In the first of her exclusive blogs for ecb.co.uk, England's Jenny Gunn tells tales of lost luggage and factor 50 ahead of the Women's Ashes series.
Christmas came and went quickly this year. I was unsure whether it was because we had 19 people at dinner on Christmas Day, where everyone was coming and going, or if it was due to a tour coming up.
On December 30 we left cold, wet and windy England for the warm climes of Australia (sorry to rub it in).
We arrived in Perth just in time for new year – not that we did anything a part from watch the fireworks on TV, say “Happy New Year” and head to bed, as we were tired from our 20 hour flight.
One person who did struggle on arrival was Heather Knight (Trev), as her bags didn’t arrive with us. Turns out that they were enjoying a stopover in Hong Kong for a bit longer – never a dull moment with our team!
The first day involved a light running session, and we were a more than happy when it was only 25 degrees instead of the late 30s that it had been before we arrived.
The session only lasted 30 minutes but it is safe to say some of our girls needed to put the factor 50 on – by the end they were looking a bit red. Anya Shrubsole, who we call "Daz" because she’s brighter than white, being a prime example.
Our first cricket session was a couple of days after arriving, and Trev's bag still hadn’t arrived. This meant she had to train in her glasses and was promptly given the nickname “Olive”, based on the character from the sitcom On the Buses. She dishes out the banter most days so it made a nice change for her to get some of her own medicine.
We now have a few more training sessions ahead of a two-day game against the Shooting Stars (Australia A), which starts on Monday. One of many challenges lined up for this clash looks to be the 38 degree heat which is forecast.