Test Match Special - Project Ashes Ep 6: Returning the Urn

Episode Date: December 3, 2021

For the last 12 months, Jonathan Agnew has been given exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the England men’s cricket team’s planning to win back the Ashes. Throughout the year, Aggers has spoken to key players, including Joe Root, Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson, but also those lesser-known names who play crucial roles.

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. To embrace the impossible requires a vehicle that pushes what's possible. Defender 110 boasts a towing capacity of 3,500 kilograms, a weighting depth of 900 millimeters and a roof load up to 300 kilograms. Learn more at landrover.ca. BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. The Ashes is the ultimate prize in English cricket. Oh, is it the Ashes?

Yes, England abroad the Ashes. Here's Broad coming in and bowling to Vodges. Oh, he's brilliantly caught. Brilliantly caught. That is an outrageous catch. He bowls to Stokes, who hammers it for four. It stands there with a bat raised. I can't believe we've seen that.

England have only won once in Australia in the last 34 years. Eight series, one victory. Harmeson from the far end, Bowles the first ball of the series Oh my word, it's gone straight to second slip What a horrible start It's all over Australia have won They saved the biggest steamroller for last year

This will be my ninth Ashes tour for the BBC But I've never really found out Just what goes on behind the scenes To prepare a team for the ultimate test And how much planning and preparation it takes So over the last year I've been speaking to the people who are in charge of England's attempts to win down under.

Those who play a big part on the pitch. We believe we can win. We've got some world-class players. We've got, I'd say, the best batsman in the world and the best all-rounder in the world. Come up against this baggy green thing that they keep talking about. We'll be having my baggy blues on.

I'd love to stick one of them. I'm very proud of what we've achieved as a team under my leadership, but nothing was compared to going and winning Australia. And off the pitch. I've pretty much got responsibility for making sure that the players are The fittest players in the world, essentially.

It did take quite a while for Jimmy Anderson to get any sort of trust in me as a physio I must have. One of them laughed because they saw me doing it and they say, why are we removing the frosties? I was like, we're not eating frosties before a game, but... This is Project Ashes. It seems a long time ago that I first sat down to speak to Joe Root

for episode one of this series. Since then, England have played 11 tests. They've had one cancelled. They've quarantined a squad due to COVID. They've won matches they weren't expected to. They've also lost matches they weren't expected to. They've been debuts to three players. They've had to suspend one of them. Just another standard year in English cricket.

So it's time to have a chat with Joe again after a busy 12 months. I spoke to him the day before he flew to Australia. So, Joe, I first spoke to you back in January and you were in Sri Lanka then. just in terms of Aschus preparation, how do you think that this last year has gone in terms of what you were thinking of then at the time, what plans you had at the time, the personnel you had at the time? I don't suppose Olly Robinson, for instance, was much in your head, maybe, perhaps he was. But how do you think the last year has gone from an Aschus perspective?

I think from a purely results point of view, it's not gone exactly how we would have liked. We'd have liked a few more wins behind us, especially at how. home in our own condition. And, you know, we've had some quite big blows in terms of serious injuries ahead of going out there, especially with Joffra, you know, I like to Valley Stone as well, which is not ideal, but these, these, this professional sport, these things happen. And I suppose more than anything, we've got a bank of cricket behind us, a lot more knowledge and learning so that we can take going into it.

And you look at the, the amount of cricket that we've played over that period in comparison to Australia. If we use that in the right way, then it can be a real positive for us, especially in that build-up phase and leading to that first game. It's a bit ironic looking back, isn't it? And there was so much care at that time about preparation and rest and rotation and so on. And yet, especially Joffre, could have been such a force in Australia and you've got two fast forward now. Yeah, and as I said, that's something that unfortunately professional sport throws at you on occasions and you have to be able to manage it and deal with it and find other solutions.

More than anything, I'm good for the lads that have had to go through those serious injuries. They worked extremely hard to get to where they were. I'm sure they were really excited about the prospects of playing an actual series in Australia and we'll have to, unfortunately, watch it from the sidelines. But it's all part and parcel of the journey, I think, as a team. You have to guys have to come in and step up and you have to have an understanding of how they're going to operate. within that group and within your team and what attributes

that they've got that are going to be able to exploit the conditions that we're going to. So I think for this, the next phase, if you like, is that's exactly what it's all going to be about is from a ball perspective, getting used to the lengths that you're going to have to bowl, making sure that, you know, you have real clarity of what your strengths are

on those wickets. And knowing when that moment is where you can really put your foot down and really turn the game. So with no archer or stern, Joe has just one of his super fast bowlers at his disposal. Mark Wood, who hasn't played an Ashes test since 2015, and he feels like he's got a point to prove.

