GLENN MCGRATH

When I was playing that was the main focus - you knew what you had to achieve but you want to have fun doing it, otherwise there's no point in doing it.

As a bowler it's a strange feeling when you start running through a team. You get that one wicket under your belt and suddenly you start running in feeling loose, feeling relaxed and thinking about what you want to bowl rather than focusing on trying to force that wicket.

When you've got a team who are making a concerted effort to make a batsman feel uncomfortable it can look pretty ordinary.

You're always going to get different personalities within a team.

In the past, I bowled at players like Michael Atherton, Alec Stewart, Nasser Hussain, Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick.

As a fast bowler if you're not going to bowl well on a Perth wicket you're going to struggle in Australia.

I was part of the Australia team that lost the first Test at Edgbaston in 1997 and yet came back to win the series quite comfortably in the end.

I always wondered if I would know the right time to retire. After that first Ashes Test in Brisbane in 2006 I had no intention of stopping. I was still focused and wanted a thousand international wickets. I was still driven.

The one thing you can't do is get carried away with that pace and bounce. There's a temptation to charge in and just slam the ball into the pitch and you can end up bowling too short. You still have to bowl the right length so that you threaten to take wickets.

I used to come out and say I was targeting certain players in the opposition team, particularly players I had had success against in the past: Gary Kirsten, Brian Lara and Michael Atherton, for example. It is a mental part of the game.

I'm expecting big things from our bowlers, from Peter Siddle, who plays the enforcer role, Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee when he gets fit again. In batting, there's Phil Hughes, whose already done well for Australia and scored hundreds for Middlesex.

The Australian approach to playing cricket in general is quite an aggressive one.

By the time I made my international debut Tendulkar was already being counted among the best batsmen in the world. Most bowlers knew that his was the crucial wicket in an Indian batting line-up that boasted of many talented batsmen.

My parents split up when I was 16, and, while Mum came to a few Tests, Dad didn't make many. So I was glad he was at Lord's.

Umpiring is a tough job. Don't get me wrong - I wouldn't want to be an umpire. You've got a split second to make a decision.

You can come up with all the gameplans that you want but the guys in the middle have to execute those plans. If Jimmy Anderson or Stuart Broad serves up a leg-stump half-volley, you can't turn round and blame Andy Flower.

You can tell yourself that everything is normal, and try to keep the same routine from every other Test match, but there is always something extra special about an Ashes series.

If the batsmen can give the bowlers a day and half of rest then that is going to work in the team's favour.

Have a little protection if that helps your bowler - Brett Lee always wanted a cover and a midwicket because they helped him bowl his natural length and made him more effective as a result.

A lot of the emphasis on international bowlers is on their pace and Australia coach Darren Lehmann is a big fan of bowlers who can bowl 90mph-plus.

If Australians give you a hard time, then they respect you.

Losing Jane was tragic and I thought I'd never get married again, or have more children, or would even ever want to.

When I played in the Australia team the captains were all nerds. Allan Border was a nerd, Mark Taylor was a nerd, Steve Waugh was definitely a nerd and Ricky Ponting too.

If you get on a roll - good or bad - it's hard to get out of it, but it's not impossible.

The Sydney Cricket Ground is my favourite ground in the world, my home ground, and growing up in the bush all I wanted was to play at the SCG.