Adam Voges keen to get over Sri Lanka debacle with Shield success

After a whirlwind 2015-16 Australian season and subsequent tour of New Zealand, Adam Voges, the evergreen Australian Test batsman, unexpectedly found himself in exalted cricket company.

A late bloomer having not made his Test debut until the age of 35, Voges made up for lost time by scoring five centuries, including two double tons, in his first 14 Tests. After causally, even routinely, notching up 239 against a bewildered New Zealand during the first Test in Wellington in February, Voges finally saw his unbeaten, record-breaking streak end at 614 runs. It easily eclipsed Sachin Tendulkar's previous landmark of 497 Test runs without getting dismissed.

At that moment, Voges's name was being bandied around with the immortal Sir Donald Bradman as his average soared to an astounding 97.46 -- only a fraction behind Bradman's mythical mark. But, inevitably, the runs dried up for Voges during Australia's disastrous tour of Sri Lanka mid-year, where they were humiliatingly whitewashed in the three-Test series.

Like his teammates, Voges struggled on the turning subcontinent pitches and had no answer for the beguiling bowling of Sri Lankan ace Rangana Herath. Averaging just 19.66 over six innings, Voges's Test average plummeted to 72.75; a phenomenal mark but a far cry from his heady peak.

Speaking to the media in Perth on Friday (September 30), Voges said he hoped to rebound during the imminent Australian season.

"Hopefully, it was just a little bit of a blip," Voges said of his disappointing tour of Sri Lanka. "I didn't adjust to the conditions well enough. It was tough work.

"If I had my time again, I may have done a few things a bit differently - backing my sweep shot a bit more, and finding ways to rotate the strike rather than sitting on the crease and defending for long periods of time," he added.

Despite turning 37 on October 4, Voges said he was not thinking of retirement and planned to keep playing at the international level for a while longer. "People always talk about my age and the fact I was a late starter to international cricket," he said. "But I feel strong. I feel fit. And I'm still loving my cricket. While that's still the case, hopefully I can continue to perform well and, hopefully, there's another big summer to come."

Voges will be back in action on Sunday (October 2) when he captains Western Australia in their season opening one-day clash against South Australia at the WACA Ground. WA have been a powerhouse since Justin Langer took the reins as coach in 2012 but stumbled last season across formats.

Despite success in the Langer era, WA have not won the Sheffield Shield since 1998-99, a painful prolonged drought for the proud cricket state. Voges said he craved Shield success. "I'm desperate for the Sheffield Shield," Voges said. "You speak to JL (Justin Langer), Swampy (Geoff Marsh), Wayne Andrews - guys who played in Sheffield Shields, and you see their eyes light up when talking about those moments."