with a lot of confidence. Obviously, when we spoke, it was long before the season would’ve started and I was just looking forward to getting the season started and hopefully putting in performances.

The coach came in with a fresh slate and everyone had an equal shot, then he went with the 11 or 14 he wanted in the first team. I was in the second team and I was playing very well, so opportunities might have been there had I stayed. As we’ve seen in the past few weeks, the team has changed a little bit, with people being out injured or going away with England. So the opportunity could have been there and probably would have been there. But it was just purely a decision I made; nothing to do with the coach, anything that was said or any actions that happened at the club.

The one surprise for me was Ravi Bopara not getting a new white-ball deal. Not being around the group since early May, you don’t know exactly what’s going on at Hove, but I was quite surprised considering the season that he had as captain. The club clearly have got a plan in mind and direction that they want to move in, and there are a lot of exciting young players there. In the red-ball set-up, there are a lot of players doing well, scoring runs, and actually they’re actually playing very well as a group. They’ve had a lot of draws, but they have been draws where they’ve been pushing for wins.

What’s next for me? At 25, this isn’t the end of my professional playing career, as there are a few things in the pipeline that will hopefully come up. But for the meantime, I’ll be focused on the next couple of months for Bailey’s Bay and Bermuda. And, hopefully, Cup Match with St George’s. We’ve got a big couple of months here on the island.

That starts with the first round of the Eastern Counties Cup on Saturday when I hope to finally make my county debut. I’m looking forward to it and pretty excited to play against St David’s. Obviously, I played Cup Match once a long time ago and there are people who say county’s probably a little bit bigger, a little bit better. And the fans there are probably a lot more loyal to the clubs, although some people say it’s the other way around. I’ve played in some pretty big games in my professional career and this will be a lot different, but for me the approach won’t be different — which is just to play the game and enjoy it.

St David’s have struggled a bit recently, with two heavy defeats just this weekend gone. But I expect them to be at their best on Saturday because this is county!

All three rounds are likely to be different, when you consider Flatts and Cleveland County to come. It should be an exciting series where you’ll see a few guest players or those who have played in the past come into all the teams. I’m excited to get going.

Another benefit of being home since May has been that I could give a fuller contribution to our preparations for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Americas Regional here in September and October. The guys in the national squad have been putting in a lot of hard work the past month and a half, two months. The numbers at training have been good and we’ve been trying to play intra-squad games on Friday nights, so there have been a lot of positive things coming out of it.

This is probably one of the busier periods for players with county and Cup Match commitments as well our international commitments, but I’m pretty clear with them — as long as you are training somewhere I’ll be happy.

After Cup Match, you’ll see a different focus and intensity ahead of what needs to happen in September. The prize on offer, getting ourselves on to the world stage, is quite big.

• Delray Rawlins was talking to Dexter Smith