People seem to have to get themselves into a routine during difficult times on lockdown.
'The New Normal' is a phrase we often hear about. This is exactly what happened to me.
I get up early in the morning with my son Harry and let him stay with me and his wife at night. At 5am, like most parents, I was pregnant. When she wakes up, I do my fitness work and then we spend the rest of the day together.
I go to the stores once a week, and the rest of the time I try to shape myself with more runs, sprints and weights.
Like everyone else I have concerns. Are my parents okay? Is my grandfather recovering from some health problems? Do we wash our hands, erase things or keep others away when we get out?
Sometimes the mind wanders for things you cannot control, but when you are on a daily basis, it can help if you take care of things you can control.
In this sense, getting back into training brings another layer of normalcy. Some players could bowl something at home - Ben Stokes on his porch, or Stuart Broad with his net in the garden - but I didn't. Not just the facilities for me, I wanted to take this opportunity away from the game and be with my family.
With the Test series against the West Indies - which starts July 8 - now with a goal to aim for, it brings a change of mind. You think, ‘Here we go’ and you focus on cricket. Can I get back to my absolute best in training? What tricks can I add to my game?
There is no other way to describe it - the new way of training is strange.
Both I and Stoky go to Durham, but since our slots are an hour away, we don't see each other.
Durham Cricket Director Marcus North, bowling coach Neil Killen, England coach Paul Collingwood, Susan the Physio and only the security guard to open the gates.
Stokie got out of his car and headed straight to the center, so I had to spend some time in the gym and with Physio.
When I go to the gym, the doors are open so I don't have to touch anything. I disinfect my hands, use tools, and then I clean. When I went to see Susan, I had to wear a face mask and she was in full PPE gear.
When I started bowling, it was really from a standing position - you see kids learning as they play. Now I shut it down completely.
This is probably batting practice, which is a difficult task to use, not to take the ball and throw it to the coli. When you hit it back with your bat, it feels really disrespectful to the England veteran.
Twice I forgot and accidentally picked up the ball. Directly it's "Oh No". You need to wipe the ball, change your gloves, and wash your hands. The measures in place are really tough.
I want to keep my batting on the South Africa tour. He came back with a few net sessions to feed the bowling machine with my father and my wife, so we had to see if Collie and her throwing stick were as good as my personal coaching team.
I don't know how other guys face training restrictions, but I know that putting 55 players back into practice means there's some healthy competition, at least not in the fitness race.
We run 3km and compare the time. Jose Butler can do this in 10 minutes and 30 seconds, and Joe Root and Johnny Bairstow are impossible to catch - it must be something in Yorkshire waters.
When we know there is a possibility of a separation period, we are all raising those international matches.
Yes, we are accustomed to leaving our families for tours, and on some tours, you may not be able to go far from the hotel, but this is different. Leaving home after living in our own little world for the past few months is hard, and I hope it is not too difficult for Sarah and Harry.
However, when we were in that team atmosphere, I knew all the guys would get into it.
An interesting part of it is that we all have fast bowlers fit and firing. Brad, James Anderson, Chris Vox, Joffra Archer, Sam Curran, myself, and a few others are likely to get three places on the Test team. This is a tremendous depth for England.
I am good enough to accept that in English conditions the team sheet may not be the first name, but I took nine wickets in the last Test I played, so I think I should be put there or replaced. .
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