Rob Key

They had a week in between those two series, and then we had the chance.

We could have gone to Adelaide.

The offer was to go to Adelaide, or it was to go straight to Perth.

We felt that we didn't want to keep flying around different parts of Australia and New Zealand.

We wanted to get to Perth, and that was the best.

Of course, we would have gone to the WACA if we could have done.

But that wasn't an option.

So the other point is, as I said, it's not about, you know, at the time, I think we'd won every series that we played with that sort of preparation, whether it was going to Abu Dhabi, whether it was not playing lots of cricket, but practicing amongst ourselves.

And we had 100% record, I think, of winning the first test away.

And the other point was that we were falling off a cliff at the end of series.

So we were trying to find that balance and trying to get to a series as big as it was where you think, okay, this is what we've done for the last two or three years.

This is what's worked for us.

We're going to back ourselves to do that.

And it did work.

Now, would we have won the series had we gone and played a game in Adelaide against an Australian side?

Maybe.

But would we have stopped the noise?

Yes, definitely.

Definitely.

But ultimately, I think the perfect preparation is that you have a clear window where you can spend a good month almost or three weeks in Australia getting ready for the series.