Winning in Australia would be one of the biggest achievements of my career. I know, obviously, the World Cup was huge, and we've won the Ashes at home. But to go there, I loved the one day two of there that I had. We did really well. I was part of that. Unfortunately, I wasn't part of the Ashes, but I've got a huge desire and sort of like a burning fire

to prove people wrong there and prove that, you know, they've got a battery fastball who are really good, top quicks. So I'm hoping that, you know, I could match them or even better and be part of a squad that brings the Ashes home. So that would be watching as a kid, it would always be that we never seem to do that well down under. But watching someone who, you know, I looked up to Darren Goff, when he got all those wickets, I thought, wow, I'd love to be able to do that.

Of course, my big pal, Harmi, he bowled that wide, and he's remembered for that. So there's major talking points we're going to Australia. Of course, watched as a kid watch were winning Australia and saw how good. good that was and the Barmy Army and it's a great place to tour Australia even if it is full of Australians so it would be great to hopefully go there and and try and win. I think that probably the main thing is going to be who scores the most runs. I think as a batting unit or since Chrysler has come in we've looked at back first put a big score on the board and then put pressure on with the ball through that score so if we can get big scores in Australia I think

that'll that'll help the ball as it gives us time off with our feet up and gives us a bit of arrest to then fly in again, which, of course, their ballads got last time. So I hope the conditions are like this in Australia, as the rain bounces down. But look, I think it's a great, we've got a great chance. Like I said, we've got great depth in the Bowling Department. So Australia rotated that ballads when they accompanied England last time,

and I'm sure we'll do the same when we go there when they're getting the right bowlers in the right place for those pitches and those conditions. Yeah. Have you got any places in mind in particular? I mean, do you just want to play the first. I mean, I bowled well at Johannesburg, which was a typically fast and boutsy pitch. So Brisbane and the Wackar are two places

where you think of the optus is it probably going to be now. Like, that'll be the two places where you think that that is a fastball that will fly through. It's strange as it, because I watched the recent India v Australia series and the fastball has actually got hit a little bit. So it's like, it's that double-edged sword,

isn't it where it's great, it can be great, but also it can fly there. So I would say I would be lying if I looked forward to those two places. They're the place I think, you know, I might get something out of it there. I remember watching Alice I could get turned rid of the MCG and I actually felt sorry for the ballads at one point there.

I was thinking, oh, we just, this looks like a bit of a bonyard. So, yeah, I think any place you play in Australia, it will be special. Adelaide, it's a beautiful ground. The MCGs is an absolute coliseum, so, and Sydney's got so much history. So any way you play, it'll be fantastic. But as a fastball, you really want to sink your teeth in Brisbane and Perth. Yeah. In fact, I mean, you mentioned two performances there.

I mean, it's not as though you've been away in that time. Far from it. I mean, you're World Cup winner and you've excelled in other areas. So actually, I mean, do you feel that you've been almost like a meteoric rise, really, since then? Yeah, well, I wouldn't say it's just gone on an upward curve. It's been a bit up down, up, down, up down. But I think that's probably the story of my career. I think I'm now in a lot better place, happy with myself, happy with the person I am, happy with the cricket I am, I need to work on my batten a little bit, which just took a little bit of a turn.

But in terms of my bowling, I feel a lot more happier with where I am and what the skill set I can bring. I'm constantly trying to improve that. Like I mentioned, Wobble Seam wasn't something that I was great at. That's something I'm trying to get better at working with the likes of Anneson Broad, Chris Silverwood. I mean, I did a great couple of sessions with Pop Welsh, Graham Welsh, in India. and he helped me a lot, he was fantastic. So I think I'm trying to improve all the time, but actually just within myself,

I'm a lot more comfortable, happy I feel part of the team, don't feel like I'm on the outskirts, trying to constantly prove myself. And I'm not putting as much pressure on myself. I think going into an ashes, that's enough pressure as it is. You know, it doesn't get bigger than that for an Englishman. So they'll be giving it out, and so that crowd and everything that comes with it. So actually, then adding more pressure on yourself isn't going to help.

