To win Test matches consistently you've got to take 20 wickets - yes, you've got to score runs but if you can't bowl a team out it doesn't matter how many runs you score.

My parents split up when I was 16, and, while Mum came to a few Tests, Dad didn't make many. So I was glad he was at Lord's.

The support for the McGrath Foundation and what it has allowed the Foundation to achieve and grow into has been unbelievable.

Australia play best when they've got a bit of mongrel about them, when they play hard out in the middle, when they don't give an inch, when they play an aggressive brand of cricket.

You can't go on living in past and having regrets. Its better people have a positive influence on other people's lives than worry about themselves.

The night before a game, I'd think about who I was playing, and then how I'd bowled against those guys, if I had got them out previously. While I was playing, I could recall nearly all my wickets and how I got the batsman out.

If you continually watch yourself do something well, it has a positive effect. If you sat down and watched yourself bowling, batting or fielding badly, it will probably have the equal effect.

I am quite a positive person. I always try to see the good in every situation, the good in everybody.

My strength was probably more the mental side of the game rather than the skill side. I always had that self-belief that I was good enough. You have got to believe you are good enough, otherwise there is no point to it.

Sport is something that crosses all boundaries and can really bring people together.

The year 1989 was crucial for me because I had just moved from the country into Sydney to play first-class cricket. That was the time I heard of a teenager called Sachin Tendulkar, who had burst on to the scene and was being annointed as successor to the great Sunil Gavaskar.

By the time I made my international debut Tendulkar was already being counted among the best batsmen in the world. Most bowlers knew that his was the crucial wicket in an Indian batting line-up that boasted of many talented batsmen.

I'm expecting big things from our bowlers, from Peter Siddle, who plays the enforcer role, Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson and Brett Lee when he gets fit again. In batting, there's Phil Hughes, whose already done well for Australia and scored hundreds for Middlesex.

You can tell yourself that everything is normal, and try to keep the same routine from every other Test match, but there is always something extra special about an Ashes series.

Jimmy Anderson deserves everything he gets, and even though he is an Englishman I will be delighted for him when he goes past my record and becomes the most prolific fast bowler in Test history.

I always wondered if I would know the right time to retire. After that first Ashes Test in Brisbane in 2006 I had no intention of stopping. I was still focused and wanted a thousand international wickets. I was still driven.

I was fortunate to go out on my terms while still at the top but a lot of people are not so lucky.

What's the difference between a good player and a great player? A good player plays well in his own conditions - a great player plays well in all conditions.

A lot of the emphasis on international bowlers is on their pace and Australia coach Darren Lehmann is a big fan of bowlers who can bowl 90mph-plus.

If you are good enough to play international cricket, you can take wickets - but you have to bowl the right length.

Dotting teams up and bowling maidens back to back cannot be underestimated in Australian conditions because it gives you control of the game.

A lot of people who have had the support of a McGrath breast care nurse, they come up and say what a positive difference it's made in their lives and that in itself makes me realise what we're doing is having a big positive effect and inspires me to keep going.

I'm a very loyal, parochial Australian and I can never say we're going to lose a series.

When you let that discipline slip you're going to have big problems on the field.

I'm just very impressed with the way Jimmy Anderson goes about his business.

In the past, I bowled at players like Michael Atherton, Alec Stewart, Nasser Hussain, Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick.

I'm keen to get into trophy hunting, no animal in particular, but a big safari in Africa would be great.

I'd prefer to do the safari on foot, like they did in the old days and just take the camp with you, not driving around in 4WDs.

If Australians give you a hard time, then they respect you.

I think the important thing for budding cricketers is to always put in 100 per cent - to continue to be your best, work hard, don't ever think you are at the top of your ability, you can always improve.

Since retirement, I have been given the opportunity to spend time with my family. I have three children, aged 16, 14 and one. That is what is really important to me. I have also done a little commentating in Australia and am part of the MRF academy in Chennai.

There are more people enjoying wine in India, they are interested in exploring new things and I think wine is part of that journey.

Losing Jane was tragic and I thought I'd never get married again, or have more children, or would even ever want to.

It's a funny thing, life... as much as you don't want the sun to come up, it comes up the next day. Life continues on and you have to make a choice in how you handle it.

The Foundation and Pink Day are about celebrating and hope, I know when the time comes and I move on, if I have people celebrating my life and what I bring to the world I'll be happy.

I am devastated by the loss of my beautiful wife Jane. She was my best friend.

England fans should be pretty happy to have Jofra Archer in their Test team - because he is something special.

I bowled in tandem with Brett Lee, who produced some fast, fiery spells. When you've got someone bowling up above 90mph, it has a fear factor that not many people really enjoy.

Big wins in the first Test of an Ashes series polarise everything moving forward.

I was part of the Australia team that lost the first Test at Edgbaston in 1997 and yet came back to win the series quite comfortably in the end.

It's the games you lose or struggle in that you learn most from in Test cricket.

When I made my debut in 1994-95 I bowled big outswingers pretty much every ball, because people had told me you should bowl consistent outties to take wickets.

Back in 2006-07 when we completed the first Ashes whitewash in 86 years, the historical significance didn't really filter in to our thinking. We didn't realise it at the time - we were just making amends for 2005.

The Sydney Cricket Ground is my favourite ground in the world, my home ground, and growing up in the bush all I wanted was to play at the SCG.

It's incredible what the Sydney Test has become - it's now iconically the pink Sydney Test. It's the sixth year that the McGrath Foundation has been involved and the support from everyone in cricket - right across the board, supporters, teams, you name it - has been absolutely incredible.

A coach these days is more of a manager than a coach. At this level, you shouldn't really need a coach. You need someone to organise, to come up with gameplans and tactics, rather than someone who is going to do much actual coaching.

You can come up with all the gameplans that you want but the guys in the middle have to execute those plans. If Jimmy Anderson or Stuart Broad serves up a leg-stump half-volley, you can't turn round and blame Andy Flower.

If they don't execute well enough then there's nothing much a coach can do. But if they do execute those plans correctly and they don't work, then you need to be able to adapt and come up with something different.

Have a little protection if that helps your bowler - Brett Lee always wanted a cover and a midwicket because they helped him bowl his natural length and made him more effective as a result.

Is there a secret to bowling at the Waca? In a way the secret is that there is no secret. Like any ground in the world, it's all about feel.