I HAVE played in some great Test matches down the years, but never before in a series with so many gripping finishes. For all our intensity in that crazy final session at Trent Bridge I think we knew that we were 20 odd runs short. With those extra runs on the board we would have won. The damage had been done earlier.

There is no point talking about ifs and buts. The bottom line is that England outplayed us for too much of the game. I thought the break after the third Test would work in our favour, but the worrying thing is that England still have the momentum with their exciting cricket.

It will take all of our experience and character to pull it around at the Oval. We are simply not scoring enough runs in the first innings and we are probably conceding too many. That leaves us playing catch-up. To score 371 and 387 in the second innings at Old Trafford and Trent Bridge is a great effort. But we cannot leave it that late.

Too many of our guys are underperforming. We all have a bad Test match now and again but it is unusual for our players to struggle for three or four on the trot. These are wonderful players with fantastic records. It will be a case of going back to basics and getting those right. I am backing them to come good.

There is no disgrace in being outplayed as long as you have given it your best shot and every ounce of fight you have. But if we lose the Ashes without performing as well as we possibly can, then it would be very disappointing. We need to think in those blunt terms because we are getting down to the wire. Time is running out.

We have the two-day match against Essex starting on Saturday but I don’t think anybody cares what happens there. I reckon we would be better taking a complete break from the game and then going to the Oval hungry and refreshed. England got it bang on before Trent Bridge by letting their players unwind and relax and get away from cricket for a while. Test cricket is about feeling physically fresh and mentally happy.

Cricket seems to be in our face. It is everywhere and I suppose that is credit to England for getting the country behind them. All people want to talk about is cricket. There is no escape. We could get runs, take wickets and hold blinding catches against Essex. But the intensity can never be anything like Test cricket.

Personally, I must admit my body feels pretty sore, but with ten days between games, I will be ready. I am getting on for 36 and I’ve bowled more overs than anybody in the series. In the past three Tests I’ve had to bowl a lot more than usual in the first innings when there is nothing in the pitch for spinners. I feel very, very proud of my own record with bat and ball.

After breakfast on Monday morning, the day after the Test, I went back to bed and slept through to the afternoon. And, before anybody raises an eyebrow, I didn’t have a late night — just a few beers with the Poms in the dressing-room. My life has changed over the past six weeks. I am still going through all sorts of emotions. But there is still a job to do and however I feel at the moment, I will be up for the game come next week.

Some of the umpiring came under scrutiny at Trent Bridge. I think those guys have it so tough. It must be one of the hardest jobs in the world. They deserve to be paid at least the same as the players — probably more because they have to concentrate on every ball.

The issue of technology in umpiring is often raised and over recent times the job has become so difficult that I believe it should be considered. This is not taking responsibility from the umpires; just giving them some help. There is so much at stake these days and a career can be on the line over a fraction of an inch when a ball comes down at 90 miles per hour. We are talking split-seconds in real-life time.

Replays will not work for everything. Low catches are notoriously difficult to judge, which is why I think we should take the word of the fielder. But technology could come in for leg-before decisions to check whether the ball has pitched outside leg stump and whether the ball was nicked on to the pad. That’s where I would draw the line.