Tim Bresnan - Ashes Tour Diary: Desperate to play my part in bid for more Ashes glory

Unfortunately, after the back injury I’ve had, it might just come a bit too soon for me.

I’ll be pushing hard to play at the Gabba, of course – you would hardly expect me to say anything else because the Ashes is the pinnacle of a player’s career.

But I’m not sure whether it’s on the medical team’s radar, to be fair, and I have to be guided by them at the end of the day.

To be honest, I’m not 100 per cent sure when I’ll be back on the field.

It’s one of those where it could be a few weeks, or it could be a few days; it’s totally up in the air at the moment. It all depends on how the back feels day-to-day and how it progresses.

It’s just a case of wait and see.

The good news is I’m coming on well. The rehab is going great and I’m quite excited about ramping it up.

It’s kind of been a slow build-up process but the medical team have got my best interests at heart and the last thing they want is for me to break down again.

I’ve just got to bide my time and keep working hard. The fact is, the medical team won’t want to risk it before I’m ready.

They’ve got a lot of things to consider, and I don’t envy them their jobs one little bit.

On the one hand, they’ve got players like me who are desperate to play and want to get out there as quickly as possible.

On the other, they have to look at the wider issues and whether it would be better for me to miss, say, one week of cricket to make sure I can have many weeks after that.

The good news is that there are plenty of options available to us.

There’s a warm-up game between the first and second Test at Alice Springs, for example, and the England Performance Programme are out here as well and playing cricket all the time, so there might be a chance for me to link up with them.

I could even squeeze in a game of grade cricket, I just don’t know.

As I say, it really is a grey area at the moment. One of the most frustrating things about being injured, in fact, is the uncertainty about when you can get back on the field.

All you can do is play it by ear – try one thing and see how the injury feels, try another, and so on.

If you don’t get a reaction, you keep progressing.

If you do, you just have to take a step back and adapt accordingly.

In my case, it’s just a matter of building it up on a day-by-day basis.

Thankfully, I’m pleased to report that I’m in the nets all the time at the moment. My back-to-bowling programme is going great, and the next step then is to play in a match.

I’m even more desperate to get on the field, I think, because I remember the last time we were down here and how good it felt when we walked off after winning the final Test match at Sydney.

That’s one of the feelings I want to recreate.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a player or a spectator, an Ashes series is incredibly exciting.

It’s why I play cricket, quite frankly, and I’m sure my team-mates feel the same.

Series like this are why I love playing for England so much and why I’m so determined to do well for the team. You can’t help but enjoy the excitement of it all.

Of course, I’m sure it’s the same for you all back home.

The support we have from you is magnificent and I can’t tell you how much it means to the players.

To be honest, I can’t imagine a million people or whatever the exact figure is sitting up through the night watching it on television or listening to it on the radio.

That’s kind of weird to comprehend and get your head around, and it makes you realise how special it all is.

On top of that, there’s all the hype that goes with the Ashes, all the little pressures, and that’s part and parcel of international cricket.

To be honest, I just try to keep my head down and avoid the hype; my number one focus is just playing cricket. It’s the same for most of the boys, I think.

We don’t really read the press, or anything like that, because all we’re interested in is playing the game.

In terms of the cricket, I think another cracking series is in prospect. We beat Australia in our own backyard this summer, and there’s no reason why we can’t beat them again, but we’re certainly not complacent about it.

This is the Ashes, after all, and Australia are always fiercely competitive.

The bottom line is, the team that plays the best cricket and keeps their emotions in check and all that sort of stuff will come out on top. Thankfully, for the last three Ashes series, we’ve been that team. We’re aiming for four straight wins this time but we’ve got to earn that right.

You’ve got to respect the opposition no matter who you’re playing against, and we respect Australia most definitely. At the same time, we know that if we play our best cricket that we can beat them too.

What’s been drummed into me over the years is that it’s never easy to win any Test match.

You really do have to play consistently well for all five days of the game. If you have one bad hour, that could very easily cost you the whole Test.

That’s the way England have viewed it ever since I’ve been involved – the importance of playing the long game, so to speak.

The lead-up to any Ashes series is pretty intense, and this has been no different.

Everyone has been pretty heads-on, working hard in the nets and in the gym, playing warm-up games and all that sort of stuff, and that’s the way it has to be. Of course, I’m sure there will be opportunities along the way to relax a little, to go and experience the culture of Australia and, no doubt, to get a decent sun-tan. But for now the focus is on Brisbane and starting well, and let’s hope we can make it another winter to remember.

This exclusive Ashes Tour Diary has been supplied in association with Hayes Wealth Management.

Specialists in Wealth Advice and proud to support and advise England and Yorkshire cricketer Tim Bresnan

Contact: 0113-2120762 or 
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Read Tim Bresnan’s exclusive Ashes Tour Diary throughout the winter Down Under, only in the Yorkshire Post.