One on the back of the head

First body blow
It was the second ball I faced in Test cricket. Ian Bishop hit me on the back of the helmet.

First sledge copped
It was in my second Sheffield Shield game and Greg Ritchie went at me quite fiercely. He told me that if my parents were at the ground, they would be embarrassed to see my batting.

First duck in first-class cricket
They came in a pair - in my fifth Test, against New Zealand at Auckland. I missed the subsequent Ashes series.

First international hundred
It came in that Peshawar Test where Mark Taylor made his record unbeaten 334. I got to it by sweeping Mushtaq Ahmed. It was a huge relief more than anything else.

First book
I wrote it in my second year at Middlesex. It was a diary account of a season in England, called From Outback to Outfield.

As told to Nagraj Gollapudi