Having had a really good side in 1989 that excelled, we wanted to keep the momentum going in '93. For the first Test of any series it's really important to get off to a good start, and we managed to do that by winning [by 179 runs].
Anybody who forgets Shane Warne's delivery, his first in a Test match in England, to Mike Gatting at Old Trafford probably should be in an institution – anyone who's interested in cricket anyway.
I was fielding at bat-pad so I saw the stump go and watched Gatt's footwork and what he was trying to do. It wasn't a bad length ball by the way, Gatt was trying to play it. But I didn't realise quite what that ball actually did until I watched replays later on. To watch the drift in, the amount of turn, and for that to happen on the first delivery Shane let go was absolutely phenomenal.
I'll never forget the look on Gatt's face, he just walked off dumbfounded, done by a bit of Warne magic, which we didn't realise he had. We knew Shane Warne had some talent but he hadn't really produced it thus far in Test cricket – about two or three overs after that was the first time Shane had the confidence to bowl a wrong 'un for the first time, so it was a massive turning point for him. And not only Australian but world cricket was grateful to then see his career unfold as it did.
In that first Test I managed 93 in the second innings but my reaction wasn't the same as Gatt's. This was because while the Ashes tour of 1985 had been a learning trip and 1989 far more successful, from a team and personal point of view, I still hadn't got a hundred in England. So to get out for 93 at Old Trafford was really annoying, especially considering the relationship I had with Jack Simmons, the coach there, who had also been my coach back in Tasmania when I was younger.
Still, one thing Allan Border, our captain, said was: "You played really well, now forget about that. It'd be better for you to get a first hundred at Lord's [in the next Test] anyway." As fate would have it I managed that, then another one at Trent Bridge, plus one more at Leeds, so I was very pleased to get three hundreds in a row.
The 164 not out at Lord's made me exceptionally proud, as not only was it my first in England, it helped us win that Test too [by an innings and 62 runs]. The stroke that brought up the hundred came from a short-pitched delivery off Chris Lewis which I managed to weasel round the corner down to fine-leg. Then to go unbeaten in an innings in which three of the first four batsmen got hundreds and Mark Waugh was bowled for 99 was a real bonus.
To achieve a century at the home of cricket is something you dream about. There is the history of Lord's – the memories of players gone by wandering through those shower rooms out the back and in those corridors. And when you return there and can see your name up on the boards you can't quite believe it.
The 101 I managed at Trent Bridge was a different type of century, a little freer than at Lord's, what with the situation we were in, now two ahead in the series. The wicket in Nottingham was very good, it turned a bit more for Peter Such, England's spinner, and this was also true of the Headingley Test in Leeds, where I thought technically I played really well for the 107.
The important thing, though, as a batter is that when it's going your way, you try and make hay when the sun shines, especially against the Old Dart [England].
I would hate to predict what will happen this summer. Last time I predicted an Ashes series in England we got beaten. I think this will be a very traditional series, hard fought in which neither team has a distinct advantage on paper. It'll be telling how the young guys stand up, and experienced guys in both teams lead them.