Test cricket is about respecting the opposition, the conditions and the circumstances.

On your debut, you just want to get into the game. I remember when I played my first Test, we bowled first and I went wicketless in the first innings. I felt like I was searching to make a contribution.

What we have learned is that Roland-Jones is a very promising prospect. Because of the way he bowls, he will not blow batsmen away, but is more likely to take wickets through accuracy and building pressure.

Roland-Jones is a good, old-fashioned English seamer. He's not especially quick, but he pitches the ball up and swings it away, which is always dangerous.

Usually a captain will allow his bowler to set the field, while exercising overall control and maintaining the authority to step in if he sees fit.

It is one thing to err on the side of caution. Equally, Test wins have to be earned. They are seldom handed to you on a plate.

Archer has a loose-limbed approach in a run-up that is not very long. He gets into a good position at the crease and releases the ball late from a very high action. He snaps the ball down at genuine pace. He has rhythm to his bowling.

Archer has an incredible talent. He is one of those fast bowlers who makes it look easy.

In one-day internationals, the batsman is under pressure to get on with run-scoring and does not have the luxury of leaving too many deliveries.

As lots of us ex-pros know, you are a long time retired and there comes a stage when you would give anything to be back out there playing.

Pietersen is an incredibly confident cricketer, almost brash.

Word can spread quickly around the international circuit if a player is perceived to have a fault, particularly if it is against short bowling.

You do not want cricketers who are cowed by adversity, waiting for someone to tell them what to do.

By empowering players - not just players, but grown men - to think for themselves outside of the game, you hope that they will be more likely to adapt to a situation and seize the moment in a sporting contest.

It is not difficult to come up with a long list of cricketers who like to have a good time - from the village green to the Test arena, it is a sociable sport.

It is nothing new for the management of an international cricket team to wrestle with the amount of freedom afforded to players.

As a player, when things are going against you, you look to the captain to inject some energy but I don't see any of that from Amla.

The art of coaching is to give a player freedom to bring out his talent. It is the player's responsibility for what happens once they are on the pitch.

This is Test cricket. Being positive is not far away from being reckless. For all that the sport has become more fast-flowing and entertaining, you still need batsmen whose first instinct is to be patient.

When you think of the great eight-wicket bowling figures in Test history, the names of Michael Holding, Shane Warne and Stuart Broad spring to mind.

Preparation is not just about batting and bowling. You have to consider lots of things - the travel, the weather, the heat, the light, the sounds. You have to be comfortable with everything.

Indian fans probably warm to Tendulkar more, because he was their darling from a very young age and he is a class above anyone else in his team. But in any other generation Dravid would be there by himself.

I think most cricket fans would accept that Dravid and Tendulkar are very different individuals but they are both great players.

The old player in me can certainly sympathise with how your targets change because you simply do not know what is around the corner.