Clark just happy to be part of it

Stuart Clark, the leading wicket-taker in the Ashes series, said he was still getting used to being part of the Australia team, having been nothing more than an observer during the 2005 Ashes. Clark, who claimed 16 wickets in the first three Tests of this series, said it was only last year that he was wondering if he would ever have an opportunity to play Test cricket.

"I wake up every morning and pinch myself wondering is this really happening," Clark told The Australian. "Mike Hussey and I went on an Australia A tour to Pakistan about 13 or 14 months ago and we were talking about playing just one Test, any Test, so we could get one of those baggy green caps that everyone else seems to have.

"I look back now, as he does, and we don't know quite what to think. It's been the most amazing year or so; we can't believe what we've done." Clark said although he and Hussey had not been part of the 2005 Ashes loss, they knew as soon as they joined the side that regaining the urn was the team's ultimate goal.

"You could see it [the pain] and it never went without mention," he said. "Over the past 15 months, every time we won a Test match it was all a build-up to [Monday] and winning them back. We spoke about it all the time. It hurt the whole of Australian cricket. It hurt the team more than anyone else but it hurt everyone who follows cricket in Australia because we had held on to the Ashes for so long."

While Clark's series has been ideal, Australia's least successful bowler in the past three Tests, Brett Lee, said he remained satisfied with his performance despite taking only eight wickets at an average of 58. "Look, it would be great to be getting five wickets every Test match, that's what most bowlers set out to achieve, but you can't really do that day in, day out," Lee said.

"You have to be a pretty good player to do that. Warney might be able to. I've just got to remain nice and patient. The most important thing out of this Test series is that I'm happy with the way I've been bowling. If I wasn't happy with the way the ball's coming out, well, then it would be a different story and it would be time to change a few things, but I'm happy with the way the ball's coming out and that's all I can ask of myself."