Welcome to Australia...

Being on first batting standby for England I was expecting to spend the rest of the winter training indoors at Loughborough and Guildford. Instead I found myself heading to Adelaide because of an impromptu arrangement with an English friend Jenny who has moved out there and said why don't I come over and play for Port Adelaide, the team which Australia's captain Karen Rolton and fast bowler Emma Sampson also play for. Who could refuse? A week after the email came through I'd cleared everything with the ECB and was on the long flight, courtesy of Surrey.

Walking through Melbourne airport (there were no last-minute deals to Adelaide) I was suddenly accosted by four panting women who I had heard creeping up on me at speed. I turned around sharply, puzzled, and there were my England mates... thinking I had stolen a team bag because they'd seen the lions logo in the bustling crowd. We had a good laugh and then I said goodbye and arranged to link up with them at the Series opener, the Twenty20 at the MCG.

But before that I had some acclimatising to do. As luck would have it, the house is on the beach, the gym is two minutes away and the club, which has a bowling machine, is five minutes. I was itching to get out there on the grass, or turf as they call it out here, to play my first cricket for six months. Before I got my chance, Australia were playing India at the Adelaide Oval and I managed to acquire a member's ticket through a kind man I'd met on the 12-hour train journey into Adelaide from Melbourne. Good work! Aussies are really genuine and friendly and pretty straight-talking, and I had a really nice day although it was really hot, something I've not been used to for months and months. I had to pile on the sunscreen.

I'd been hoping to uncover some secrets about the Australian game at all levels and when club nets soon rolled round I thought "Here's my chance." I immediately noticed some differences. The way they encouraged youngsters (they identified what they needed to work on from a young age) and the way the boys trained - after they had their nets, they would then go off and spend half an hour working on what didn't go right in the nets with a lot more purpose. Playing-wise, the ball was bouncing more than I was used to, and coming through at a fair lick too, so I had to work on my back-foot technique on the bowling machine afterwards. And people were pretty vocal about wanting to get you out.

But other than that things were much the same as in England, nets were nets really.

A few days later Emma had her leaving drinks (to join the Australia team in Melbourne) at a venue along the beachfront from us, and I had the chance to meet the rest of our club team. Emma, or Sambo as we know her, told us that highlights of the Twenty20 (which was being played as a curtain raiser for the men) were going to be on Channel Nine. Out here women's cricket has not been televised since the 2005 World Cup, so this is quite a big deal - whereas at home we have at least two full games a year live on Sky.

So then I got a flight back to Melbourne for the Twenty20 on Friday. Dobbo [Mark Dobson, England head coach] had said to me to bring out my kit just in case but when I got the call-up to be 12th man it was only an hour and a half before the game. Still, I didn't have time to be nervous, I was just excited. It was an amazing experience being in front of a crowd of nearly 30000 and get my name on the big screen. (Well, not all of it, as I've got four middle names!)

It was a far cry from not thinking I would be able to play cricket again a few years ago. Now I'm focussing all my energies on getting back into the eleven. I'm feeling really positive, fit and happy, and I'm loving my cricket... almost as much as Mr Cricket himself, Mike Hussey, whose new book I'm reading at the moment. He's a real inspiration for the way he conducts himself and the preparation that goes into his own game, which is a really interesting insight and something which can assist me in my own approach.

Speaking of inspiring sports stars, we had the good fortune to see Shane Warne and Cathy Freeman in the hospitality at the MCG. Warne worked so hard on his game throughout, which is really admirable and what can you say about Cathy Freeman? She's just amazing and it was a real privilege to meet her.

After a week of uninterrupted sunshine, match day dawned quite overcast which made me feel at home. The girls gave me a cap and a shirt, which was really kind of them, and I had my helmet customised by team-mate Jano who fixed on a Port Adelaide crest sticker. We were playing against some South Australia state players on a lively wicket and a slow outfield and it felt pretty strange to be outside in early February. Although I was with England in India at this time last year, that felt different because it was a tour, whereas this time I'm living here. We fielded first and I got stuck in with a catch and a run-out, both from mid-on, which helped me to settle in to the game.

We were set 176 and a quick wicket meant I was in early doors - I'm keeping Karen Rolton's No 3 spot warm while she's with Australia! Batting felt all right, the ball was moving a little bit. I played a few singles, then pulled a short ball for four and felt settled. Then one stayed low, and I tried to pull it to midwicket. The next one was a bouncer - which you'd never get at home - and I thought I'd take it on but I picked out the fielder and I was on my way. Fuming... but every run you make out here is really valuable, it's really useful getting time in the middle (and in a match situation obviously) rather than being in indoor nets as I would have been.

The first game back is always going to be a case of finding your feet and I took away the fact that I'm going to work on spending more time at the crease. I certainly spent a lot of time in the nets the day after, working on 'seeing the seam', a tip from Mike Hussey, which forces you to watch the ball more. I also practised facing more of the short stuff as Dan gave me plenty of chin music... and a nice souvenir bruise on my forearm. These Aussies play it tough but it's a good schooling and I'm looking forward to the next challenges.