So I think, you know, realizing, you know, how lucky I am, wow, I'm playing cricket for England against Australia. That would be an amazing feeling, so just trying to soak it all up. And I just hope I can be a part of it. You know, I'm probably not the first name on the team sheet, so I've got a point to prove that to try and get in the team first and foremost. And then I've got a point to prove to the Australians, you know, that I am a good baller and that I can do well in those conditions. Well, having a fired up, Mark Wood will be indispensable to Joe Root this series, even if he hasn't got Archer and Stone as well. But injuries aside, what was the biggest setback for Roots, Ashes plans during the last 12 months? I think one thing that's quite an obvious thing, but the performances with the bat collectively,

I've probably been less than what we would have liked. We've not posted those really big scores that for a long time we've been talking about making big first-innings runs and having that scoreboard pressure. Whenever we've done that, we've won quite comfortably. And we've just not been able to be as consistent as we want to be with that. And, you know, you have to take into account where we've played and the conditions that we've been in. Look at that India series, the last three test matches. Those wickets made it very difficult for, now, even look at the quality of player against spin that the India have and how some of their players struggled on those wickets, you know, even against me on occasion.

It just shows how difficult it was to bat out there. So, you know, that, especially for a young group, that can not confidence and making sure that I suppose one of the challenges is making sure that didn't have a knock on effect into our own summer. And you obviously know in English conditions it can nip and move around and it's a stark contrast to what we came from in India. So that

throughout that period it has been challenging us about in good group, but it's given a lot of information, it's given a lot of lessons and a lot of learning. Guys are smart and they learn from that and they'll become better place for it, no doubt about that. And it's an understanding that where we are going,

that has been mentioned by a lot of ex-pros that spent a number of tours out in Australia. It can be a wonderful place to go back. And that should be really exciting. You know, you come from India where it turns square, you come from England where it seemed and swung around for long periods of time. If you manage short periods of that for well in Australia, it can get quite flat and it can get good to bat.

If you manage to bounce well and, you know, the odd barrage of short-pitch bowling well, and as smart about where you're going to score your runs and understand the different kinds of dismissals you might have to be wary of in Australia then, you know, it can be a fantastic place to go and score runs and that's how I'll be personally looking at it and encouraging the group to look at it as well. And in terms of positive things, though,

good things that have happened ashes-wise in this year, what would you point out there? I think then being back is a huge one. it's obviously within missing a large chunk of the summer for him to be fit physically and in a good enough place to be back playing and enjoying his cricket again is a really exciting prospect and I think we'll give everyone a huge lift going into the tour

because you know what he's capable of and when he went to Australia on his last tour he had great success in a struggling team which is sometimes more impressive than when you're winning and everything's going in your favour when you can stand up and it's not going well around you. I think that shows a huge amount of ability, character and traits that, you know, we're going to need in those conditions.

So that's a big bonus for us, along with, you know, like I say, with injuries, provides opportunities for others to come in, like Savoy Robinson, as you mentioned, as performances in the summer have been exceptional with ball in hand. So, yeah, I mean, a lot to look at and to be excited about. And, you know, even more recently, seeing Josh Butler's performances and confidence that he'll be getting from the T20 World Cup, the way he's batting at the minute is fantastic to watch. And, you know, hopefully you can take some of that into the test format. I know it's a completely different game and they have to manage different situations. But you look at how he worked out that situation against Sri Lanka and that wicket.

The thinking behind it, you can definitely translate that into test cricket. Yeah, and particularly, you mentioned Ben Stowe. and also Joss as one of those people talking about might not go because of family situation and so on. And actually suddenly you've got them both. And I just wonder what sort of lift that's given you. Massive lift. You know, the two senior players, both been vice captains of the team for long periods of time. And big leaders within the dressing room, they drag people with them in the way that they go back to game.

Whether it be their preparation, their attitudes on the field, and the way they speak in the dressing room, they're brilliant role models for cricket and for the rest of the teams to learn from them. They're brilliant. Back in January, you said that you had a fair idea of what your squad was going to be. Things change. I wonder which are the names

Hamid, Melan, Robinson. I wonder which one has maybe surprised you the most has either, well, come back in two cases or burst onto the scene, as it were, in Robinson's case. You know what? You look at them all, though. that you're not really surprised when you've seen what they've done. Milan is a world-class player and has proven that in the T-20 format in particular. He also had a wonderful tour of Australia and it's great to see him come back into the team

and straight up as well at Headingley to bat how he did was a marvelous innings and great to see him have that success in test cricket again. It's obviously been a very different journey for him since breaking his finger and missing out in India, but great to see as well what a fine young man he is and what a talent for him to get back to where he has. I think has probably rounded him a lot as a player and you'll watch his work ethic and how he goes about it. You're not surprised that he's got back into the setup because his desire is as good as you'll see. He's someone that wants information, wants to learn, wants to strive to get better all of the time. And he's very smart, smart young man.

