In tournament cricket, with a new opponent each game, I think you actually need to play to your own strengths more.
When I first came into the side as captain, I was accused of being quite conservative, quite negative, and just doing what Andrew Strauss did.
Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting are anything but conventional, and you can't frown on Steve Waugh for playing his slog-sweep because it's so effective.
Over the years I have been watching Pakistan when playing against them or with them in county cricket. And they have been brilliant bowlers and batsmen and great individuals.
In T20, even when you are in form and you feel like you are making good contributions, you are going to only face 30 or maximum 40 balls in the position where I bat in the middle order.
I don't bowl at 140 kmph or 150 kmph, so my best chance of getting the batsmen out is by bowling in the right areas and getting it to swing.
The era of playing aggressive cricket and to have the mid-on up is gone. You now try to read the mindset of a batsman.
Marcus Trescothick. No question. I hate bowling to him. I pitch it up, he drives me through the covers. I bowl back of a length, he runs me down to third-man. I go short, and he lifts me over the keeper or pulls me for four.
Cricket is not rocket science. Bowlers often get wickets through perseverance, accuracy and being patient rather than trying to blast opposition teams out.
I think it is always a challenge when you go and play abroad. You are competing against the home team, and they know the conditions well. Their fast bowlers always know which length to bowl and also the areas in which they need to bowl.
I'll do whatever it takes for us to win games of cricket. If I have to sledge, I'll get involved like that. I'll try and intimidate a player if I have to.
In fact, as a spin bowler, you have to work on the batsman over after over.
The start of the English county season - from April to mid-May when it's cold - is the same as South Africa because it seams and swings. After that, the ball starts spinning nicely, and that's when I get my wickets.
I feel, as a captain, that when you face a batsman who plays spin well you feel as if you are a fielder short.
Playing with Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn, I am a very lucky guy. Not many people are going to attack those two, which means the batsmen will attack me. And if they attack me, there is always a chance I can get a wicket.
To score runs you have to be pragmatic.
Usually a captain will allow his bowler to set the field, while exercising overall control and maintaining the authority to step in if he sees fit.
On the field, MS epitomises calmness and, from a cricket point of view, has the best angle in terms of field placements.
Technically your best player should be batting at No. 3.
One-day cricket is about aggression and flair, but Test cricket is a different ball game. One has to struggle through the hard periods initially and then look on to get a respectable score on the board.
I won the glare with the bowler every time, because I knew that at some time he was going to have to turn around and go back to his mark.
I want to be a high-order batter in the one-day stuff, to play some long innings rather than just go in and have a swipe.
In T20, I think it's really valuable to have a bowler who can bring the ball back into the right hander at pace.
If you look round the world, most teams want guys who can bowl up at 90 mph because they can make things happen when it isn't doing much.
In 50over cricket there are different ways of playing. It's not all about smacking it over the top. It's important someone bats through the innings. That would be one of the options for me.
