Mr Cricket (18 page)

Being conscious of my preparation became extremely important to me through my work with Sandy. However, there were times when factors I would usually be able to control were beyond reach. The lead up to a match does not always progress exactly as you want it to and it can be hard to replicate all the ingredients that went in to your last good performance. I learned that lesson gradually throughout my years playing first class cricket for WA.

We generally have plenty of time to acclimatise and get our patterns right for a Test match. However, domestic cricket is different, especially when you live on the far side of the continent. For a domestic match on the eastern seaboard, we would usually fly in just a day or two before a Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup match and there would be time for only one practice session before game day. I always found it very hard to get my sleep and dietary patterns right within that short space of time.

SLEEP PLAN:

Afternoon/evening – no caffeine, milk good

9.30pm – dim lights, relaxing music, TV off

10.00pm – go to bedroom, dark room, relax body, clear mind, focus on breathing

Waking in the night is normal; tell yourself not to worry and relax

7.30am – wake, sunlight, fresh air.

Brisbane stood out for me as the hardest trip because it's a long flight and we often had to fly through Sydney to get there. We'd fly out at 10am from Perth but wouldn't get in till about 8pm that night, local time. My eating pattern would be put out because I wouldn't eat properly during the day and would have dinner only at about 9 or 9.30pm. Sleeping then became difficult because of the time difference. At midnight in Brisbane it would be only 9pm in Perth. The next morning we'd get up at 8am for training but, because it was only 5am in Perth, I'd feel pretty shabby. The heat and humidity would knock me around up there too, so trying to adjust to those conditions in such a short period was not easy.

I wanted to do whatever I could to prepare well for a first-class match but could see that there was no way to get around these factors. Being from Perth and playing games on the east coast meant there would be elements in my preparation that could not be controlled. I spoke to Simon Katich, who has played out of both Perth and Sydney, and he said that since he has moved to Sydney he's found preparing for games much easier. You can do your preparation in Sydney and then fly to Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide or Hobart in an hour or two the day before the match, settle into your hotel and get straight into it, feeling 100 per cent. Coming from Perth taught me that it was important to stick to my routines – but not too much. There has to be some leeway in your mind and I have begun to accept that I'm not always going to be at my peak. The key
is learning to not talk yourself out of performing well if your preparation has been less than perfect.

That's what happened on one of my first tours with the Australian team, to South Africa. My son William was born soon after the team had left. I left the day after he was born. Five weeks later, Amy and the two kids we had at the time came over to join me. Of course, it was great to have my loved ones with me and I wouldn't have had it any other way. But secretly I was a bit nervous because, having them in the room with me, I wasn't sure I'd be able to get the eight or nine hours of sleep that I believed I needed to be able to play well. I was still pretty set in my ways, despite my experiences with WA, and very precious about my sleep so I was a bit worried about how this would work. In addition, the pitch on which we were playing this Test, the Third Test in Johannesburg, was very difficult to bat on. It was seaming around all over the place, which made me even more adamant about ensuring distractions would not get in the way of my performance.

In order to deal with this predicament I tried to convince myself that, if I did do badly, it wasn't because I hadn't had enough sleep – or any other reason. I went on to score runs in both innings, 70-odd in the first and 80-odd in the second, and did my bit to chase down a total to win. The conditions were challenging. But more significant than scoring runs in a tough situation was the fact that this consolidated in my mind that even if my preparation was not exactly as I wanted it to be, I was still capable of giving a good account of myself at the very top level. The footnote to the story is that Amy, knowing how much I value my sleep before and during a game, did her best to look after the kids without waking me in the night. However, she confided afterwards that she was glad I scored runs in that match because it proved that I didn't have to be so uptight about my preparation.

Playing for Australia has been a real eye-opener for me in this area. I was astounded during my first few times in the dressing room. I was expecting a nervy environment. I thought the players would be tense. I thought there would be silence as everyone thought about what their job was and willed themselves and the team to do well. But it is nothing like that.

The entire Australian team is incredibly relaxed. Never mind that we are about to walk out in front of a huge crowd and millions of TV viewers. Never mind that there is an enormous expectation on us to perform well over the next five days, as a team and individually. Never mind that a split-second lapse in concentration – a false shot or a dropped catch – could have major ramifications for the result of the match. Nothing seems to faze our team.

Take a look around. There's Warney, possibly the greatest ever bowler, acting as though he's about to play a fourth-grade match down at the local park. He is kicking back, feet up, puffing on a smoke. He spots Nathan Bracken on the other side of the room and pokes fun at the big quick's hairdo. Brett Lee is in the corner adjusting his blond streaks in the mirror, completely at ease about his task. Simmo hasn't stopped yapping. He finishes telling a joke and starts giving cheek to another teammate. Justin Langer is in a good mood but, because we're batting, he's put on his iPod and is bopping away in his own world. Same with Matt Hayden. He's putting on his pads and thinking quietly to himself. Batting or bowling first? Doesn't matter to Glenn McGrath. He mucks around either way, playing jokes on unsuspecting teammates and, basically, being a nuisance. Gilly is a little quiet before he keeps wicket. All his gloves are laid out and strips of tape are hanging down from his locker door, ready to be applied to his roughed up fingers. Gilly is structured but he, too, is very relaxed.

Team meeting at the old fort in St Vincent before the World Cup began.

There have been times when the atmosphere wasn't quite as serene. For the First Test of the Ashes series in Brisbane in late 2006, the mood was tense. We'd lost the Ashes the year before and were resolved to regain them. Almost everything in the preceding year had been directed towards winning the upcoming series against England, so there was an enormous amount riding on that first morning. Warney was the same as always and McGrath was again playing practical jokes, even if he didn't get quite the response he normally gets. But, considering what we had in front of us, the overall feeling was peaceful, as it always is.

Perhaps my teammates try to foster a light-hearted environment in the dressing room as a way to defuse nerves. There is no denying there is cause to be nervous or, at least, apprehensive about what's coming up. But I also know that the reason these guys are able to stay so cool is because each one is so comfortable with his game – and so comfortable with his standing in the game – that the pressure valve is considerably more loose than it would be in the dressing rooms of some of our opponents.

That is not to say that we are completely free of constraints. Everyone has their own niggling doubts or nerves at different times. But one thing that works to the advantage of all the players in the Australian team is that we trust ourselves and our teammates and we each know that we have done whatever we need to do to be ready. I know that if I've prepared well and I stick to my plans I am able to enjoy a Test match and, usually, play well. I've done the hard work, got myself into my IPS and feel comfortable. There will always be nerves before a Test because you are representing your country, the opposition might be a good one, there are lots of people watching and there are many things going on around you that can stir your emotions. But nerves only become intrusive when a player is not ready and believes he may not be capable of living up to what is expected of him. The fact that our team does not get sabotaged by nerves is a reflection of how much attention we pay to preparation and how much confidence we gain from doing it correctly.