They say bowling fast in India is heart-breaking -- what do you think is the
key to doing well here?
Patience. I think patience is the key to succeed on these wickets. The wickets here are very slow compared to what we have back home. So, you have got to be prepared for that. My game plan will have to be to build pressure, to keep it on, and to use reverse swing to advantage. The key is to do that, to take early wickets, to stop the Indians from getting off the blocks. Also, I need to be mentally prepared to go for runs, now and then -- I generally don't like it when that happens, but here I have to budget for that, learn to absorb it and come back, not let go of the pressure. It's going to be tough, no mistake, but hopefully, we are good enough.

Will sledging also be a part of your gameplan?
To intimidate batsmen is what any bowler wants to do. It is all a part of the mental make-up of any aggressive fast bowler. Anyway, I don't think that the Aussies alone sledge, Indians have sledged me as well -- I wouldn't want to take names, but that is a fact. A section of the media tends to play it up when we Aussies sledge, and that to my mind is unfair. It is a part of the game, and I think if one doesn't go over the top, its fine.

Your duel with Sachin Tendulkar is seen as one of the highlights of this
tour. Do you thrive on rivalries of that kind -- versus Tendulkar, versus
Lara, whoever?
Sachin is one of the most complete batsmen I know, everyone talks about him being the greatest, about his ability and his skill. So it gets me charged up, when bowling to him. He is easily the key wicket to claim and if I can get him six out of six, that would be great (*laughs*). But it would be wrong to focus on one guy alone -- this is not an individual sport, it is a team that wins. You have to dismiss all ten batsmen twice to win. Laxman has been scoring tons in domestic cricket; he's another batter to look out for. Dravid and Ganguly are difficult to dismiss. But I still wish I could have had a bowl against Sachin at the Brabourne, it would have helped to get that in before the first Test, it could have made a difference.

The last time you played Test cricket in India was the one off Test, which India won. Where do you reckon things went wrong for you there?
I don't think I bowled badly -- they just batted very well. This time round, we will bowl well and hope they bat badly. I was very happy with the way that I bowled, even then.

Nayan Mongia was telling us that you bowled very short in that Test, that you don't know the length to bowl in India...?
Maybe so. But you know, when I played that Test, I had 78 Test wickets -- today I have 309 wickets and hopefully, a bit more experience, a few more weapons, so it won't be that easy, they better be prepared.

The Aussies have their own concept of 'team building' -- how would you define it?
The most important aspect of it is to enjoy the success of your mates as much as you enjoy your own. If I get 5 wickets tomorrow, we're all happy; if Steve scores a hundred, we all enjoy it. If Gilly (Gillespie) gets a five-wicket haul, I enjoy it as much as he does. The whole idea is to be together as team, to enjoy everything together as a team.

In the matrix of the Australian team, where do you fit in?
I am the main bowler, so I guess my job is to help the younger lot. I have to teach them about getting more aggro in their bowling and the importance of building pressure.

Does it add to the pressure that you are here with 15 Test wins behind you?
It does not add pressure at all. It is something no team has achieved before, and that is an honour. It would be nice however to walk away from here with 18 Test wins under our belt -- that is something we want to achieve at all costs and more importantly, it is something we believe we can achieve.

Brett Lee would have been your ideal strike partner, pity he is out through
injury. Going to miss him?
Yes, well, Brett is an exciting bowler, he would have had the crowds here going, he is exciting to watch. Do I miss him? Well, the team does, obviously -- but you have to remember that Jason Gillespie is not exactly an off spinner, he and I bowl well in tandem, so that part of it is okay, really. We have a strong, balanced attack this time, actually, that should be one of the strengths we take with us, going in to this tour.

What is it with young fast bowlers, though? They come on the scene, excite
everyone, and promptly break down in some body part -- whereas guys like
you, and before you Craig McDermott and Merv Hughes, guys like that seem to
have been able to go on and on and on?
Well yes, lots of the young lads have been injured recently, there is Brett, and Shoaib Akthar -- I think one part of it is that we all play so much more cricket these days. Before, there used to be breaks between seasons so you had time to train and get back to peak fitness before the next one. Now it is high pressure, 10 months in the year and the way it is going we could be playing all 12 months. So there is no recovery time. Often, you pick up a little niggle, and if you had time to rest and recuperate, it would not matter -- but now, you have no time, you are going from one series to the next so before you know it, that little niggle has grown into something serious. Plus, guys like Brett, Shoaib, they are trying to bowl faster than you can see, they are pushing the envelope on pace all the time, and that puts a terrific strain on the body.

Do you see yourself going the Donald way, playing only key games, resting
yourself to increase your lifespan?
I don't know about Donald, mate -- all I know is how I feel, and for me, playing for Australia is as big as it gets, no way I can sit on the bench and watch my mates walk out in the baggy green, without me being with them. Maybe a dead one dayer, or something of that kind, I might sit out -- but any game that matters, Test, one day, whatever, I want to play, I want to keep playing as long as I can. I don't think sitting out is the answer, I guess in time you learn to conserve yourself, you learn to look after your body better. You have to remember that a fast bowler's action is very unnatural for the human body -- so there is always the possibility of stresses and strains, we just need to take extra care of ourselves is all.

Touring sides generally tell us that playing in India is the hardest
assignment going, does it strike you that way?
Not really, not know. I've been here a week, and I already find that the difference between here and back home is not as much as it used to be before.

In what sense do you say that?
In terms of facilities, for instance, the hotel we are staying in, the roads, the transportation, everything -- there is not much of a difference any more, and that means we can feel more at home now. And that helps, you find yourself enjoying being here more, I think India, I know I have only seen a bit so far, but it has developed enormously in the last few years.

Our food is another thing touring teams talk about, and not in kind words at
that..?
Yeah, tell you the truth, when I came here for that one off Test and I had some pepper chicken, mate, it was so hot it took the roof off my mouth. But this time, I've had curry, enjoy it a lot, mean to have a lot more before I go. One thing is, you have so many Indians in Australia now, you have so many Indian restaurants there, so I sometimes go out, have curry, so I am used to it now -- and I'll tell you what, if I hadn't come to India before, I wouldn't have been having curry back home, that is one of the things I learnt to appreciate.

What are the others?
Well, the Taj Mahal -- been there once, would love to go there again this time, too.

Australian player profiles

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