So I'm not surprising in those respects. And Ollie's been a consistent performer in game cricket. And he's for a number of years. He's banged out a huge amount of wickets. A lot of the questions weren't on, was he going to be able to take wickets? Was he going to be able to perform consistently well for long periods of time at the intensity that test cricket demands?

And I think he stood up brilliantly to that. So it's great to see those guys come in and show such promise. And now hopefully they can take. all that confidence is for the tour. In episode three, we looked at the behind-the-scenes preparations for England's ashes planning, and we met Mo Bobat, the performance director. He's responsible for England's forward planning. One of the things he prioritised early was getting competitive match time in Australia at the start of the tour.

We always thought we wanted to get out to Australia early and try and acclimatise and prepare well. And a big part of that was also getting into Queensland and Brisbane early too and not be shunted across there at the last minute. We wanted to try and dovetail us supporting Lions group with the England group as well. And in previous Ashes Down Under, we've obviously had the Lions in situ in the same country as well, but probably never dovetailed as well as we wanted to, and we're going to do this time. We wanted to take control of our own warm-up games. I think we found in the past that, you know, in recent past, and a lot of teams have said this,

that some of those warm-games aren't really serving same purpose they might have done in the past. And there's two elements to that. In some cases, depending on where the players are at, you need to dial down the intensity of the game to manage people through workloads or whatever. And maybe the opposition hasn't been as competitive in the past. So just having the control of dialing up or down those fixtures is key. Well, he was right. But whether you're playing England Lions or the Bundaberg under 13s B team, you can't play cricket in the rain. And the weather in Brisbane has wreaked havoc with England's plans.

The first warm-up game lasted just 29 overs. the second match too hampered by the rain and I caught up with Root again to see what impact this has had on their preparation. It's been unusual. You know, obviously having to spend a period of time in quarantine and training within that quarantine phase and then obviously coming to Brisbane

and weather being as it has been, we haven't had that three-day game as we would have liked. And I think that's going to be the real test for us. We've done a lot of brilliant planning in the last couple of years and coming into this about mentally how we can be, can be ready, how we can, you know, what's going to work in different surfaces and different grounds and having a real good idea of how we're going to break down their team. But I suppose it has been, it's been unusual, it's been different to a lot of previous tours, whether that be

here or elsewhere. But the guys have really taken the opportunities to get as much as they can from what they've had. And that's all you really can do in these situations, along with, you know, mentally making sure you're as ready as you can be, whether it be you play those games in your mind a little bit more and you visualise a little bit more, find different ways of making sure by that first ball comes down at the Gabler. We're in the best place possible to come out on top. But as managing director Ashi Giles points out, it's the same for both teams. We've thought long and deeply and planned long for this series and not all of it has gone perfectly. and I suppose you never expect it to.

The war gaming bit is important, but COVID has, of course, added another completely different level to that. But we've got to try and get past that. That is the same for both sides. Both sides have been over in the T20 World Cup. Both sides have been in quarantine. We just need to make sure we're more ready than the Australians when we hit day one at the Gabba. And we all know how important that first test match is. Giles is right.

There's a reason Australia like to play the first. Ash's test at the Gabba. England haven't won there since 1986. The Australia did lose their first match there for 33 years earlier this year. Here's Mo Bobat again. There's no debating Australia have a formidable record of Gabba. You can be intimidated by that or you can frame it as, well, they depend on that. They depend on winning at the Gabba for them to win their series. So maybe we try and take away that dependence.

If we get something out of that game, all of a sudden, that's something that they're not used to. that's something that's a position they're not used to coming back from so so for us that's the challenge you frame it as a challenge and that's exactly how i and we see it if we get something out of that game we put australia in difficult territory territory they're not used to you know we've removed a bit of their dependent so that's our way of looking at that aggers you know we're getting really excited about that challenge so you know we get something out of the gabber move on to a day-night game where you know we've certainly got players that are suited to that type of that type of challenge and Sydney and Melbourne, we don't do too bad generally

and we've got some experience there. So, look, we're excited by Agers and we're certainly not intimidated by the fact that Australia do well there. If anything, it's something they probably need and depend on for them to win a series, so let's stop them. It's fighting talk from Bobat, but is backed up by the players like Jimmy Anderson.

