My critics were right. I’ve doubted myself but I am so proud of a 50 and five wickets
IHAVE been under pressure for the last couple of weeks, so I did what I’ve done in the past and that’s put on my tin hat leading up to this fourth Test. I spoke to the people closest to me and tried to get mentally strong within myself to figure out how I could get better in this series. I’ve worked hard throughout the whole trip and things haven’t gone for me so, before this game, I bowled a lot in the nets and worked at getting a bit more side-on.
And to take four wickets in the first innings on this surface was like getting six or seven somewhere else.
It was very satisfying, with five wickets and a 50 in this game, to show I can still perform at this level. I know I was criticised in the build-up by some ex-players but I’ve stayed away from that. I don’t take it personally. It’s part of the game. For instance, I’ve heard Michael Vaughan said a few things but he was one of the first people to text me to say well done when I took wickets. I know he has a job to do in the media and it won’t ever stop me sharing a glass of red with him. I was on holiday with him for a couple of days before the Perth Test! The bottom line is much of the criticism of me was valid.
DOUBTING MYSELF
IT’S only natural that you doubt yourself when things are not going well but the experience of more than 100 Test matches certainly helps when the going gets hard. Certainly I didn’t play well in Perth.
When you’ve only got five wickets in three Tests you do begin to wonder whether what you’re doing is right. But I was creating chances in the first two Tests. Now I want to take the confidence I’ve gained here through to Sydney.
PITCH BATTLE
THE atmosphere at the MCG on Boxing Day when David Warner was out and then called back and got his hundred was as good and loud as I’ve ever known. And I will remember being out there with Alastair Cook when he reached his double hundred for the rest of my life. So there were times when this Test was a real spectacle.
But for me the pitch was poor for Test cricket. The only threat was reverse swing and that has nothing to do with the wicket. There was no seam and no spin. No conventional bounce or uneven bounce. You know it must be bad when the Melbourne Cricket Club’s chief executive comes out and apologises as soon as the game ends. They know they got it wrong.
You need a fair contest between bat and ball because that’s what makes Test cricket entertaining. An amazing amount of people came to see this match and if we’d had a pitch that made for a more exciting finale a lot more would come back.
So to bowl Australia out for 327 in the first innings was an unbelievable effort and we tried everything we possibly could as a bowling unit second time round.
I said to Cookie that if he’d gone past 200 with the No 5 with him he could have broken the world record. With his mental strength there was no getting him out on that pitch.
NO ROLLING OVER
IT would have been very easy for us to roll over once the Ashes were lost but every time you walk on to a cricket field representing your country it is an absolute given that you play with pride and passion.
You want to play for your team-mates and coaches and, above all, the supporters who are here and those who are staying up late or getting up early to watch and listen at home. Every Test matters. There’s no such thing as a dead rubber. So we are happy that we put in a winning draw performance, — if that’s what you can call it.
THE MASTERCHEF
THAT was only the second time I’d batted with Cookie in a Test and it was important for me to make sure he stayed in his comfort zone. I didn’t want him to feel he had to do something silly because I was in, then get out.
So batti ng with a t op- order batsman helped me keep my mind-set in check and I felt very nervous when he was in the 180s and 190s because if I’d got out then it would have put more pressure on Cookie and also Jimmy Anderson to stay with him.
It was very special to be with him when he got to 200. I’ve seen a bit of footage that shows me jumping higher than Alastair to celebrate — but I don’t remember doing that! I think it just shows my delight for him and relief that I had hung on that long.
NO WHITEWASH
THIS feels very different to our last Ashes tour. Then there were players coming to the end of their careers and it was almost like they had one last sprint on the treadmill that went wrong.
But we have a new captain here in Joe Root and a lot of new players and at least we know now there will be no whitewash this time.
It has been quite an experience in so many ways, particularly the Australian media. Some of what has been written has been absolute nonsense and we’ve had virtually everything that was possible to be written thrown at us — including allegations of ball-tampering.
That completes the set! We were laughing out loud about it in the dressing room but it’s not really funny because it’ s a serious accusation to throw at a team and, on this occasion, it was thrown far too easily. We expected some silliness here but not to this extent.
I’m sure I’ll remember being out there when Cookie got 200 for the rest of my life
I WANT A WIN... AND 400!
I’M now only two wickets away from 400 in Tests but I wish I’d already reached that landmark because that would have meant I’d had a more productive series. But it would be a lovely figure to reach in Sydney and beyond that I’m hoping for a big 2018 because, numbers-wise, this year hasn’t been the greatest for me.
The best way to start the year would be victory in the final Test. We’re desperate to achieve that. It has been a tough tour and Australia are an extremely good team in their own conditions. We dearly want to finish on a high now.