Tuesday February 13, 2001

Pre-tour preparations

Last night wasn't exactly the perfect jetlag remedy as we had been advised in advance to have an early night, plenty of rest and no alcohol, leading up to our long flight to India. Unfortunately, the glitz of the cameras, chauffeured limousines and the chance to celebrate a successful summer led most of the guys away from the sensible pre-tour advice. Our team dietician and physiotherapist urged us to be very professional in our preparation for the flight. They must have forgotten in the briefing that the Allan Border medal night was simply too good an opportunity to heed the shrewd guidance

"He told me that it   provided him with a huge   incentive to be the best    player he possibly can."

from our support staff. Michael Slater summed up the mood of the team with his cameo performance singing (or at least screaming) with Jimmy Barnes at the end of the night. It would be fair to say our dynamic opening batsman was a little worse for wear this morning after turning himself into an aspiring rock star at the end of the night.

'Funky' Miller's hair attracted as much attention as a wounded fish to a shark and considering he also won the test player of the year, it just goes to show dreams really can come true. Even our flamboyant off-spinner admits he could never have dreamed of his success two or three years ago when he was toiling away as a swing bowler in the Sheffield Shield competition. It was no surprise to see him gaining so many players' votes, as there is few more popular people playing Australian cricket.

As for the winner of the Allan Border medal, our decorated skipper was a great recipient of the award. Not only has he been masterful with the bat, he has also captained both the one-day and test teams to a clean sweep of victories this summer. Now that he has become an AB medallist, you have to ask what else can he achieve in this game? His answer will be simple; a series victory in India will doubtlessly be high on his priority list.

Despite the late night and sad farewells, every member of the touring party successfully made it to the team bus this morning. Bottles of water in hand and dark sunglasses to match, our Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong went off without a hitch. On arriving, it would be fair to say the beds at the airport hotel were about to take care of fourteen Australian cricketers before the final leg of the journey tomorrow afternoon.

From Hong Kong

JL

You can also read:

Sunday February 11, 2001: LEAVING HOME
Tuesday February 14, 2001: Getting the run-down