We certainly know that they are beatable in Australia. We've seen teams do it. We've been talking about how teams have gone about doing that as well, having a look at how the bowling are bowled, how the batters have gone about their innings and tried to negate their bowlers. So that's, again, that's something that will be talking more about that. And yeah, so it's not like years ago when they were such a dominant force in Australia, that you were sort of going there tentatively thinking we might win if we can just do this

or that. But now we've seen them, India, I think their last two series here, South Africa have won here. it's definitely not an impossible task. It's refreshing to hear an England team arriving in Australia in such confident mood, but they've had years of planning and preparation for this series. Here's Mo Bobat again.

I think we've certainly given the constraints and cards that we were dealt, I think we couldn't have done much more. There's the other unknowns as well, like what is it going to feel like being out in Australia having done a quarantine period or what's it going to feel like without the Barmy army there?

All those sorts of different things that, you know, they're the sorts of what-ifs that we need to talk about and prepare for so that we don't get any surprises. And for someone in my role, you're trying to get the players to a place where they're not surprised and phased by too much

because the challenge is hard enough without those surprises. That point about the Barmy Army, no England fans from back home have been allowed into Australia. So while there may be a small amount of support of expats living down under, how does Jimmy Anderson feel

knowing you won't have these sorts of scenes this time round? He bolts to the left, he bolts to the right, and Mitchell Johnson. Tremlitt goes in to bowl to Johnson Oh, he's bowled him

He's bowled him And Tremlitt's on a hat trick Johnson's on his way And England could wrap this up tonight 171 for 7 They're dancing all around the ground So much English support You always feed off any support that you get

And we always have fantastic travelling support So it's tough anyway I mean because they're big grounds You know some of them are 60,000 plus that you get in the ground so it's loud and it's a high percentage of Australians there

and they let you know that they're there and they let you know that they don't like you so it's nice to have some sort of support at times but that's just something you've got to deal with that's another thing as I talks about the noise that's one of those bits of the tour

where you've got to try and embrace it if you can as strange as that might sound you've got to try and embrace the And you know you'll get some stick, but you've got to try and play with a smile on your face and laugh it off or not field on the boundary, which I'll be trying to do. Wise words from a seasoned Ashes tourist. We'll hear from him again in a bit. But let's go back to Joe Root. England's have only one draw to their name from the last 10 tests played in Australia when Alistair Cook scored a double century at Melbourne. But what can this England team learn from those last two grueling defeats? you can't take anything away from Australia

but I think context has to come into those two series as well and that first series looking back on it now we're very much at the end of an era of English test cricket look at the side that finished that tour to the side that started it and the side again that started the following summer it looked very different and you know he came up against

Mitchell Johnson probably produced some of the best cricket he ever played And then you look at the previous tour we didn't have been available as obviously the heartbeat of everything that we've done for a long period of time and we had to deal with a number of injuries within our bowling group ahead of the tour and once the tour started out

so things changed quite drastically in a short space of time going into that series and you look at performances as well you can look at both actually both series are very similar for the first three days of most games, and especially the first three games in 2013-14. They were tight games.

They were on a knife edge. I think Brad Haddon had a brilliant series down the order, which rescued them on a couple of occasions, him and Steve Smith. And then in the following series, first game is a great example of it. James Vince, 18, not out, run out, changed the game. We were cruising at that stage. And that could have looked very different.

That whole series could have started extremely different. I think the last two tours, I'm trying to think back to, you know, 13 was a really tough one. We obviously had trotty, went home. There was unrest, really, in the camp. You know, we'd gone from winning in 2010-11, getting to number one in the world after that, sort of year after that, to then we were in real decline then in 2013. So there were real issues there within the camp. 17, I just think we didn't have a strong enough team and we struggled really

as a group. We were missing Ben as well which didn't help so that was that. I think this time we've got our strongest, we know our strongest team going with the exception of potentially Joffra we're going to have our strongest team on the field. So that's the positive we've got a look at. We've got a good team. We've played some great cricket against India. We really did. As we talked about those

moments we just didn't get quite right. We could have easily been 3-0 up going into that last test at Old Trafford if we'd have just played slightly better in the crucial moments. And it's recognising that those sorts of moments and trying to just deal with it in a better way, I guess, dealing with that pressure slightly better. So we've got to try and find ways of capitalising on those moments if we get the opportunity, but also we're going to have to take some blows as well from them and we know that we have to soak up plenty of pressure because they're a quality team. So we've got to learn from that. We have to do that better. We know that and if we don't we'll come unstuck again against the quality Australian team who are a really dominant force

at home generally or have been certainly against us over the last couple of tours. So that's where we believe we can win. We believe we've got a group of players that can win here. And I'm not just saying that. You know, quite often you do just say that because you have to try and be positive. but we genuinely believe we can win out here. And it's just a case of making sure we get good preparation, make sure that when we start at the GABBA, we start well. Because if you lose at the Gaba, then it's a real uphill struggle from there. When we came away in 2010 with a draw at the GABA,

that was massive for us and set the series up for us, and that's when we truly believe that we could win that. So I think that's where we are now. That's why we believe we can win. We've got some world-class players. We've got, I'd say, the best batsman in the world and the best all-rounder in the world. So we truly believe that we've got a good chance.

