Umpires told me that at Test level I should be able to handle bouncers
Despite being hit on head, I have no problem with short balls so we must get better at playing them
There has been a lot of discussion about the bowling of bouncers by Australia at our tail after I was hit on the head in Perth. I have actually chatted to the umpires about it during this series and they say at Test level you should be able to handle short balls. That is a clear message to get in the nets and practise against bouncers.
I was not quizzing the umpires or asking them to stop it from happening. I was just interested in their opinion. I guess we just need to get better at playing bouncers. I have no problem with that. It is part and parcel of the game.
When I was hit on the side of the head it was the first ball of my innings and I just did not get into a great position to play the shot. Fortunately the helmet took the brunt of it. I had a slightly sore jaw for a couple of days and was grateful the helmet took the force of the blow.
We have bounced tailenders in this series and against other teams. The only time I think umpires should step in is if it is clear that a player cannot cope with them. Then the umpires should step in more.
You are nervous when facing short bowling mainly because you do not want to get out. You want to do a job for the team. Actually it is a bit like blocking out the crowd. Once you focus on the job you forget about the threat.
I focus on where I can score, and if I can tickle the ball down to fine leg and get the other guy on strike. If it is short enough I get as low as I can to get under the bounce. When the bounce is not very true, like in the second innings in Perth, it is hard to do that which makes it tougher to play.
We know it will not stop in this series and playing the short ball better is one challenge for the final two Tests, when we need to show some pride and prove to people we are not a walkover as a team.
The series has been closer than the scoreline looks. We feel like we have played some good cricket at times and want to give a fair reflection of ourselves by producing that form across a whole match.
It is also important we start trying to build towards the next Ashes series in 18 months, correct the things that have gone wrong this series and improve on what we have done well.
I do not think that trying to blood a few players in the next few weeks and potentially losing 5-0 is the way to go. We want to restore pride and dignity and you do that by playing our strongest XI. I cannot speak for Trevor Bayliss and Joe Root, but I am sure that is how they feel as well because they want us to put on a display of strength.
At the MCG the pitches are generally very flat and slow. There has not been a result in a Sheffield Shield game here this season, which is not promising, but I expect the Test pitch will be prepared a little bit more to provide a result.
The experience of playing in front of 90,000 on Boxing Day is one you never forget but it also depends on what kind of day you have as a team. In 2010 it was amazing. We bowled them out cheaply and batted through the rest of the day. You remember that for the rest of your life. But it is not always as memorable. You have to try to soak it up. It is different to playing in India because it is not as noisy, but the MCG is a tall stadium so it feels like you are in a cauldron.
I hear the crowd from time to time but, generally, when I am bowling I am so focused on what I am trying to do that I do not notice the crowd. You block out the noise and crowd if you can. That helps me concentrate.
The mood in Perth after the game was very quiet and subdued. A lot of the guys were down and very disappointed. Even though we knew it would be tough to bat through the final day we always thought we had a chance, especially when the first session was rained off.
We came to Australia thinking we had a genuine chance of winning. We have not done ourselves justice. We have not performed consistently for five days. We have done it for a day here or there, but that is not good enough at this level.
A few days off in Melbourne with the family puts everything in perspective. As low as we feel about the series it is not the end of the world and we have a chance to win back some pride.
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