With another Test series about to start on Boxing Day I’m hoping I can take my one-day form into the West Indies series and put some serious runs on the board.

It’s been a while now since I scored my last Test hundred and it is starting to bother me a little but the one thing that gives me  encouragement is the fact my one-day form has been so good over the last couple of years.

The hundred I made recently in the one-day series against New Zealand was one of those days when everything just clicked and I got on to a roll. I need a similar start in the Test matches.

After batting in the middle-order, I did ask the selectors if I could play as an opener again so I want to justify that decision with a few big runs. I do feel as though the scores are around the corner. It’s not like I haven’t come close as I have made four nineties in the last couple of years without going on.

I can’t put my finger on what the reason is why I haven’t scored the centuries but I have been in this situation before and there is no reason why I can’t get out of it again now.  

Hopefully when we get to P.E. for the first Test, which will feel a bit strange playing the Boxing Day Test there and not Durban, and then at Cape Town we will find some good batting surfaces. I missed out against New Zealand, when conditions were not great for batting but (Jacques) Kallis and (Hashim) Amla batted really well and made a glut of themselves.

When the West Indies toured here last I made three hundreds in three Tests so let’s hope that is another good omen. Graeme also batted really well in that series and if he starts well this time maybe his form will rub off on me.

We bat well together at the top of the order and I remember we put on 301 for the first wicket at Centurion on West Indies’ last tour here. But every series is a new start and runs won’t come easy. They have plenty of pace in their attack with guys like Edwards, Powell and Taylor. They are going to miss Sarwan and obviously Lara is not there but they still have good players.

I have just had a few days off before we start preparing for the first Test. I’ve done a bit of last minute Christmas shopping in Cape Town and have generally tried to make the most of a bit of relaxation, like the odd game of golf also, as we don’t get all that much time off.