In an interview with The Cricket Couch, Australian opener Ed Cowan talks about how he prepares mentally before a Test series.

I tend to try a little bit harder, and longer. You plan for a little bit longer. The pressure makes you narrow your focus and find a place where you can be mentally calm but up for it. That is the hardest thing - learning just when to conserve your mental energy for, and knowing that you are going to need a lot of it to bat in Test cricket.