It will never be much fun until a Proteas team finally goes out and wins one of these ICC limited-overs tournaments. That will happen one day.
There are big tournaments going on around the world, and some of them you cannot ignore because, financially, they make a huge difference in our lives.
Money wasn't the motivating factor in calling time on my international career and focusing on T20 cricket. If I was here to make as much money as I can, I would be playing 10 to 12 tournaments a year.
Sometimes we complain about being on the road all the time, from tournaments to exhibitions and sponsors' appearances, but really it's a doddle.
Because we're playing tournaments week in and week out I'd think to myself, 'What's the point in practising?' You have no down time to yourself and you're looking for some to spend with your family and friends. But I've now realised that with the game so cut-throat and standards going up every week, it doesn't work.
When I start winning big tournaments I don't think I'll just win tournaments, I think I'll blow them away.
I had a lot of success in big tournaments as well - won Masters Series in Rome - so a lot of things are coming together. I've done a lot of hard work in the off-season. A lot of physical work, a lot of work on my serve and on my return game.
My dad sacrificed many things in life for me. He abandoned a very promising and lucrative career of an army officer just so that he could continue helping me with my chess and accompanying me to tournaments.
Yes, I have had difficult times on court and at certain tournaments but you need to forget about it and go forward because that's the way it works in our world.
If I win seven tournaments in a row, I get so confident I'm in a cloud. A loss gets me eager again.
