New Year's Eve in Sydney was a blast

After a memorable celebration at the Crown Casino last night, it was back on the road this morning for a short flight to Sydney. Hangovers were multiplied by the extra Australian cricket team entourage, which included my two daughters, and Stephen's, Warney's, 'Buck's' and Misso's kids. After checking in to Quay West in Sydney it was off for a light training session at the SCG. If you ask me this was the perfect practice run. The batsmen had a bat against bowlers from around Sydney who had come down for a spell and the rest of the time was spent stretching, relaxing and a swim in the pool. Obviously being 2-0 up in the series gives us the opportunity to lighten the load a little, but more importantly it has been the mountains of cricket played that convinced Buck and Tugga to ease the load during today's training.

Because we have a Test match in two days' time the team decided to stay in at the hotel for a New Year's Eve celebration. This is not to say all the guys and their families didn't enjoy a festive night. It was decided that the theme for the night would be bad taste and while some of the boys stuck to their normal attire, Messers Fleming, Buchanan, Misson, Warne and Langer were not to be outdone. With the Sydney fireworks right outside the window of Steve Bernhard's suite window everyone had a ball as we celebrated the turn of the new century and the success of the summer thus far.

Happy New Year from Sydney, JL