A lot has happened since the World Cup so I figured I'd use this blog to get you all up to speed with everything.
(pic courtesy Getty Images)
The Southern Stars have had 6 weeks off - which may seem like a holiday to some, however nearly all of us are studying or working so really it's our chance to come back to the real world. It's also an opportunity to really catch up with friends and family more than what we normally do in the season - which is exactly what I did. Fortunately, I had a couple of player appearances back home around Kingaroy which meant I got to catch up and see mum and dad. One of those appearances was for an amazing community organisation called Graham House at Murgon. They offer so many services such as family counselling and host drivers to the city to take people to hospitals. Nearly all of the workers are volunteers and I had the humbling job of thanking each and every one of them.
At a personal level I’ve been looking to get my body back in shape, recovering from stress fractures to my lower back. Like with any injury it's been a really frustrating period, with my rehab being dictated by ongoing diagnosis of the injury. Unlike a muscle tear or something like that, I can't actually feel anything wrong so I really had no idea that I had the injury in the first place. The toughest thing is being resigned to the fact I’ll miss the upcoming tour against Pakistan and spend a fair bit of pre-season watching everyone else train. But looking beyond that setback, we have the West Indies later in the year and the start of the domestic season so that’s now the target.
I’ve just finished a pre season camp with the Southern Stars in Brisbane at the National Cricket Centre. It was so good to get back together as a team and sort out how we are going to approach the upcoming season, as well as looking forward a few more series to the Ashes this time next year. We had a focus of batting against spin in the batting sessions, as we have identified that spinners are becoming more and more dangerous in each of the competitions we had played. While we have usually done well against spin in recent times, we now have the opportunity to advance this and be the best in the world against spin. We had the Australian men's coach Darren Lehmann helping us out with a few sessions, as well as Mike Hussey who stayed on board for the rest of the camp. His main focus was how we approach our batting mentally, making sure we had a clear mind - which is the most crucial part about cricket.
Like I thought I would be, I was frustrated watching everyone doing fitness testing or skills sessions throughout the camp. I've been told that the thing that athletes don't do well is nothing - and that's exactly what I'm feeling. It's not all doom and gloom however, I have a massive opportunity now to take some time off, get strong, get fit and then start playing cricket again. This will hopefully mean I can come back better than ever and, fingers crossed, bowling quicker too. My goal is to get myself right and ready to be available for selection for the series against the West Indies in November, so at the moment that's what is motivating me. Currently I'm not allowed to run, however I am able to ride the exercise bike, do Pilates and some limited gym and core strength work. My focus has been turned from looking at things I can't do, to thinking positively and looking at the things I can do each week. I have an awesome team of strength coaches, physios and doctors behind me, helping me recover and also to stay motivated. It's safe to say I'm in good hands and the countdown is on - 8 weeks until I can begin to bowl again, 15 weeks until I can play in a match!
For those of you who have tweeted me and messaged me, thank you for your support. I really appreciate it and I'm looking forward to getting back out there playing once again!