Saturday, October 13, 2001 Well, it's mission accomplished, and I am a very happy man indeed. To win 5-0 after coming into the series on the back of 11 straight defeats is a triumph of consistency and team morale. We have definitely turned a corner on this trip.

My luck with the toss is getting beyond farcical now -- perhaps I'll get a string of `heads' in India! -- but for today's game, losing again wasn't such a bad thing. It's peculiar out here. The wickets say `bat', as they look like they'll turn a bit, but the strength of the opposition tells me to bowl. With our batting line-up we'll chase anything, so if I'd won the toss it would have been a case of weighing up our priorities. It might have been nice to get some practice at defending totals, but we'd have probably just stuck `em in anyway and gone for it.

Nick Knight was the main man again today, but he has been just one of a whole host of performers that have taken us to this point. The victories have been built on the performances of the top three; Knight, Trescothick and myself, and with solid and consistent contributions from the Collingwoods and Flintoffs in the middle order, good starts have been turned into good finishes.

Everyone has contributed, the morale of this squad has been outstanding, and Duncan [Fletcher] went on record today, saying that if the bulk of these guys can still be together in three year's time, then we will have a very fine team indeed. That's how long it takes to forge an international team. Obviously there will be some new faces for bits of the winter, but we have now got the makings of an exciting team and it is up to us to take it on from here.

Today's game was vital, and the team selection gave us a few posers. Obviously it would have been nice to give the likes of Owais Shah another chance, but with the possibility of a 5-0 whitewash we had to put the interests of the team before those of the individual. In the end, it was six of one and half a dozen of the other, but we felt that Ramps' spin would give us a few more options with the ball.

Owais may feel hard done by, but as I've said all along, nobody has a God-given right to play for their country. It is a fact that some of the boys on this trip will not make the tours of India and New Zealand, and it will be up to them to pick themselves up, go back out and prove the selectors wrong. It's tough but that's international cricket. It's the way the Australians play it and it's the way we intend to play it.

A case in point is Andrew Flintoff, who has made huge strides on this tour. His attitude has been magnificent, he bowled bloody quick today, and the ball is now firmly in his court. He has to prove that this has not just been a three-week change of mentality, but that his attitude and focus have changed forever. He has the ability to turn a match in all three disciplines; batting, bowling and catching, and I would want him in my team any day. He could become a seriously good cricketer.

Nasser Hussain was talking to Andrew Miller. More from Nasser Hussain
4th ODI 90% of mission accomplished
3rd ODI 'This was just the test we needed'

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