Cricket: The heat's on but we must stay positive

WE TOOK a fair amount of stick for playing golf instead of practising day and night after losing the first Test heavily.

Yet, now that the Adelaide Test has headed in the same direction, we have to adopt a golfer's attitude if we are going to get anything from this series.

The key to success in golf is not to dwell on a bad shot. It has to be forgotten immediately and the mind refocused totally on the next shot.

There is no point in dwelling on the past, it's history and cannot be changed. And we must treat every day of this series like that. Take every day as another day, try to be positive, to compete and as batsmen put loads of value on our wickets.

At the end of the third day here in Adelaide the mood in the dressing room was quiet. The three guys who got out so quickly in our second innings were a bit down.

Of course they were. They are professionals and they don't like getting out. That is the time when we have to look forward, not back. But it is not always that easy.

The pressure that Steve Waugh and his team are putting on every batsman and bowler is enormous. There is just no let-up.

With three world-class bowlers at his disposal in Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Shane Warne, the Aussie captain can afford to be aggressive with his fields.

He can crowd our players with fielders all around the bat because he knows his bowlers are going to put the ball in the right spot.

I have heard it said that because I was brought up in Australia he singles me out for special treatment but that's not the case - we all get it every moment on the field. But my dismissal on the second day was typical of the high-pressure, high-quality cricket they play.

Gillespie bowled me five balls, all on a good length and all on a tight off-stump line. A couple of them beat me all ends up and he gave me absolutely nothing to hit. Then he dropped the last ball a bit shorter. You have to try to be patient against their attack but I thought that was my chance. I tried to pull it, failed to get over the ball and looped up a catch to fine leg.

That's what happens, not only when you are not in the best form with the bat, but also when the pressure is so intense and suddenly you think you have been given a rare opportunity to play a shot.

My batting so far in this series has been disappointing especially since in my last innings in club cricket in Adelaide, before I was called up to join the England squad, I scored a century.

At the time my bowling was more of a worry, having finished the season in England with a rib injury, but thankfully that's now well behind me.

The Australian first innings here was one of my best performances for England and the first time since my debut in 1994 that I have dismissed four of the opposition's top six batsmen.

I admit I got lucky with a couple of the shots that were played against me but bagging Hayden, Ponting, Waugh and Lehmann on that pitch wasn't a bad effort. It also took me past 50 Test wickets.

Getting the wicket of Lehmann gave me the greatest pleasure, not only because he's a fellow Yorkie these days but also because he's my brother-in-law.

That creates its own problems. I have to look away from him when we are out on the pitch, otherwise I want to burst out laughing.

He always has a silly grin on his face. But at least on this occasion I was able to wipe it off when he edged a catch to second slip.

Interview: STEVE HARDY

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