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It’s been 115 days since Australia’s cricketers touched down in England ahead of the World Twenty20.
At the end of a very long road, they have bowed out in the group stage of that tournament, lost the Ashes 2-1 and dominated their hosts in a seven-match one-day series.
There are some weary bodies in the dressing room, but they are far from a return home.
Following Sunday’s final one-day match against England in Durham, they head straight to South Africa for their first game of the Champions Trophy, against the West Indies on September 26.
After that, some will play for NSW or Victoria in the Champions League in India.
And the Australian squad will re-assemble for a one-day series against India on the subcontinent before the domestic season.
While there has been a rotation of Twenty20, Test and one-day specialists, and captain Ricky Ponting took a well publicised break at home after the Ashes, there are plenty of players who have been on the road for the duration.
Peter Siddle, Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Nathan Hauritz, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee and Shane Watson were all part of the squad which landed in England on May 28.
And while all have had varying degrees of rest during the tournament, it is a long time to be away from home, despite the fact they are doing what they love – and what just about anyone in Australia would love to do in playing sport for their country.
Siddle, part of the Bushrangers’ Champions League squad, said he was keen to return home, but more keen to make the most of his opportunities over the coming weeks.
“It’s a great chance for us to showcase our skills at the highest level and it’s going to be a good opportunity for myself and my team-mates to perform well in that time,” Siddle said.
“So it’s going to be good fun, but definitely looking forward to finally, once I get back home, to spending a bit of time in my house and just relaxing, that’s for sure.”
Ponting believes the Australians are becoming more and more adept at managing player workloads.
“Full credit to Cricket Australia over the last couple of years for identifying that and trying to give guys a break when they need it,” Ponting told AAP.
“It’s something I think we’re just touching the surface with as far as getting guys well prepared for the big games and big series, but we’re on the right track with that.”
James Hopes, part of Australia’s limited-overs squads said while it was always disappointing to miss a game, players generally understood the reasons.
“We’ve got a squad of 15 players here and we’ve worked hard coming out of the retirements of (Adam) Gilchrist and (Matthew) Hayden and (Glenn) McGrath to build a squad that we’re comfortable with guys coming in and out of the group and being able to perform,” Hopes said.
“We’re getting to the stage where we’ve got that.”
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