How I will retrain my brain and body for Ashes
Of format poses a very different challenge, but visualising how to cope and training smart will help
Ispent my last few days in Dubai trying not to think about cricket very much – we came with high hopes and expectations and fell short of where we wanted to get to, so we were quite flat.
But once we get to Australia, I will really get geared up for the Ashes. The formats are obviously different, and pose very different challenges, but I will try to take confidence from the T20 World Cup. I feel like I have been hitting the ball well, and feel comfortable with my set-up at the crease. So that stuff does not change, whether it is a white or red ball.
I will be using visualisation to try to get my game in good order. Having a solid plan is what allows you to execute it and bat for long periods of time. Before T20s and Test matches, you are visualising different things, but I try to maintain a pretty consistent routine in terms of preparation. Whatever the format, cricket is all about playing the situation. You have got to sum up the risks and rewards of the way of playing and then try to impose yourself and play accordingly.
So, there are not many times in Test cricket where the high-risk shots you need in T20 are called for. You have just got to play the situation and adapt your game. When I get to Queensland, I will need the volume of balls initially to really bed in and get used to conditions and facing the red ball again. Then it is about training smart. That is something I have got better at.
The quality of practice is what is important, as opposed to just the volume of balls. Half an hour’s brilliant practice is better than an hour’s average practice.
I will be trying to take the same sort of fearless attitude I have had in the T20 World Cup into my red-ball batting. That does not just mean all-out attack. But it is taking away the worries about too many things – keep the game very simple and look to put bat to ball.
One player I really enjoyed seeing play Tests in Australia was Rishabh Pant, when India won there last winter. I love the way he can change his game between the defensive side and aggressive side, and be totally fearless. For any wicketkeeper who likes to be more positive, Rishabh is a good guy to watch – his mindset and commitment to his game plans, whether attacking or defending. I have played one-day and T20 cricket in Australia, but I have not played any red-ball cricket. So, it will be important, during the preparation phase in the nets and the warm-up games, to try to understand conditions and work out what shots to play, how much the ball seams or swings and adapting to conditions. I do not want to go to Australia with too many preconceived ideas.
That said, Australia is a place where lots of our guys have played in the Big Bash. The pace on the ball and the good wickets suit a lot of players in our team.
It will probably be the biggest challenge I have had in my career. Australia is the one tour that, as an English player, you want to experience, and it is something to relish and enjoy – even though it will be different without the travelling support. We are expecting an intense atmosphere with grounds full of Australian fans.
A final word about the T20. We may have fallen a bit short, but in the dressing room after the New Zealand game, Eoin Morgan was encouraging us to use that as motivation to try to get better as individuals and as a team. We are an honest and hard-working team, with scope for improvement as a group. How do we ensure we do not stand still? The bowling powerplay is one area that we have targeted to improve and I think we did that at the World Cup. And we are always looking to improve our death bowling.
I do not see any reason why Eoin should stop playing. He has been such a brilliant captain. He is a fantastic player, and still contributing so much to the team as a leader and as a batsman. So, if he is feeling fit and has got the hunger to do it, I do not see any reason why he should stop next year or the year after. I see Eoin having lots more years of cricket left in him.