Haddin haunted by ghosts of '05

Ashes revenge has not been discussed in the Australian dressing room for several seasons now. When Ricky Ponting's men reversed the gloom of '05 to the euphoria of 5-0 in the return series, Australia's senior players successfully filled the urn-shaped hole in their lives and allowed the likes of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Justin Langer to head into retirement content and complete.

Brad Haddin, however, has not been so fortunate. As Adam Gilchrist's understudy in 2005, Haddin vividly recalls the pain and despondency in the Australian dressing room after the defeat at Trent Bridge; a result that handed England a decisive 2-1 series lead. He was subsequently overlooked for the ensuing series in Australia - back-up wicketkeepers are a luxury seldom afforded to squads within their own county - resulting in a sense of unfinished business ahead of this year's tour of England.

"The only time I've been involved in an Ashes series, we tasted defeat," Haddin told Cricinfo. "As exciting as it was to experience all the hype in 2005, it was still a pretty disappointing tour in a lot of ways. The memories are still strong from that tour. Some of the other guys had a chance to be part of the next Ashes series that we won 5-0, but I wasn't in that squad.

"I was lucky and unfortunate in 2005. Being in the squad, I was able to experience all the hype and excitement of being in England in a very competitive Ashes series. The way the country responded, and seeing those 20,000 people shut out of Old Trafford and still trying to get a look, was something I won't forget. But having said that I remember the feeling in the change-rooms in Trent Bridge after we'd pretty much lost the Ashes. It was a sombre and uncomfortable place to be. I don't want to have to experience that again."

Haddin's rise from the periphery to the nucleus of the national team has been both rapid and dramatic. Twelve months have not passed since his Test debut at Sabina Park, yet Haddin has already assumed senior status within Ricky Ponting's re-emerging Test side and is likely to be remunerated accordingly when Cricket Australia's 25-man contract list is released next week.

So high is the esteem in which he is held by national selectors, Haddin stands poised to lead Australia for the second time in a Twenty20 international (against Pakistan in Dubai on Thursday), placing him second in line for the captaincy behind Michael Clarke. Haddin has also been handed the added responsibility of opening the innings in the 50-over format.

Those close to the team credit Haddin with imbuing Australia's rookie players with a sense of "old school" toughness in this period of transition - the casual observer could probably deduce as much from the frequency and tenacity of his appeals. And while his glovework remains solid, if not flawless, his batting is of great importance to the Australians in all three forms of the game.

"I'm lucky that in my career with NSW I've had the opportunity to bat from one-to-seven in the one-dayers, and I've had a bit of success in all those spots," he said. "If someone like Shaun Marsh goes down and I get the call up the order, then that's fine with me. That might add a little to the workload but, put it this way, I was happy we batted second in the (second one-day international against Pakistan) when it was 42 degrees out in the middle."

Perhaps most remarkable of all Haddin's accomplishments over the past 12 months has been his durability. Since the beginning of Australia's tour of the West Indies last year, he has played in all 15 of Australia's Tests (scoring 901 runs at 37.54 with 56 dismissals), 24 of 28 one-day internationals (a broken finger sidelined him for the final four games of the series in the Caribbean) and three of six Twenty20 matches. While Ponting, Mitchell Johnson and Michael Hussey were rested from the limited overs tour of the UAE ahead of a gruelling 2009 campaign, which includes the World Twenty20, the Ashes and the Champions Trophy, Haddin has played on, subscribing to Dennis Lillee's old mantra of never giving a sucker an even break.

"I actually don't have any niggles, and my hands are good," he said. "Life is a lot easier when your hands aren't barking at you. I put it down to the fact that I have been training my body for this for years. This is the reason you run all those laps and lift all those weights. I might not have been playing international cricket for a long time, but I feel like I have been conditioning my body for it for years.

"Ask me in 12 months if I'm feeling this fresh, and the answer might be a bit different. But I'm feeling pretty good, and I think [the World Twenty20] will be an exciting thing to be a part of, especially with it being in England and the Ashes being around the corner."