Reaching the end of a great learning curve

As preparation for the two-Test Ashes series we played Australia Youth in a two-day match at the Allan Border fields in Brisbane. This was a chance for us to get used to the longer form of the game.

Scoring rates were slow, I think due to their disciplined tactic of playing with 7-2 off-side fields and bowling in a wide channel outside off stump. Batting first we put on 202 on the first day. Lydia Greenway, flown into Brisbane to join the squad after a successful U19 tour, batted with composure for her 88 in her first match with the full England side.

On the second day we bowled out the Youth side for 131, Laura Harper taking 5-30 from 19 overs helped by some good catching in the ring. Another victory and our first against an Australian team in a long time.

The first Test was played at the Gabba, Brisbane and was a special match for us. This was the first time England had bowled Australia out for under 100 since 1951 and it was an amazing feeling to be out there on the pitch.

Lucy Pearson and Laura Newton took full advantage of the bowling conditions and all the plans for the Aussie batsmen that we'd talked about worked. We were disappointed not to build a defendable total in our second innings and Australia were able to reach the winning runs late on the third day. But even in defeat we'd learnt that we could compete with the Australians and get their leading batsmen out cheaply.

We spent the next day (supposedly the fourth day) doing individual training. Personally I had been disappointed with my batting over the two-day game and the Test match and needed to work on striking the ball. When you're in a bad patch it's very difficult to keep confidence in the simple things, backswing, hand speed and so on. So I spent nearly two hours on a bowling machine just hitting the ball.

We'd really enjoyed our time in Brisbane; the city centre is compact and we stayed in lovely apartments on the Brisbane River about 10 minutes walk from the shops, restaurants and cafes of the CBD. Next stop on the tour was Sydney, a real contrast from a touring point of view. We were playing at the Bankstown Oval, the home of the Waugh brothers and several current and former Australian Women players.

We stayed in the local sports club, a hotel which supported a lot of the local sports teams, making its money mainly from gambling. The hotel has fake jungle areas throughout the lower floors and we ate breakfast to tinned shrieks, grunts and screams of the plastic jungle creatures.

Back to the cricket and the 2nd Test. On a rain-affected first day we won the toss and put Australia in to bat. After a disappointing first over (going for nine), Lucy Pearson adjusted her length, got the ball swinging and the wickets started falling. She ended up taking 7-51, a career best in Test cricket and her first five-wicket haul. Harper took the prize wicket of Rolton for nought and the tail was sewn up by Leng with her leg breaks.

We batted well to see out the day on 21 for one with Fitzpatrick dangerous in the gathering gloom. The start of day two was also rain-affected and we went out to try and build an innings lead. After some good batting from Edwards and a unbroken partnership of 81 between myself and Greenway we finished the shortened day on 151 for four. The third day started brighter in weather but darker for us. Twinning bowled well and we lost our remaining six wickets for only a further 36 runs.

53 runs in arrears, the Australians needed a good total to put us ot of the match. At 49 for four we were in a strong position but a 136-run partnership between Sthalekar and Blackwell got Australia out of trouble. They declared at lunch on the 4th day to leave us 206 for the victory.

It was always going to be hard with a required scoring rate in excess of anything seen in either Test by either team. We drew the match, Laura Newton and I playing out the final over from Fitzpatrick.

Overall this has been a good tour for the team. We've moved up the one-day rankings to 3rd and we've competed with the Australians in the Test series. Some of the younger players have played some composed innings and Lucy's bowling has been excellent joining the best of women's Test bowlers with an 11-wicket haul in the second Test.

The squad was then due to split up, half returning home to go back to jobs and families and the remainder staying in either Australia or New Zealand until the start of the English summer season. The last day was spent hanging out in Sydney, buying last minute presents and saying our goodbyes.

I've been spending the last two weeks in Sydney getting over the tour; 'Active Recovery' as the physiologists call it. A process which is supposed to prepare my body for the next set of training and tour time in the summer. It involves stretching, swimming, cycling and walking - all low impact activities to give my joints a rest. During that time I've been over to the Blue Mountains (which I can confirm look blue!) and up the Eastern coast of NSW as far as Cape Byron. The east coast trip was spent relaxing on beaches, walking in rain forests, talking cricket with Lottie Edwards and avoiding dodgy backpackers after one of us caught a mite infestation in Byron Bay.

One last stop before home for me will be a trip to Melbourne. I've got to discuss with the Victorian Women's cricket association the possibilities of playing club cricket there next winter and then go to the Department of Immigration to discuss visa requirements. After the debacle of the visa situation at the start of this winter I want to make sure I understand exactly what sort of visa I'll need and what I need to do to get it.

I've had a great trip abroad to play cricket and I've learnt a lot. It's time now to get home and meet up with my coach to plan the next 6 months of club, county and international cricket.