I think learning from those lessons, having an understanding of how hard it can be in those conditions. But you say you mentioned that game that we drew, what was the underlying difference, was one of the guys went on and got a big double-hundred. And comes forward, drives down the ground. There is. Lovely shot as well to bring up the double-hundred.

huge roar from the England supporters here. A double hundred for Alistair Cook at the MCG. That's something that we're going to have to do is you can't hide away from the fact you're going to need big school. Not putting pressure on our batters by saying that, but relishing that challenge. This could be a great place to bat and spend a long period of time out there in the middle.

Look at the information, as I mentioned before, dark hazelwood, Cummings, lion has generally been their attack through the last four or five years so you've got a lot of information to work with you know how they operate in their own condition and you can ready yourself for that and i think it's really important that we have a real clear understanding of how they're likely going to set up against us how they're going to try and attack and counter it and not be scared of it not take a back to step against them be brave in our in our own way and you know how we do things when we play our best cricket not try and don't try and be

Australia in Australia, trying to be England in those conditions and the best version of ourselves in those conditions. We do that, I think, you know, I think we'll be absolutely fun. We're not going there to just turn up and be part of it all. We're going there to win. And that has to be the mentality. Well, it's refreshing to hear an England captain going into an Ashes series with such confidence, something I've not always seen in the 30 years I've been coming to Australia

to cover Ash's series. But over the last year, it's been a real eye-opener to find out just how much effort is being put into getting an England side to Australia with the best chance possible of winning the ashes. Yes, they'll miss Joffa Archer and Ollie Stone, but having Ben Stokes back, especially after he missed out last time, is such a big boost to England, plus their captain is in the form of his life. They'll be helped by an Australia side who haven't played a test since January, plus one thrown into chaos having just lost their captain. I'll be leading the BBC's commentary team across the series. There's live and exclusive commentary on every ball of every

match on Five Live Sports Extra and BBC Sounds if you're in the UK. You'll also be able to follow the live text on the BBC Sport website and the app. No matter where you are in the world, you'll be able to hear our thoughts on our regular TMS podcast at the end of every day. Huge thanks to everyone has taken part in this series, but we should leave the last words to the England captain Joe Root. For him, this Ashes tour is deeply personal. He didn't need me to remind him that he's yet to win a test match in Australia or yet to get

100. It's probably his last Ashes tour as captain and has never led an England team to an Ashes win yet. He also knows that whatever happens over the next few months, it will define his legacy as England's 80th test captain. One of my, I think one of the reasons I've struggled in Australia on the previous two tours, as Peggy mentioned, was probably wanting it too much. I'm not going there, not caring this time. Absolutely not. I'm desperate to go and win, but I think just enjoying the whole spectacle of an Asher series a little bit more and relishing it a little bit more rather than really being desperate and putting too much pressure on myself in everything that I've done,

whether it be in the preparation, the lead up, the build-up, the out there for the start of your innings. It's just go and play and trust it. And I'm going there off some nice form as well. I've played some good crickets last year. So go and play with confidence, personally, lead from the front, and hopefully that flows through the rest of the team as regards to, you know, will it define my captaincy? Of course it will. I think it would be naive to think not English cricket a lot of the time is it revolves how

successful it's going, is how they go against Australia and how they do in the Nash's series. So I'm very proud of what we've achieved as a team under my leadership, but nothing compared to going and winning Australia. Match of the Day Top Ten Podcast Gary Linneker here to bring you a little message Match of the Day

Top Ten podcast is back once again exclusively on BBC Sounds It's too late for me now Manorne yeah It's too late I was gonna get some more dates to match of the day then

Yes myself Alan and the busiest man in football Pundatory Micah Richards Return for Series 5 He was never going to Man City Maniated Could never ever have allowed Cristiano Ronaldo

to have gone to Manchester City. The Match of the Day Top Ten podcast, only available on BBC Sounds.