Diary
I hope to be fit for Twenty20 World Cup
By Shaun Tait
Jun 25, 2007, 13:27

I’m currently recovering at home in Adelaide from my elbow operation and thankfully everything went well and I hope to be bowling again very soon.

It was just a bit of a clean-up to remove some scar tissue. The doctors have told me that if all goes to plan I can be bowling again off a short run within a month and off my long run within six or seven weeks so that’s not too long.

The reason I had to have the surgery was because I had been experiencing some pain in the joint and I was troubled by it even throughout the World Cup. I had to have it taped up a lot and the pain was quite bad at times, when I had to bowl through the pain barrier after a couple of pain killers.

This window in our schedule was the perfect time to have it done as we don’t have any cricket planned for a while. I’m still able to run and do fitness work so it’s not as though I’m not doing anything.

I relaxed for a while after the World Cup and went up into the Adelaide Hills, where I’m from, to spend time with family and mates. I watched a bit of footy (Aussie Rules that is). I love my footy and miss the game quite a lot. I had to give the game up when I was 17 because of my cricket career. I would still like a game now and then but it wouldn’t be the greatest career move when you’re trying to bowl fast for Australia.

I wouldn’t say life has changed all that much for me since I won the World Cup, as I lead a pretty normal life. It was a bit different for the first couple of weeks when I received more attention than usual but I try to stay level-headed as you never know when everything will all come crashing down on you.

Everything is going pretty well so far. You get brought back to earth by injuries at times but hopefully if I can keep myself fit after this I can have a big year ahead. The prospect of leading the attack with Brett Lee in a new era for Australian cricket is very exciting.

In terms of my comeback there is still a decent chance I can put my name up for selection for the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa. I would like to make that but my main aim is to be fully fit for the first Redbacks game in the new season.

Some players are not too keen on the Twenty20 stuff but I like it a lot, which is probably surprising to hear as most fast bowlers get a bit of tap and batsmen just try to hit you out of the park. But I think it’s exciting and attracts packed crowds. You get all types of people watching and it’s good for the game.