It is a cliche to say that you need to take 20 wickets to win a Test and it is the bowlers who get you the 20 wickets.
As a bowler you are not a hero, you are always backing a hero but you need 20 wickets to win a Test match.
You need wickets to be brave. When you get wickets, you can try anything. But when you don't, you always hesitate to try a few things because it is not always about giving runs and getting wickets.
Sri Lankan wickets may not be conducive for fast bowling, but it doesn't mean that the quicks can't get wickets there.
If you win one or two matches at home on good wickets, on grassy wickets, you'll develop confidence automatically.
It's always better for the bowlers to stick to a line and length, and that helps you get wickets.
Getting 20 wickets in test cricket will win you matches and that will be the focus.
Great fast bowlers don't have to worry about whether the track is flat or green. They'll find a way to get wickets.
I don't like bowling on turning wickets because on turning wickets, most balls would just beat the batsmen. On flat wickets you can plan - when to bowl sliders, when to bowl googly.
As a bowler, there are times when you do not get wickets, and you don't have the numbers to show against your name. But never has the thought crossed my mind that I am not a confident bowler and the wickets are not coming my way.
Dot balls help build pressure, so even if you are not getting wickets, somebody from the other end is getting wickets, and the job is done.
I was practising with wet rubber balls just to get my reaction right, my hand-eye co-ordination right. Because sometimes wickets are softer, two-paced wickets, it helps to practise with a tennis ball.
Cricket is not rocket science. Bowlers often get wickets through perseverance, accuracy and being patient rather than trying to blast opposition teams out.
The beauty of Test cricket is all about playing an opponent in their backyard or defending home turf under challenging conditions over five days - dominating each session, dominating each day, picking 20 wickets to win a contest. That's historically been cricket's most fascinating gift.
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.
As bowlers, we don't worry about the wickets, whether they are flat or not.