There must be some Higher Power or Supreme Being, but I do not believe in God. Unlike many of my team-mates in the Australian cricket team, I do not go to church. In a way, I am not a spiritual person.
Spirituality, for me, means giving my best to others. I try not to make personal judgments on others. Personally, the Higher Power signifies trust and faith, the positive things in life, and the endless possibilities which exist.
Back home in Australia, there is a charitable institution called the 'Salvation Army' to which I contribute money. This organisation helps street-children and my grandfather used to be involved with it. Today, and I have inherited his habit. Helping street-children is a natural calmer for me.
I am not superstitious and neither do I follow any rituals. But I have this habit of putting on my left shoe first before I step onto the field. Also, I always wear my good-luck charm — a gold bracelet given to me by my parents when I was 17 years old.
On 'bad' days, when I feel stressed, I come back home, turn off all the lights and play classical music. At that point of time, I think of nothing — I sink into myself and cut out cricket. I can switch on and off my mind — and I need to do this because I can't think of cricket 24 hours a day. Similarly, whenever I am bowling, I switch off immediately after the ball has passed through to the wicket-keeper. I think of music, my family and then, when I turn around at my bowling mark, I again switch my mind back to the action on the field. I follow a similar pattern when I am batting.
I think everything in life happens for a reason. I never expected to be in the team when I was chosen to play for Australia... but it happened. I believe that success will eventually come... one just needs to work hard.